Business / Union Budget 2019: Nirmala Sitharaman's 1st Budget Today Out Of Traditional Bahi Khata

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will shortly announce her first budget, in which she is expected to raise spending and cut taxes on business to shore up the economy after a five-year low.

Nirmala Sitharaman, India's first full-time woman finance minister, began the big day by ditching the British-era briefcase for a red cloth folder enclosed with a string and emblazoned with the national emblem - which was described by officials as the "bahi khata". 

Analysts believe Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after his re-election with an epic mandate, hopes to use the budget to restart reforms and tackle a number of challenges ranging from a slowdown in the economy to weak consumption and shrinking tax collections. The Finance Minister, say economists, needs to announce measures that spur growth without straining expenditure. 

In its economic survey yesterday, the government predicted that the economy will rebound and grow at 7 per cent this year, while outlining plans on how to double its economy by 2024-25 to $5 trillion.