Nirmala Sitharaman is now the 6th Finance Minister to present the Budget 5 times in a row. 2023 marks her 5th straight year since 2019.
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Through her five-year streak, the Union Finance Minister has donned an array of elegant sarees during her Budget speeches.
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For her first Budget announcement, Nirmala Sitharaman wore a bright-pink Mangalgiri saree with a gold border.
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For her sophomore Budget, Sitharaman sported a bright yellow saree with a cyan border, an auspicious colour.
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Next, Sitharaman donned an Ikat-patterned, red and white Pochampally saree made of sico - a combination of silk and cotton.
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Last year, Sitharaman wore a rusty-brown Bomkai saree with patterned maroon borders, indigenous to Odisha.
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For Budget 2023, Sitharaman donned a red saree with temple border and intricate detailing in gold, coordinated with the striking-red budget tablet.
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Sitharaman is also credited with replacing the colonial budget briefcase with a traditional bahi-khata to carry the Budget speech.
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She is also the first Union Minister to present a paperless Budget in 2021, and has continued to do so ever since.
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In 2019, Sitharaman became the second woman to have presented the Budget after Indira Gandhi, who did so in 1970.
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The 5-time presenter holds the record for delivering the longest speech, at 2 hours 42 minutes, while presenting the 2020 Budget. Her 2023 speech was 1 hour 25 minutes long.
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