Union Budget 2024: On February 1, Finance Minister Sitharaman will read out her sixth consecutive Budget speech and first Interim Budget speech for the financial year 2024-25 (FY25). FM Sitharaman was appointed the first full-time woman finance minister of India after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won its second consecutive general elections in 2019. Despite being the first woman to take on the role full-time, Sitharaman is the second woman to present the Budget in India.
Here are some more interesting Union Budget facts:
First woman to present the Union Budget
Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was the first woman to present India's Union Budget for 1970-71. She took on the role following the resignation of then Finance Minister Moraji Desai. Gandhi was the prime minister during this time and also earned the title of first female finance minister of India, although she only held that post briefly until Yashwantrao Chavan took the finance portfolio in March 1971.
Prime Ministers have taken on the finance portfolio when ministers have had to drop out. This started with the first prime minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, who read the Union Budget 1948 after T T Krishnamachari was found guilty on charges of corruption.
Nirmala Sitharaman is the first full-time female finance minister of India.
First Budget of India
The first Indian Budget was presented on April 7, 1860, by Scottish economist James Wilson from the East India Company. RK Shanmukham Chetty presented independent India's first Budget on November 26, 1947.
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How long was the longest Budget speech?
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman holds the record for the longest speech for Union Budget 2020, which lasted 2 hours and 42 minutes. Her Budget speech for FY23 lasted around 1.5 hours. For the Interim Budget 2024, the finance minister has already warned not to expect any big announcements.
While Sitharam has delivered the longest budget speech in terms of time, Manmohan Singh's Union Budget of 1991-92 amounted to 18,650 words, making it the longest in those terms.
Shortest Budget speech
In 1977, Finance Minister Hirubhai Mulljibhai Patel delivered the shortest budget speech with only 800 words.
Most number of Budgets presented:
Moraji Desai holds the record for presenting the most number of budgets, presenting 10 during 1962-69 before resigning as Finance Minister in 1970. Out of the 10 Union Budget he read, eight were full budgets and two were interim budgets.
Change in Budget presentation timing
Yashwant Sinha, in 1999, shifted the budget presentation timing from 5 pm to 11 am, breaking the British-era tradition.
Also Read: As interim Budget nears, check differences between old and new tax regime
Also Read: As interim Budget nears, check differences between old and new tax regime
Budget presentation date change
Arun Jaitley changed the budget presentation date to February 1, departing from the last working day of February tradition, starting in 2017.
Language of Budget presentation
Until 1955, the Budget was presented in English. Later, the Congress-led government introduced Hindi along with English.
Paperless Budget
The Covid-19 pandemic made the 2021 and 2022 Budget paperless, with Nirmala Sitharaman opting for a traditional 'bahi-khata' instead of the briefcase.
Merger of Railway Budget
The railway budget, presented separately for 92 years, was merged into the Union Budget in 2017.
Change in printing venue
Till 1950, the Budget was printed at Rashtrapati Bhavan, later shifted to Minto Road in New Delhi. In 1980, a government press was established in the North Block.
