President Murmu’s customary ‘dahi-cheeni for FM Nirmala Sitharaman

New Delhi, July 23: Ahead of presenting the Union Budget in Parliament, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met President Droupadi Murmu in the Rashtrapati Bhawan on Tuesday.

The President fed her 'dahi-cheeni', a ritual performed by elders in Indian families to bestow good luck before undertaking important tasks.

This year's Budget is the seventh consecutive Budget for Finance Minister Sitharaman and the Modi government's 13th straight Budget since 2014. She also makes history as the first finance minister to present seven consecutive Budget speeches, surpassing former Prime Minister Morarji Desai's record of six consecutive Budgets between 1959-64.

Earlier in the day, FM Sitharaman and her team posed for a traditional picture outside the Finance Ministry. She wore an off-white colour saree with a magenta border and displayed the red 'bahi-khata' tablet with the national emblem.

In 2019, FM Sitharaman broke the long-standing tradition of a Budget briefcase with a 'bahi khata,' a red-coloured Indian accounting ledger. In 2021, the Finance Minister presented the Budget in a paperless format, using a 'Made in India' tablet.

The Budget Session began on July 22 and, according to schedule, will end on August 12.

On Monday, the Finance Minister presented the Economic Survey in Parliament. The Survey projects India’s GDP growth rate at 6.5 to 7 per cent for 2024-25 as it sees the economy on a strong wicket. However, achieving a 7 per cent GDP growth rate "is doable" for India despite the global environment has become more challenging since the beginning of the year, according to Chief Economic Adviser, V. Anantha Nageswaran.