Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has set a new record by presenting her 8th consecutive Union Budget on February 01, 2025. This is the highest number of back-to-back budget presentations by any finance minister in India’s history. The Budget for the financial year 2025-26 is also the first under the Modi 3.0 government, marking another important milestone in her career.
India’s First Full-Time Woman Finance Minister
Nirmala Sitharaman became India’s first full-time woman Finance Minister in 2019 after Prime Minister Narendra Modi secured his second term. Since then, she has presented seven Union Budgets, including an interim Budget in February 2024.
Closing in on a Historic Record
With this Budget, Sitharaman moves closer to the record set by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai, who presented 10 Budgets between 1959 and 1969. Other notable finance ministers with multiple Budget presentations include:
- P. Chidambaram: 9 Budgets
- Pranab Mukherjee: 8 Budgets
- Manmohan Singh: 5 Budgets
Longest Budget Speech in History
Nirmala Sitharaman also holds the record for delivering the longest Budget speech. In 2020, her speech lasted 2 hours and 40 minutes, though she had to stop with two pages still remaining. The shortest Budget speech was given in 1977 by Hirubhai Mulljibhai Patel, which was only 800 words long.
Changes in Budget Presenting Timing
Over the years, the timing of the Budget presentation has changed:
- Until 1999: The Budget was presented at 5 PM, following British-era traditions.
- 1999 Onwards: Then Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha shifted the time to 11 AM under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.
- 2017: The Budget presentation date was moved from February 28 to February 1 to allow more time for parliamentary approval before the financial year begins on April 1.
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