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The past of India’s Union Budget is efficaciously the biography of a federation successful transformation. This timeline traces the shifting centre of economical gravity done 5 decisive phases and however the ‘Briefcase’ has carried India’s destiny — from atom sacks to smartphones — successful each Finance Minister’s ain words.
Year: 1947-48 | A escaped nation
FM: R.K. Shanmukham Chetty
The superior absorption was for the federation to “consolidate into 1 unified whole,” dealing with the “setbacks resulting from partition,” and the rehabilitation of refugees. “The estimates include... a lump sum proviso of ₹22 crores for expenditure connected the evacuation, alleviation and rehabilitation of refugees from Western Pakistan.”
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Year: 1951-52 | Food security
FM: C.D. Deshmukh
The ‘Grow More Food’ run was central. The FM argued that the nutrient concern has deteriorated and arsenic a effect imports had to beryllium increased. An further 2 cardinal tons of wheat were to beryllium procured from the U.S. “Although Government are doing everything possible... the coming twelvemonth the nutrient presumption successful the state is not apt to beryllium easy.
Former Union Finance Minister, C. D. Deshmukh leaving his Chambers with the Budget Papers successful hand, connected his mode to Parliament successful New Delhi connected February 29, 1952.
Year: 1955-56 | The program era
FM: C.D. Deshmukh
The past fund of the First Five Year Plan was framed to unafraid the “orderly implementation of the Plan” and stock-taking of achievements. “The program was formulated nether hard circumstances with inflation, shortages and the similar clouding the economy. The formulation of a program was successful itself a breaking of caller ground.”
Year: 1963-64 | National security
FM: Morarji Desai
Following the Chinese aggression, the “paramount consideration” became gathering defence potential. Defence expenditure was accrued to ₹867 crore. “Can we spend not to conscionable the situation of the Chinese aggression? Would it beryllium prudent to effort and conscionable this situation by forsaking our aspirations for development?”
Year: 1970-71 | Social justice
FM: Indira Gandhi
A displacement towards reducing income disparities. “It is mostly accepted that social, economical and governmental stableness is not imaginable without the maturation of productive forces and the augmentation of nationalist wealth. Also, that specified maturation and summation successful wealthiness cannot beryllium sustained without owed respect to the payment of the weaker sections of the community.”
Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi getting acceptable to contiguous the Union Budget connected February 28, 1970. She was the archetypal pistillate FM to contiguous a Budget.
Year: 1979-80 | Rural focus
FM: Charan Singh
Eradicating poverty/unemployment by assigning “pride of place” to agriculture and agrarian development. “So agelong arsenic determination is large poorness and unemployment, peculiarly successful the agrarian areas, and agriculture has the largest imaginable for generating employment, determination tin beryllium nary fto up successful the task of cultivation improvement. Our nonsubjective should beryllium to rise productivity further.”
Former Union Finance Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh going to the Parliament House successful New Delhi with the Budget documents for presumption connected Wednesday, July 24, 1991. | Photo Credit: THE HINDU ARCHIVES
Year:1991-92 | Liberalisation
FM: Manmohan Singh
Budget was presented during a “fiscal crisis” and “balance of payments” trouble. The absorption shifted to “macro-economic stabilisation” and “structural reform” to integrate India with the world. “After 4 decades of readying for industrialisation, we person present reached a signifier wherever we should welcome, alternatively than fear, overseas investment.”
Year: 1994-95 | A modern taxation system
FM: Manmohan Singh
Focus connected restoring the wellness of the banking and phasing retired “ad hoc Treasury Bills” to fortify fiscal and monetary discipline. “We indispensable accelerate the betterment and modernisation of our taxation system... operation present projected goes a agelong mode towards the benignant of modern taxation strategy and mean taxation rates and an accent connected compliance...,”
Year: 1999-2000 | Knowledge economy
FM: Yashwant Sinha
“Jai Vigyan” became a tribute to scientists and innovators. “The clip has travel to unleash the originative imaginable of our scientists and innovators astatine writer roots level. Only past we tin marque India genuinely self-reliant and a person successful sustainable technologies. I suggest a nationalist instauration for helping innovators each implicit the country.“
Year: 2000-01 | Infotech revolution
FM: Yashwant Sinha
Acknowledged the imaginable of IT firms. “Young Indian entrepreneurs are astatine the forefront of the infotech revolution, whether successful Silicon Valley, Bangalore oregon Hyderabad. They person shown america however ideas, knowledge, entrepreneurship and exertion tin harvester to output unprecedented maturation of incomes, employment and wealth.”
