Union Budget 2024 | Budget flashback | Trivia and facts

Ahead of the new Budget, let us track down its history and also have a look at some of other interesting facts associated with it.

On February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is all set to present her sixth budget.

With the country braced up for Lok Sabha polls, Sitharaman will be presenting only an interim budget for the financial year 2024-25.

It is worth recalling that independent India’s first Budget was presented on November 26, 1947 by the then finance minister R K Shanmukham Chetty. Since then the Union Budget has evolved over the years.

Here, let us track down the Union Budget’s history and heritage and also have a look at some of other interesting facts and trivia's associated with it.

First Budget: India’s first Union Budget was presented on November 26 1947 by R K Shanmukham Chetty, incidentally the country’s first finance minister in the Jawaharlal Nehru-led cabinet. The estimation of the first-ever Budget was reportedly Rs 171.15 crore and the fiscal deficit was Rs 204.59 crore.

First Woman’s Budget: Indira Gandhi did the honours when she presented the Budget for for the fiscal year 1970–1971.

Language used: Being a diverse country with no official language, English was the preferred medium for the Union Budget from 1947. But from 1955, the Budget documents are printed both in English and Hindi.

Time of presentation: As per British convention, the Budget presentation used to commence at 5 pm on the last working day of February. However from 2017, the BJP-led government decided to present the Budget at 11 am on the first working day of February. Arun Jaitley had the honour to present the first budget as per the revised time and schedule.

Shortest Budget speech: Hirubhai Mulljibhai Patel, the finance minister under Morarji Desai’s ministry spoke for just 800 words in 1977.

Longest Budget speech: The current Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, holds the record for giving the longest speech when she spoke for 2hrs and 42min on February 1, 2020, while presenting the Union Budget for 2020–21.

Maximum Budgets presented: Former Prime Minister Moraraji Desai holds the record for submitting the most budget proposals in the nation's history. During his tenure as finance minister from 1962 to 1969 (where he served under both Jawaharlal Nehru Indira Gandhi) he presented a record 10 budgets.

Digital Budget: Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the budget for 2021–22 financial year was made entirely digital — the first paperless Budget of independent India.