Union Budget 2024: Nirmala Sitharaman Set To Make History With Record 7th Consecutive Budget

As India prepares for the presentation of the Union Budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 on July 23, all eyes are on Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who is poised to make history with her seventh consecutive Budget.

This year's Budget holds particular significance as it follows an interim Budget presented in February, adhering to the protocol that restricts a full Budget announcement just before general elections.

The forthcoming Budget marks the first major financial policy statement by the BJP-led NDA government since its re-election last month.

Here are nine important facts about the Union Budget and its historical context in independent India:

1. First Budget: The inaugural Union Budget of independent India was presented on November 26, 1947, by the nation's first finance minister, RK Shanmukham Chetty.

2. Most Budgets Presented: Former Prime Minister Morarji Desai holds the record for presenting the highest number of budgets, totalling 10 during his tenure as Finance Minister under Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Lal Bahadur Shastri.

3. Second Highest Number Of Budgets: P Chidambaram, former finance minister, presented the budget on nine occasions, spanning various governments and economic contexts.

4. Third Highest Number Of Budgets: Pranab Mukherjee, another former finance minister, presented eight budgets during his tenure, including five consecutive ones from 2009 to 2012.

5. Manmohan Singh's Tenure: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, known for his economic reforms, presented five consecutive budgets between 1991 and 1995.

6. Longest Budget Speech: Nirmala Sitharaman holds the record for delivering the longest budget speech, lasting two hours and forty minutes during her presentation on February 1, 2020.

7. Shortest Budget Speech: The shortest interim Budget speech was delivered by Hirubhai Mulljibhai Patel in 1977, totalling just 800 words.

8. Timing Change: Traditionally presented at 5 pm on the last day of February to align with colonial-era practices, the Budget timing was changed to 11 am in 1999 during Yashwant Sinha's tenure as finance minister.

9. Shift to February 1: In 2017, the Budget presentation date was shifted to February 1 to expedite the parliamentary approval process and facilitate budget implementation from the start of the fiscal year on April 1.