New Delhi, Jan 27: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to create history by presenting her ninth consecutive Union Budget on February 1, a feat unmatched by any other finance minister in India’s parliamentary history. The Budget is expected to outline reform measures aimed at sustaining economic growth amid global geopolitical and economic uncertainties.
With this, Sitharaman will move closer to the overall record of 10 Budgets presented by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai across different tenures. However, she will retain the unique distinction of presenting the highest number of Budgets consecutively under a single prime minister—nine straight Budgets during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tenure.
Sitharaman, appointed as India’s first full-time woman finance minister in 2019, has so far presented eight consecutive Budgets, including an interim Budget in February 2024. She continued in the role after the Modi government returned to power for a third term in 2024.
Former finance minister P. Chidambaram presented the Budget nine times across different governments, while Pranab Mukherjee presented eight Budgets. Morarji Desai holds the all-time record of 10 Budgets, delivered between 1959 and 1969 under multiple prime ministers.
Sitharaman also holds the record for the longest Budget speech, clocking two hours and 40 minutes in 2020, while the shortest Budget speech—just 800 words—was delivered by Hirubhai Mulljibhai Patel in 1977.
Since 2017, the Union Budget has been presented on February 1 at 11 am, a shift made to ensure timely parliamentary approval and implementation from the start of the new financial year on April 1. (Agencies)
