Finance Ministers of India
Finance Ministers of India: The Finance Minister of India is in charge of the Ministry of Finance under the Government of India. The Ministry of Finance is one the senior-most offices in the Union Cabinet and the Finance Minister of India is the head of the ministry.
The key duties of the Finance Ministers of India include managing the government’s fiscal policies and being responsible for formulating and presenting the annual Union Budget to Parliament. The inaugural Finance Minister of India, R. K. Shanmukham Chetty, was responsible for delivering India’s first budget.
First Finance Minister of India
R.K. Shanmukham Chetty was India’s inaugural Finance Minister, serving in Jawaharlal Nehru’s cabinet from 1947 to 1949. His primary responsibility entailed crafting the nation’s first budget and steering its economic policies. As the pioneer in this role, Chetty played a pivotal part in laying the groundwork for India’s fiscal management and economic strategy during its early years of independence.
Current Finance Minister of IndiaÂ
Nirmala Sitharaman has been serving as the Finance Minister of India since her appointment on May 31, 2019, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration. She presented her inaugural Union Budget on July 5, 2019. Under her leadership, the Ministry of Finance has incorporated the Department of Public Enterprises, reflecting the government’s initiative towards privatization and enhanced fiscal management of government-owned corporations.
List of Finance Ministers of India
Finance Minister | Term of Office (Start) | Term of Office (End) | Prime Minister |
Liaquat Ali Khan | 29 Oct 1946 | 14 Aug 1947 | Jawaharlal Nehru |
R. K. Shanmukham Chetty | 15 Aug 1947 | 17 Aug 1948 | Jawaharlal Nehru |
John Mathai | 22 Sep 1948 | 26 Jan 1950 | |
26 Jan 1950 | 06 May 1950 | ||
06 May 1950 | 01-Jun 1950 | ||
C. D. Deshmukh | 01 Jun 1950 | 13 May 1952 | |
13 May 1952 | 01 Aug 1956 | ||
Jawaharlal Nehru | 01 Aug 56 | 30 Aug 1956 | |
T. T. Krishnamachari | 30 Aug 1956 | 17 Apr 1957 | |
17 Apr 1957 | 14 Feb 1958 | ||
Jawaharlal Nehru | 14 Feb 1958 | 22 Mar 1958 | |
Morarji Desai | 22 Mar 1958 | 10 Apr 1962 | |
10 Apr 1962 | 31 Aug 1963 | ||
T. T. Krishnamachari | 31 Aug 1963 | 31 Dec 1965 | Jawaharlal Nehru |
Lal Bahadur Shastri | |||
Sachindra Chaudhuri | 01 Jan 1966 | 11 Jan 1966 | Lal Bahadur Shastri |
11 Jan 1966 | 24 Jan 1966 | Indira Gandhi | |
24 Jan 1966 | 13 Mar 1967 | ||
Morarji Desai | 13 Mar 1967 | 16 Jul 1969 | Indira Gandhi |
Indira Gandhi | 16 Jul 1969 | 27 Jun 1970 | |
Yashwantrao B. Chavan | 27 Jun 1970 | 18 Mar 1971 | |
18 Mar 1971 | 10 Oct 1974 | ||
Chidambaram Subramaniam | 10 Oct 1974 | 24 Mar 1977 | |
Haribhai M. Patel | 26 Mar 1977 | 24 Jan 1979 | Morarji Desai |
Charan Singh | 24 Jan 1979 | 16 Jul 1979 | |
Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna | 28 Jul 1979 | 19 Oct 1979 | Charan Singh |
R. Venkataraman | 14 Jan 1980 | 15 Jan 1982 | Indira Gandhi |
Pranab Mukherjee | 15 Jan 1982 | 31 Oct 1984 | |
31 Oct 1984 | 31 Dec 1984 | ||
V. P. Singh | 31 Dec 1984 | 14 Jan 1985 | Rajiv Gandhi |
14 Jan 1985 | 30 Mar 1985 | ||
30 Mar 1985 | 25 Sep 1985 | ||
25 Sep 1985 | 24 Jan 1987 | ||
Rajiv Gandhi | 24 Jan 1987 | 25 Jul 1987 | |
N. D. Tiwari | 25 Jul 1987 | 25 Jun 1988 | |
Shankarrao B. Chavan | 25 Jun 1988 | 02 Dec 1989 | |
Madhu Dandavate | 05 Dec 1989 | 10 Nov 1990 | V. P. Singh |
Yashwant Sinha | 21 Nov 1990 | 21 Jun 1991 | Chandra Shekhar |
Manmohan Singh | 21 Jun 1991 | 16 May 1996 | P. V. Narasimha Rao |
Jaswant Singh | 16 May 1996 | 01 Jun 1996 | Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
P. Chidambaram | 01 Jun 1996 | 21 Apr 1997 | H. D. Deve Gowda |
I.K. Gujral | 21 Apr 1997 | 01 May 1997 | I. K. Gujral |
P. Chidambaram | 01 May 1997 | 19 Mar 1998 | |
Yashwant Sinha | 19 Mar 1998 | 13 Oct 1999 | Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
13 Oct 1999 | 01 Jul 2002 | ||
Jaswant Singh | 01 Jul 2002 | 22 May 2004 | |
P. Chidambaram | 23 May 2004 | 30 Nov 2008 | Manmohan Singh |
Manmohan Singh | 30 Nov 2008 | 24 Jan 2009 | |
Pranab Mukherjee | 24 Jan 2009 | 22 May 2009 | |
23 May 2009 | 26 Jun 2012 | ||
Manmohan Singh | 26 Jun 2012 | 31 Jul 2012 | |
P. Chidambaram | 31 Jul 2012 | 26 May 2014 | |
Arun Jaitley | 26 May 2014 | 30 May 2019 | Narendra Modi |
Nirmala Sitharaman | 31 May 2019 | Incumbent | Narendra Modi |
Functions of Finance Minister
Here are the functions of finance minister of India:
- Formulating annual budgets and economic policies.
- Managing public finances and expenditures.
- Overseeing fiscal policies and taxation reforms.
- Monitoring financial stability and economic growth.
- Representing India in international financial institutions and negotiations.
- Directing financial institutions and regulatory bodies.
- Addressing issues related to banking, insurance, and capital markets.
- Facilitating foreign investments and trade policies.
- Presenting the Union Budget in Parliament and defending financial decisions.