9th Budget In A Row For Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance Minister Nears Morarji Desai’s Historic Union Budget Record

New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to script history when she presents the Union Budget on February 1, marking her ninth consecutive budget. The presentation comes at a time when India is navigating global geopolitical uncertainty and domestic growth priorities. The Budget is expected to outline reform measures aimed at sustaining economic momentum while managing fiscal pressures.

This milestone places Sitharaman just one short of the all-time record of 10 budgets presented by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai over multiple tenures as finance minister.

A Record Run Under Prime Minister Modi

Sitharaman already holds a unique distinction-she is the only finance minister to present nine budgets consecutively under the same prime minister. Appointed in 2019 after Prime Minister Narendra Modi secured a second term, she became India’s first full-time woman finance minister. She retained the finance portfolio even after Modi returned to power for a third term in 2024.

So far, Sitharaman has presented eight budgets in a row, including the interim Budget in February 2024.

Who Holds the All-Time Budget Records?

Morarji Desai remains the finance minister with the highest number of budget presentations-10 in total. He delivered six budgets between 1959 and 1964 and four more between 1967 and 1969 under Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Lal Bahadur Shastri.

P Chidambaram ranks second, having presented nine budgets across multiple stints, while Pranab Mukherjee follows with eight. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh presented five consecutive budgets between 1991 and 1995 during the landmark reform years.

Budget Traditions and Key Milestones

Independent India’s first Union Budget was presented on November 26, 1947, by R K Shanmukham Chetty. Sitharaman also holds the record for the longest Budget speech—two hours and 40 minutes in 2020—while the shortest was delivered by Hirubhai Mulljibhai Patel in 1977.

How Budget Timing and Dates Changed?

The Union Budget was traditionally presented at 5 pm on the last working day of February, a colonial-era practice aligned with London timings. This changed in 1999 when Yashwant Sinha shifted it to 11 am. In 2017, the date was advanced to February 1 to ensure timely implementation from April 1.