February 1st marks the day Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presents the interim budget for FY2024-25 to the Parliament, an important date every year. Each budget sets the course for the economic status and development of India while ensuring social justice and equality for all its people.
On the eve of this year’s budget, let’s look back at some of the most iconic moments of the Indian budget.
NUMBER 6: THE FIRST BUDGET
Indian budget history have the legacy from back on April 7, 1860, when India was still under the British Raj, a Scottish economist by the name of James Wilson presented India’s first-ever budget. Although criticized for not considering India’s then economic troubles, the budget laid down many first, including the income tax system, something that we still have today.
NUMBER 5: A NEW NATION AWAKES
November 26 1947, R K Shanmukham Chetty, the then Union Finance Minister of the country had tabled Independent India’s first budget.
NUMBER 4: LONGEST BUDGET SPEECH
Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman gave the longest budget speech reaching a record 2 hours 42 minutes on the first of February 2020.
NUMBER 3: GOING DIGITAL
The 2020-21 budget was the first budget in Indian history to have been completely digital due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.
NUMBER 2: ENGLISH + HINDI
In 1995 India published the budget in English and Hindi for the first time, C. D. Deshmukh was the then Union Finance Minister of the country. Until that year the budget documents were published only in English.
NUMBER 1: THE START OF A NEW AGE
July 24 1991, India is on the brink of Bankruptcy, Prime Minster P V Narasimha Rao and Union Finance Minister Doctor Manmohan Singh presented the country with the epochal budget.
The budget completely overhauled the Indian economy, slashing custom duties down to 150% from 220% and promoted exports from India. This is considered as one of if not the most important and significant budget of independent India without it the country could have collapsed and wouldn’t have seen the growth still maintained till today.
CONCLUSION
The Union Budget 2024 is a crucial day for India; every aspect of the Indian economy is shaped by this one day. This is the day the government lays down their financial plans for the development of the country and how they are going to achieve it while ensuring social justice and equality for all Indians.
