Union Budget 2024 | A look at some of the iconic budgets

Ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will introduce the interim budget on February 1.

As India braces for the 15th interim budget, let's take a look at some of the iconic budgets.

Independent India's first budget, 1947

Amid riots fuelled by the partition, India's first Finance Minister R K Shanmukham presented the budget on November 26, 1947. The budget was meant for just seven and a half months.

It was decided in this budget that both India and Pakistan would share the same currency till September 1948. Additionally, a whopping 46 per cent of the nation's total expenditure was devoted to the Defence Services Department.

Indian Republic's first budget, 1950-51

The then Finance Minister, John Matthai, presented the Indian Republic's first budget on February 28, 1950.

Interestingly, some details of the budget got leaked while it was still being printed at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The Planning Commission was formed following this budget and Matthai also emphasised on the need to have five-year plans.

Peoples budget, 1968-69

Presented on February 29, 1968 by Morarji Desai, this budget is lauded as the 'peoples budget'. Desai presented it at a time when the country was hit by droughts, shortage of food and inflation.

It offered relief by classifying short-term capital gains as gains arising from the sale or transfer of capital assets within 24 months of their acquisition, as opposed to the 12-month period. Additionally, 'spouse allowance' was abolished, and a self-assessment system for all manufacturers by simplifying the assessment of goods was introduced.

Desai went on to present 10 Union Budgets and holds the record for most budgets introduced by a finance minister.

Black budget, 1973-74

At a time when India was going through severe financial distress and the fiscal deficit was Rs 550 crore high, the then Finance Minister Yashwantrao B Chavan introduced the 'black budget' on February 28, 1973.

An amount of Rs 56 crore was set aside for the nationalisation of coal mines, general insurance companies, and Indian Copper Corp allowing the uninterrupted supply of coal in line with the growing demand for coal in industries like power, cement and steel.

Post emergency interim budget, 1977-78

Presented on March 28, 1977, Finance Minister Hirubhai Muljibhai Patel presented the country's smallest budget.

His speech merely consisted of 800 words.

This budget was introduced right after the end of the emergency period on March 21, 1977.

The carrot and stick budget, 1986-87

Presented by Vishwanath Pratap Singh on February 1986, this budget ended the 'license raj'. Additionally, direct taxes for companies were lowered and exemption limits for income tax were raised.

Singh introduced one of the first few indirect tax reforms, the Modified Value Added Tax (MODVAT) to lower the cascading effect of tax that consumers had to pay.

Epochal budget, 1991-92

Under the P V Narasimha Rao government, Manmohan Singh on July 24, 1991, presented the epochal budget paving the way for liberalisation in India.

While India was on the brink of an economic collapse, Singh overhauled the import-export policy, slashed customs duty from 220 per cent to 150 per cent, and promoted exports at optimal import compression.

This landmark budget introduced India's industries to the global economy.

Dream budget, 1997-98

Presented on February 28, 1997, by Finance Minister P Chidambaram, the 'dream budget' simplified the excise duty structure by slashing customs duty to 40 per cent.

A number of major tax reforms were introduced including a voluntary disclosure of income scheme to recover black money.

Additionally, the income tax rate for individuals was reduced from 40 per cent to 30 per cent and for domestic companies to 35 per cent.

Millennium budget, 2000-01

Introduced by Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, the budget promoted growth of India as a major software development hub.

India's IT industry saw massive growth when software export was introduced.