Interesting Facts to Know Ahead of Union Budget 2024

Every year, on February 1, the Finance Minister unveils a fiscal roadmap for the new fiscal year, addressing immediate needs and laying the groundwork for long-term sustainability. The Budget also outlines the Central government's growth aspirations, financial strategy, and other priorities. 

In previous years, when the Finance Minister presented the Union Budget in Parliament on February 1, people eagerly anticipated the announcement of various measures. This year, however, since the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, on February 1, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented an Interim Budget on the same day, she will be presenting the Full Budget for fiscal year 2024–25.

Here are a few facts to know ahead of the 2024 Union Budget

First Budget

On April 7, 1860, Scottish economist James Wilson, an employee of the East India Company, presented India's first budget. Income tax was first included in the budget at that time, and it is now one of the key sources of funding for the national government. Post-independence, the inaugural Budget of the country was submitted by RK Shanmukham Chetty, the then finance minister, on November 26, 1947.
 

Maximum Budget proposals

With ten budget proposals during his time as finance minister from 1962 to 1969, former prime minister Moraraji Desai presently holds the record. P Chidambaram comes in second with nine, Pranab Mukherjee comes in eighth, and Yashwant Sinha comes in eighth.
 

'Bahi Khata' to Paperless 

In 2019, Sitharaman decided to switch from the renowned Budget briefcase to a Bahi Khata, or cloth ledger. With this decision, the colonial custom of British finance ministers bringing a 'Gladstone Box' to Parliament was abandoned. Later on, the significant move towards a paperless Budget marked a major technological shift in 2021.
 

Budget ‘Leaked’

The Budget papers were leaked in 1950 from the Rashtrapati Bhavan Press, where they used to be produced. According to reports, John Mathai, the Finance Minister at the time, was charged with advancing the agendas of influential individuals. Afterward, he left his position. 1980 saw the relocation of the Budget printing process to the North Block's basement. As of right now, it is still there.
 

Budget Time and Date - H3

Back in 1999, the budget was introduced in parliament at 5:00 p.m. on the final business day of February. However, Yashwant Sinha, the finance minister at the time, moved the timetable to 11 am that year. Also, former minister Arun Jaitley rescheduled the presentation for February 1 of that year.

Budget Shortest and Longest Speech

At present, Nirmala Sitharaman holds the record for the longest Budget Speech. She talked for two hours and 40 minutes when delivering the Budget for FY 2020-21. Afterward, she had to end her speech early.

But as of right now, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh holds the record for the longest budget address in words. His 1991 Budget Address was 18,604 words long.

However, the shortest budget speech ever was Hirubhai Mulljibhai Patel's 1977 Interim Budget, which weighed in at just 800 words.

Hindi and English Printing

The Union Budget was only printed in English until 1955. However, this age-old practice was altered during the 1955-56 Budget presentation by then-finance minister CD Deshmukh.

He was the one who initiated the practice of printing the Budget-related documents in both English as well as Hindi. 

Railway Budget Merged

In 2016, the central government made a big decision to merge the Railway Budget with the Union Budget. The then finance minister, late Arun Jaitley, presented the first combined Budget for the fiscal year 2017-18.

India's annual budget presentation is a moment of economic significance, as it provides a budgetary framework for the upcoming fiscal year. Expectations are high when the finance minister speaks to the nation. The markets respond immediately, businesses analyse the ramifications, and the public awaits actions that will affect their day-to-day life.