NEW DELHI: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present the first full Union Budget of the Modi 3.0 government on Saturday, making history with her eighth consecutive budget.
The budget is expected to introduce measures aimed at boosting economic growth and providing relief to the middle class, struggling with high taxes and financial pressures.
With the upcoming Budget 2025, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman moves closer to the all-time record of 10 Union Budgets presented by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai.
She has already delivered seven consecutive budgets, including an interim one in February 2024, and is set to present her eighth on February 1, 2025.
She remains the only finance minister to have presented eight consecutive budgets under a single prime minister.
A look back at India’s budget journey
- First Budget of Independent India: The first-ever Union Budget of independent India was presented on November 26, 1947, by the country’s first finance minister, R.K. Shanmukham Chetty.
- Budget timings : Historically, the Budget was presented at 5 PM on the last day of February, following a colonial-era practice that allowed announcements to be made simultaneously in India and London.
India’s time zone (4 hours 30 minutes ahead of British Summer Time) ensured that the UK received the Budget details during its working hours.
- Changes over the years: In 1999, then finance minister Yashwant Sinha, under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government, shifted the Budget presentation to 11 AM, a practice that continues today.
- Budget presentation date shifted to February 1: In 2017, the Budget date was moved from February 28 to February 1 to streamline the Parliamentary approval process and ensure timely implementation from the beginning of the new fiscal year on April 1.
Previously, delays of two to three months meant Budget implementation often did not begin until May or June.
Also read: Budget 2025 Live Updates
Most Union Budgets presented in India’s history
1. Morarji Desai: 10 Budgets (Highest): Former Prime Minister Morarji Desai holds the record for presenting the most Union Budgets in India’s history. As the finance minister under Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and later under Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, he presented a total of 10 budgets:
- Six budgets during his tenure from 1959 to 1964.
- Four budgets between 1967 and 1969.
2. P. Chidambaram – 9 Budgets: Former finance minister P. Chidambaram delivered a total of nine Union Budgets, making him the second-most frequent budget presenter in Indian history. His first budget was presented on March 19, 1996, during the United Front government led by Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda.
He presented another budget the following year and later returned as finance minister under the Congress-led UPA government in 2004, presenting multiple budgets until 2009.
3. Pranab Mukherjee – 8 Budgets: Pranab Mukherjee, who served as finance minister across different tenures, presented eight budgets in total. His first three budgets were in 1982, 1983, and 1984, during his initial term as finance minister. He later delivered five consecutive budgets from February 2009 to March 2012 under the Congress-led UPA government.
Significant contributions in history
Before becoming India’s Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh served as the finance minister under Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao.
During this period, he presented five consecutive budgets from 1991 to 1995, with his 1991 budget being historic for initiating India’s economic liberalisation.
Records budget speech in India’s history. :
Longest budget speech: Nirmala Sitharaman holds the record for delivering the longest budget speech in India’s history. On February 1, 2020, her speech lasted 2 hours and 40 minutes, though she had to cut it short with two pages still remaining.
Shortest budget speech: The record for the shortest budget speech belongs to Hirubhai Mulljibhai Patel, who delivered his interim budget in 1977 in just 800 words, making it the briefest budget presentation in India’s history.
