Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present the Union Budget 2025 in the Parliament on Saturday, Feb. 1. Over the years, India's Budget has evolved significantly, reflecting the changing economy and global factors.
The Budget presentation, which began in 1860, has become a key tradition in India. Every year, Indians eagerly await the finance minister's announcements on economic reforms. The Budget essentially decides how the country will perform economically over the year, and what its priorities should be.
As Nirmala Sitharaman prepares for her eighth Budget speech, here is everything you need to know about India's Budget records.
First Budget
The first-ever Budget of India was presented on April 7, 1860, by James Wilson of the East India Company. After India gained its independence, the first Budget was presented by Finance Minister R.K. Shanmukham Chetty on Nov. 26, 1947.
Most Budgets Presented
Former Prime Minister Morarji Desai holds the record of delivering the most Budget speeches, presenting the document 10 times from 1952 to 1969. He is followed by P. Chidambaram with nine Budget speeches, and Pranab Mukherjee with eight. Nirmala Sitharaman will equal Mukherjee's record with her Budget presentation in 2025.
Most Consecutive Budgets Presented
In July 2024, Nirmala Sitharaman broke Morarji Desai's record for the most consecutive Budget speeches, delivering her seventh straight Budget. Desai had previously held the record with six consecutive Budget speeches.
Most Words In A Budget
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh holds the record for delivering the longest Budget speech, with a total of 18,650 words. He set this record in 1991, during the PV Narasimha Rao government, when he played a pivotal role in liberalising the Indian economy as the country's finance minister.
Longest Budget Speech
Nirmala Sitharaman set a new record by delivering the longest Budget speech during the 2020-21 Budget. Her speech lasted for 2 hours and 42 minutes.
Shortest Budget Speech
The shortest Budget speech, with just 800 words, was presented by Hirubhai M. Patel. He delivered it while presenting the interim Budget for the year 1977-78.
First Hindi Budget
In 1955, the Budget documents were first printed in Hindi. Until then, it was done only in English. Now the documents are printed in both languages.
First Paperless Budget
Nirmala Sitharaman presented India's first paperless Budget for 2021-22, a move prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Since then, she has been reading her Budget speeches from her signature tablet.
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