Nirmala Sitharaman to make history with ninth consecutive budget

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman volition contiguous a grounds ninth consecutive Budget connected February 1, which is expected to incorporate betterment measures aimed astatine shoring up economical maturation amid a volatile geopolitical situation.

This volition instrumentality Ms. Sitharaman person to the grounds of 10 Budgets that were presented by erstwhile Prime Minister Morarji Desai implicit antithetic clip periods. Desai presented a full of 6 budgets during his tenure arsenic Finance Minister successful 1959-1964, and 4 Budgets betwixt 1967-1969.

Former Finance Ministers P Chidambaram and Pranab Mukherjee had presented 9 and 8 Budgets, respectively, nether antithetic Prime Ministers.

Ms. Sitharaman, however, volition proceed to clasp the grounds of presenting the astir Budgets connected the trot — 9 consecutive Budgets nether Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

She was successful 2019 appointed arsenic India's archetypal full-time pistillate Finance Minister erstwhile Prime Minister Modi won a decisive 2nd term. After Mr. Modi came backmost to powerfulness successful 2024 for the 3rd time, Ms. Sitharaman continued to clasp her concern portfolio.

So far, she has presented a full of 8 consecutive Budgets, including an interim 1 successful February 2024.

Here are immoderate facts related to the Budget presumption successful Independent India.

First Budget

The first-ever Union Budget of autarkic India was presented connected November 26, 1947, by the nation's archetypal Finance Minister, R K Shanmukham Chetty.

Most fig of Budgets

Former Prime Minister Morarji Desai holds the grounds for presenting the largest fig of Budgets. He has presented a full of 10 Budgets during his tenure arsenic Finance Minister nether Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and aboriginal nether Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri.

He presented his archetypal Budget connected February 28, 1959, and presented afloat Budgets successful the pursuing 2 years earlier presenting an interim 1 successful 1962. This was followed by 2 afloat Budgets. After 4 years, helium presented different interim Budget successful 1967, followed by 3 afloat Budgets successful 1967, 1968, and 1969, presenting a full of 10 Budgets.

Second highest fig of Budgets

Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram presented the fund connected 9 occasions. He archetypal presented the Budget connected March 19, 1996, during the United Front authorities led by Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda. He presented different Budget nether the aforesaid authorities the adjacent twelvemonth and returned to the blistery spot erstwhile the Congress-led UPA came to powerfulness successful 2009.

He presented 5 Budgets betwixt 2004 and 2008. After a stint arsenic Union Home Minister, helium was backmost successful the Finance Ministry and presented Budgets successful 2013 and 2014.

Third highest fig of Budgets

Pranab Mukherjee presented 8 Budgets during his tenure arsenic Finance Minister. He presented Budgets successful 1982, 1983 and 1984 and 5 consecutive ones betwixt February 2009 and March 2012 successful the Congress-led UPA government.

Manmohan Singh

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh presented 5 consecutive Budgets betwixt 1991 and 1995 erstwhile helium was Finance Minister successful the P.V. Narasimha Rao government.

Longest Budget speech

Ms. Sitharaman holds the grounds for the longest Budget code erstwhile her presumption connected February 1, 2020, lasted 2 hours and 40 minutes. At the time, she chopped abbreviated her code with 2 pages remaining.

Shortest Budget speech

Hirubhai Mulljibhai Patel's interim Budget code successful 1977 is truthful acold the shortest astatine conscionable 800 words.

Timing

The Budget was traditionally presented connected the past time of February astatine 5 p.m. The timing followed a assemblage epoch signifier erstwhile the announcements could beryllium made successful London and India astatine the aforesaid time. India is 4 hours and 30 minutes up of British Summer Time, and truthful presenting the fund astatine 5 p.m. successful India ensured that it was happening successful the daytime successful the United Kingdom.

The timing was changed successful 1999 erstwhile the past Finance Minister, Yashwant Sinha, successful the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, presented the fund astatine 11 am.

Since then, Budgets are presented astatine 11 a.m.

Date

The Budget presumption day was successful 2017, changed to the 1st of February to let the authorities to implicit the Parliamentary support process by March-end and let implementation of the Budget from the commencement of the fiscal connected April 1.

Presenting the Budget connected February 29 meant that the implementation could not commencement earlier May/June, aft accounting for 2-3 months of the parliamentary support process.