Budget 2024 | A look at colonial India's first budget

India's first ever budget was presented on April 7, 1860, by a Scotsman named James Wilson. Income tax, which is a major source of revenue for the government even now, was introduced in the budget.

Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will introduce interim budget on February 1.

This will be the 15th interim budget of Independent India. However, the history of Indian budget dates back to the colonial era.

Here is a primer on how India's first ever budget came into existence. Scottish businessman, James Wilson, presented the very first Indian Budget on February 18, 1869. However, the concept of a budget for India had already been introduced on April 7, 1860, two years after the transfer of administration from the East India Company to the British crown.

Who introduced the first budget?

Founder of The Economist newspaper and former British parliamentarian, James Wilson presented India's first ever budget.

After the first war of independence in 1857, Wilson left his parliamentary seat in Britain and was sent to India by Queen Victoria to remodel India's finance structure, establish a tax structure and introduce a new paper currency.

What did Wilson introduce in the budget

James Wilson introduced income tax, which is a major source of revenue for the government even now.

In the book titled the The Financial Foundation of The British Raj by Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, it has been said that when Wilson came to India, authorities were 'toying' with the idea of direct taxes. A license tax bill was to be introduced but it was not in the 'right shape'.

Upon his arrival, Wilson scrapped the said bill and introduced two new bills — income tax and license bill — separately.

In his financial statement, he announced that people with annual income below Rs 200 would be exempt from filling taxes.

In order to ascertain the progress of monthly expenditure accounts, an appropriation audit based on the English model was introduced.

As India's first ever finance officer, James Wilson was expected to solve post-mutiny financial problems in the subcontinent but he died of dysentery in Kolkata in August, the same year he introduced the first budget.