1860 to 2023: Here's how India's Budget Has Evolved Through the Years

The Interim Budget 2024 will be tabled in the Parliament by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today. Ahead of the D-Day, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that this budget is unlikely to see any big bang announcements. Sitharaman did not present the Economic Survey today as this is not a full budget. 

 

James Wilson, a Scottish economist working with the East India Company, presented India's first interim budget in 1860 during the British era.

In 1947, RK Shanmukham Chetty presented India's inaugural interim budget which addressed critical issues like food grain scarcity, surging imports, and rampant inflation.

Union Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, in 2001, shifted the announcement time of the Budget from 5:00 pm to 11 am, breaking a colonial tradition.

Till 2016, the Budget used to be presented on the last working day of February.

In 2019, Nirmala Sitharaman changed the visual narrative of the budget, replacing the traditional briefcase with a 'bahi khata'.

The move towards a paperless budget marked a significant technological shift in 2021.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has delivered the longest budget speech in India's history in 2020- two hours and 42 minutes. The speech, however, fell short of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's word count record.

In 1950, the Union Budget was leaked during Finance Minister John Mathai's tenure.

After 1980, the budget printing process was moved from Rashtrapati Bhawan to Minto Road.

The shift to bilingual presentation occurred in 1955-56, with budgets being printed in both English and Hindi.