In Pictures | Iconic budgets that changed India

As Union Budget 2023-24 gets closer, here is a look at some of the iconic budgets that shaped the Indian economy. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will share the nation's record of income and expenses and her fourth Union Budget on February 1.

1947 | India presented its first ever budget post-independence and made a whopping 46 per cent of the nation's total expenditure to the Defence Services Department. The budget was presented by India's first Finance Minister R K Shanmukham. Credit: Wikimedia Commons Photo

1968 | The 1968's Budget was presented by Morarji Desai abolished 'spouse allowance', and introduced the self-assessment system for all manufacturers by simplifying the assessment of goods. Credit: Wikimedia Commons Photo

1973 | Yashwantrao B Chavan submitted the 'The Black Budget' as he set aside Rs 56 crore in this budget for the nationalisation of coal mines, general insurance companies, and Indian Copper Corp. It is said that the decision had a negative influence on India's coal productivity and led to a huge reliance on imports to meet domestic demand in the years to come. Credit: PTI Photo

1991 | The Budget, often known as 'The Epochal Budget,' was given by Manmohan Singh in 1991, during the Indian economic crisis, and heralded the start of economic liberalisation. FM Manmohan Singh revamped the import-export strategy and took steps to make the Indian economy more globally competitive. Credit: PTI Photo

1997 | Finance Minister P Chidambaram made significant adjustments to lower personal and corporate income taxes and was called as the 'Dream Budget'. Credit: PTI Photo

2000 | Yashwant Sinha tabled the 'Millennium Budget' and the budget is credited with revolutionising India's Information Technology (IT) sector. Sinha scaled off Manmohan Singh's incentive for software exporters in this budget, which policy experts praised as a brave choice. Credit: PTI Photo

2003 | Under heavy criticism from the opposition, Yashwant Sinha presented the Budget which was termed as the

2019 | India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman scripting history by ditching the 'colonial' briefcase while and chose the traditional Bahi-Khata to present her maiden budget in the parliament. Credit: PTI Photo