Year: 2005-06 | Rural infrastructure
FM: P. Chidambaram
Launch of a concern program for agrarian infrastructure, among others. “Bharat Nirman ... has to beryllium implemented implicit a play of 4 years, for gathering infrastructure, particularly successful agrarian India. It volition person six components, namely, irrigation, roads, h2o supply, housing, agrarian electrification and agrarian telecom connectivity.”
Former Finance Minister, Mr. P. Chidambaram entering Parliament House to contiguous the Union Budget successful Parliament House successful New Delhi connected February 28, 2005. | Photo Credit: RAMESH SHARMA
Year: 2008-09 | Debt relief
FM: P. Chidambaram
A monolithic cultivation indebtedness waiver strategy was a salient talking point. “Government is conscious of the dimensions of the occupation and is delicate to the difficulties of the farming assemblage ... authorities estimates that astir 3 crore tiny and marginal farmers and astir 1 crore different farmers volition payment from the scheme.”
Year: 2014-15 | Smart Cities & Skill India
FM: Arun Jaitley
“One 100 Smart Cities” and “Skill India” to absorption connected employability and entrepreneurship. “For this it is projected to motorboat a cookware India programme ‘Digital India’ ... A National Rural Internet and Technology Mission for services successful villages and schools, grooming successful IT skills ... is besides proposed.”
Year: 2016-17 | Doubling farmers’ income
FM: Arun Jaitley
A circumstantial people was acceptable to treble the income of farmers by 2022. “Access to markets is captious for the income of farmers. The Government is implementing the Unified Agriculture Marketing Scheme which envisages a communal e-market level that volition beryllium deployed successful selected 585 regulated wholesale markets.”
Year: 2017-18 | Digital system & GST
FM: Arun Jaitley
“Digital economy” to summation velocity and transparency. “Demonetisation has beardown imaginable to make semipermanent benefits successful presumption of reduced corruption, greater digitisation of the system ... We firmly judge that demonetisation and GST ... volition person an epoch making interaction connected our economy.”
Year: 2021-22 | Health & wellbeing
FM: Nirmala Sitharaman
Following the pandemic, the fund rested connected 6 pillars, with ‘health and wellbeing’ arsenic the first. “So far, lone 3 times has a Budget followed a contraction successful the economy. All specified contractions were arsenic a effect of situations emblematic to India. This time, the contraction successful our system is owed to a planetary pandemic ...,”
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, holds a integer tablet enclosed successful a accepted ‘bahi-khata’ benignant pouch containing the paperless Union Budget 2025-26, extracurricular the Finance Ministry, successful New Delhi connected February 01, 2025 | Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
Year: 2023-24 | Seven priorities
FM: Nirmala Sitharaman
Seven priorities including Green Growth, Youth Power, and Financial Sector were established. “Our imaginativeness for the Amrit Kaal includes technology-driven and knowledge-based system with beardown nationalist finances ... To execute this, Jan Bhagidari done Sabka Saath Sabka Prayas is indispensable ...”
Year: 2024-25 | New definitions
FM: Nirmala Sitharaman
A absorption connected 4 large castes: ‘Garib’ (Poor), ‘Mahilayen’ (Women), ‘Yuva’ (Youth) and ‘Annadata’ (Farmer). A caller explanation of GDP: ‘Governance, Development and Performance’. “We judge successful empowering the poor. The earlier attack of tackling poorness done entitlements had resulted successful precise humble outcomes.”
Nivedha M is interning with The Hindu information team
