FM Nirmala Sitharaman Set to Make History with Seventh Consecutive Union Budget Presentation

Kumar Rakesh
New Delhi, 22nd July. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is poised to create history today as she presents the Union Budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 in Parliament. This Budget will mark her seventh consecutive budget presentation, surpassing the record of former Prime Minister Morarji Desai, who presented five full budgets and one interim budget between 1959 and 1964.

Sitharaman’s Historic Tenure

Appointed as India’s first full-time woman finance minister in 2019 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sitharaman has consistently managed the country’s financial planning, including the interim budget earlier this year. With her seventh budget presentation, Sitharaman will surpass Desai’s record and solidify her place in history.

Notable Budget Facts and Figures

First Budget: India’s inaugural Union Budget was presented on November 26, 1947, by RK Shanmukham Chetty, the country’s first finance minister.

Most Number of Budgets: Morarji Desai holds the record for the most number of budgets delivered, with ten budgets presented from 1959 to 1969 under Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Lal Bahadur Shastri.

Second Highest Number of Budgets: P. Chidambaram, known for his significant role in finance, has presented nine budgets from 1996 to 2014.

Third Highest Number of Budgets: Pranab Mukherjee unveiled eight budgets from 1982 to 2012, spanning across different political eras.

Manmohan Singh’s Contribution: Manmohan Singh, who later became Prime Minister, presented five consecutive budgets from 1991 to 1995 under the P.V. Narasimha Rao government.

Records and Traditions

Longest Budget Speech: Nirmala Sitharaman holds the record for the longest budget speech, which lasted two hours and 40 minutes on February 1, 2020.

Shortest Budget Speech: The shortest budget speech was delivered by Hirubhai Mulljibhai Patel in 1977, totaling just 800 words.

Timing of Presentation: Traditionally, the Budget was presented on the last day of February at 5 pm, aligning with London time. This practice was changed in 1999 to 11 am by Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha. Since 2017, the Budget announcement date was shifted to February 1 to streamline parliamentary approvals and implementation.

As Finance Minister Sitharaman prepares to present her seventh budget, the financial and historical significance of her tenure highlights the evolving landscape of India’s economic governance.