Union Budget 2025: 21 unique facts about India's budget over the decades

As Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present the Union Budget 2025 on February 1 at 11 am here are some interesting facts about Indiarsquos Union Budgets over the decades1 First Union BudgetThe first budget of independent India was presented by R K Shanmukham Chetty on November 26 1947 covering only seven and a half months August 15 1947 ndash March 31 19482 Longest Budget speechFinance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman holds the record for delivering the longest budget speech in 2020 clocking 2 hours and 42 minutes She had to cut it short due to fatigue3 Shortest Budget speechThe shortest budget speech was delivered by Hirubhai M Patel in 1977 lasting just 800 words4 Evening to morning transitionUntil 1999 the Union Budget was presented at 5 PM in adherence to British traditions Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha changed it to 11 AM to better suit Indian working hours5 Briefcase to bahikhataIn 2019 Nirmala Sitharaman replaced the traditional budget briefcase with a bahikhata ledger wrapped in red cloth signalling a shift towards Indian values6 Interim BudgetsIndia has had 13 interim budgets since independence typically presented before general elections7 Gender representationOnly two women have presented the budgetmdashIndira Gandhi as PM in 1970 and 1971 and Nirmala Sitharaman since 20198 Budget printingThe Union Budget was once printed at Rashtrapati Bhavan but was shifted to a press on Minto Road in Delhi in 1950 after a leak and in 1980 to North Block9 Independent Indias first Union BudgetFinance Minister RK Shanmukham Chetty on 26th November 1947 presented Indias first Union Budget postindependence10 Budget presentation by PMsNormally presented by the Finance Minister the Union Budget was read by the Prime Ministers too Jawaharlal Nehru in 1958 Indira Gandhi in 1970 and Rajiv Gandhi in 19878811 The Halwa ceremonyThe ceremony is a ritual in which traditional dessert halwa is prepared and served to officials and staff members of the finance ministry who are involved in the preparation of the budget12 North Block lsquolock inrsquoFinance ministry officials and staff involved in the preparation of the budget enter a lockin period wherein they stay in the basement of North Block cut off from the world to maintain the secrecy around the final document13 There was quarantine before Covid tooThe printing of several hundred copies of the budget was such an elaborate exercise that printing staff had to be quarantined inside the printing press in North Blockrsquos basement for up to two weeks14 Print to DigitalThe budget went digital with bare minimum documents printed and the bulk distribution happening via mobile app or on the website which also meant that the lockin period has become shorter to just five days from the previous one which lasted up to two weeks15 Paperless BudgetWrapped in the traditional bahikhata pouch the Finance Minister 2021 presented the firstever paperless budget using a digital tablet16 North Blockrsquos basementThe basement of North Block houses a printing press that was traditionally used to print budget documents for 40 years from 1980 to 202017 Merging of BudgetThe Railway Budget was merged with the Union Budget of India in 2017 to allow better resource allocation This ended a practice that began in 1924 when the British ruled India18 February 1The budget presentation originally used to commence on the last date of February but was moved to the first date by the Modi government in 201719 Most deliveries recordMorarji Desai holds the record for the most budgets presented by an individual which is 10 in total including two interim budgets20 The Millennium BudgetThe budget presented by Yashwant Sinha in 2000 holds a significant impact on the growth of Indias IT industry21 The Dream BudgetPresented by P Chidambaram in 1997 the lsquodream budgetrsquo was hailed for lowering the personal income tax rates