Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s saree ahead of Budget presentation has an irrevocable meaning it shares with the budget. This will be her eighth consecutive budget, a record-breaking tenure. She will exceed Morarji Desai’s six successive budget presentations.
Ahead of the budget session today, the Finance Minister was seen wearing a white saree featuring Madhubani artwork with golden borders. The piece of clothing was gifted to her by 2021 Padma Shri Awardee Dulari Devi. The latter met Sitharaman during the credit outreach programme at the Mithila Art institute in Bihar. Some media reports suggest that Dulari Devi had requested Sitharaman to wear the saree on Budget day.
Not only the budget, there is a significant attention on Finance Minister’s choice of attire. The saree collections during the budget presentations have drawn public interest over the years. In the 7th Budget presentation, Sitharaman wore a white silk sarree with magenta border with golden design. While for last year’s presentation, Sitharaman opted for a red temple saree with a black border with detailed golden work. For the interim budget, she chose a blue handloom saree as always carrying the bahi-khata enveloped with red covering.
Before the Finance Minister presents her record breaking budget today, she was fed Dahi-Cheeni by the President of India Draupadi Murmu. ‘Dahi-Cheeni’ is considered to be auspicious and a gesture of good luck in India. during the occasion, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary was also present. After meeting the President, the Finance Minister held a meeting with the Union Cabinet and got the budget approved from the Cabinet. People eagerly await for the budget, that will reveal what’s in with the price hikes and tax slabs.
