Interim Budget: All about "Red Briefcase"

Union Minister Piyush Goyal with "Red Briefcase" appeared in front of media with a smile for cameras before presenting the Interim Budget.

The word ‘Briefcase’ was used as the word "Budget" originates from the French "bougette" or leather bag. Briefcase didn’t come only in Red, but also earlier it has appeared in Brown and Tan too.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in the past, was seen with a Tan briefcase. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh carried a black bag and Yashwant Sinha, finance minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led governments, carried the black bag too.

Pranab Mukherjee, as Manmohan Singh's finance minister, carried Red velvet briefcase.

The "budget case" tradition was started in the 18th century when the Chancellor of the Exchequer or Britain's budget chief was asked to 'open the budget'.

In 1860, the British budget Chief William E. Gladstone (then) carried his papers in a red suitcase with the Queen's monogram in gold.

RK Shanmukham Chetty in 1947, who presented India’s first budget, carried a leather bag. After ten years, TT Krishnamachari carried a file like a bag and then, Jawaharlal Nehru, who presented the budget in 1958, carried a black bag.