Union Budget 2025-26 : Fascinating Facts And Historic Milestones Of Indian Budget

The Union Budget is set to be presented in Parliament at 11 am on Saturday, February 1 by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the first full-time female finance minister of India. This upcoming budget marks her eighth consecutive Budget speech, marking the second full budget of Modi 3.0.

The Indian Budget is a crucial financial moment for the government, shaping the nation's financial structure and economic policies. As we wait for this year's Budget, let us look at some fascinating facts about India's Union Budget.

First Pre-Independent Indian Budget

The concept of Budget was introduced on April 7, 1860, following the transfer of administration from the East India Company to the British crown.

James Wilson, a Scottish economist and the then Finance Minister of India under the British rule, was entrusted with presenting the very first Indian Budget on February 18, 1869, with more focus on tax structure to raise funds for the British Government.

First Post-Independence Indian Budget

After gaining independence, the first Indian Budget was presented by Finance Minister RK Shanmukham Chetty on November 26, 1947. It was an interim budget, covering a period of 7.5 months until March 31, 1948, mainly aimed at stabilizing the nation's economy after the Partition.

Record-Breaking Budget Presentations

Morarji Desai holds the record for presenting the maximum number of ten Budgets during his tenure. The current Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, with Union Budget 2025-26, will create a historic record of presenting eight consecutive budgets under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Notably, former finance ministers P Chidambaram and Pranab Mukherjee, presented 9 and 8 budgets respectively, under different Prime Ministers.

Budgets Presented By Prime Ministers

Though Finance Minister is responsible for presenting Union Budget, there are certain instances in our Indian history when the Prime Ministers took up the task.

Pandit Jawaharlal Lal Nehru was the first Prime Minister to present the budget in 1958 after the resignation of Finance Minister, Mr TT Krishnamachari.

Similarly, in 1970, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi presented the budget when the Finance Minister Morarji Desai resigned. In 1987-88, the then Prime Minister, Mr Rajiv Gandhi, presented the budget following the resignation of the Finance Minister VP Singh.

Budget Speech Duration

The title for the longest budget speech is held by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in 2020, when she delivered a budget announcement of 2 hours 40 minutes, whereas the shortest budget speech was delivered by Finance Minister Hirubhai Mulljibhai Patel in 1977, consisting of merely 800 words.

Halwa Ceremony

It is a traditional ceremony held ten days before the presentation of Union Budget. Halwa, a sweet Indian dish, is prepared and served to the officials under the finance ministry, who are involved in the budget preparation.

Railway Budget

Earlier, Railway Budget and the Union Budget were presented separately. However, the tradition was ended in 2017, when both the budgets were merged.

Budget In Two Languages

Till 1955, the Union Budget was presented in English language only. The decision to print the Budget in two languages - English and Hindi was taken in 1955-56.

Budget Time

During British rule, the Union Budgets were presented at 5 pm in India in order to table the same in the British Parliament in London. However, in 1999 the Budget timing was changed to 11am by the then Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha.