Interesting facts about the Union Budget-2024

The Union Budget of India has a rich history filled with intriguing facts that showcase the evolution of the country’s financial planning and presentation. Here are ten fascinating details about the Union Budget:

First Budget Presentation in India: The very first budget of India was presented on April 7, 1860, by Scottish economist James Wilson from the East India Company. This budget introduced the income tax, which remains a major source of revenue for the Indian government today.
Post-Independence First Budget: After gaining independence, India’s first budget was presented on November 26, 1947, by R K Shanmukham Chetty, who served as the finance minister at that time.
Longest Budget Speech by Duration: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman holds the record for the longest budget speech in India’s history. On February 1, 2020, while presenting the Union Budget for 2020-21, she spoke for two hours and 42 minutes. Her speech, which began at 11 am, had to be concluded with two pages left as she wasn’t feeling well. She requested the Speaker to consider the rest of her speech as read. This broke her previous record of a two-hour and 17-minute speech delivered in July 2019 during her first budget presentation.

Longest Budget Speech by Word Count: In terms of word count, Manmohan Singh holds the record with 18,650 words used during his budget speech in 1991, under the Narasimha Rao government. Arun Jaitley follows closely with a speech comprising 18,604 words in 2018, which lasted for one hour and 49 minutes.
Shortest Budget Speech: The shortest budget speech was given by Hirubhai Mulljibhai Patel, the finance minister during the Morarji Desai government in 1977. His speech was notably brief, consisting of only 800 words.
Most Budget Presentations by a Single Minister: Former Prime Minister Morarji Desai holds the record for presenting the most budget proposals in India’s history. As finance minister from 1962 to 1969, he presented ten budgets. He is followed by P Chidambaram (9), Pranab Mukherjee (8), and Yashwant Sinha (8).

Change in Budget Presentation Timing: Traditionally, the Union Budget was presented at 5 pm on the last working day of February. This practice continued until 1999 when Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government changed the timing to 11 am. Later, in 2017, Arun Jaitley moved the budget presentation date from February 28 to February 1.
Bilingual Budget Documents: Until 1955, the Union Budget was presented only in English. The Congress government decided to print the budget documents in both Hindi and English from that year onward, reflecting India’s linguistic diversity.
Digital Budget: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the budget for the fiscal year 2021-22 was entirely digital. This marked a first for independent India, showcasing a shift towards modern and accessible presentation methods.
Women Finance Ministers: After Indira Gandhi, who presented the budget for the fiscal year 1970-1971, Nirmala Sitharaman became the second woman to present the Union Budget in 2019. Her role as finance minister marks a significant milestone in the representation of women in India’s financial governance.

These facts illustrate the dynamic nature of India’s budgetary process and highlight significant milestones that have shaped the nation’s economic landscape over the years.