File images show Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with the ‘Union Budget’ in the years (left to right top row) 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 and (left to right bottom row) 2023, 2024 (interim Budget), 2024 (General Budget) and Union Budget 2025-26, in New Delhi.
| Photo Credit: PTI
The Union Budget 2025 tabled on Saturday (February 1, 2025) was the eighth consecutive budget presented by Nirmala Sitharaman in the Parliament. She has presented six annual and two interim budgets throughout the NDA government’s term in office, the most of any of her predecessors, including Manmohan Singh, Arun Jaitley, P. Chidambaram, Yashwant Sinha, and Morarji Desai.
Saturday’s Budget speech was Ms. Sitharaman’s second speech in the Narendra Modi-led NDA 3.0 government.
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While the nation eagerly listens to her Budget speeches, all eyes are on the saree that she wears on the day of Budget presentation, showcasing India’s textile heritage and traditional weaves, fabrics. This year too, her saree garnered interest.
Clad in a cream-coloured handloom silk saree with golden border and pairing it with red blouse, she made the Budget speech in the Parliament on Saturday. In a tribute to a 2021 Padma Shri awardee Dulari Devi from Bihar, she wore the saree with Madhubani motifs that bear images of fish.
Madhubani art is a century-old traditional folk art that originated in Mithila region of Bihar. The artform is characterised by geometric patterns, floral motifs and depictions of mythology and nature. The artist who hails from a Dalit fishing community made the saree of Banglori silk.
Newsagency ANI reported that Ms. Devi who took a month to make the saree gifted it to the Finance Minister during her visit to Bihar. The Madhubani artist had requested Ms. Sitharaman to wear the saree on Budget Day.
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Over the years, Ms. Devi has created 10,000 Madhubani paintings that also spread awareness on social issues like child marriage, AIDS and female foeticide.
During her first Budget speech in 2019, Ms. Sitharaman wore a pink-coloured Mangalgiri silk saree with gold borders.
In 2020, she picked a yellow-coloured silk saree with green-lined borders.
In 2021, she chose red and off-white Pochampally silk saree from Telangana, with ikat motifs on the pallu.
In 2022, Ms. Sitharaman was clad in a brown and maroon coloured Bomkai saree from Odisha.
In 2023, the Finance Minister wore a red silk saree with black Kasuti embroidery that originates in Karnataka.
In 2024, she wore a blue Tussar silk saree with Kantha embroidery from West Bengal while presenting the interim budget. During the Union Budget for the same year, Ms. Sitharaman wore a white-coloured silk saree that had magenta-coloured border with golden motifs.
Published – February 01, 2025 04:17 pm IST
