Budget 2024: 12 Interesting Facts About Indian Budgets

by priyanka roshan, july 22, 2024

First Union Budget

1.

Presented by Finance Minister R.K. Shanmukham Chetty on November 26, 1947.

(Image: PTI)

prime ministers as budget presenters

2.

Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, and Rajiv Gandhi are the only Prime Ministers to have presented a Budget.

(Image: Canva)

budget printing localization

3.

The printing of Budget documents was relocated from the United Kingdom to India in 1950.

(Image: Canva)

budget printing localization

4.

Morarji Desai holds the record with 10 budgets, including twice on his birthday, February 29, in 1964 and 1968.

(Image: PTI)

female finance minister

5.

Indira Gandhi was the first and only female Prime Minister to also present a Budget in 1970.

(Image: PTI)

first live telecast

6.

The Budget was first broadcast live in 1997 during the tenure of Finance Minister P. Chidambaram.

(Image: Canva)

change in budget presentation time

7.

Changed from 5 pm to 11 am by former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha in 1999.

(Image: PTI)

change in budget presentation date

8.

Changed from the last working day of February to February 1 in 2017 by former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

(Image: PTI)

railway budget integration

9.

Integrated into the Union Budget in 2017 for streamlined governance.

(Image: PTI)

first paperless budget

10.

Presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, 2021, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

(Image: PTI)

budget lockers

11.

Until 1950, Budget documents were stored in lockers at the Ministry of Finance. After a leak in 1950, they were moved to a press at Minto Road, New Delhi.

(Image: PTI)

budget lockers

In 1980, a temporary government office was set up in the North Block's basement.

(Image: PTI)

halwa ceremony

12.

Marks the start of the Budget printing process annually.

(Image: PTI)