Some Interesting Facts About India's Budget & Finance Ministry

Indira Gandhi was the first woman to present the Union Budget in 1970-71.

Interestingly, both Indira Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru held the position of Finance Minister of India at different times.

In recent years, the government has sought public suggestions and feedback on the budget through various platforms.

The shortest Budget speech, with just 800 words, was delivered by Hirubhai Mulljibhai Patel in 1977.

Nirmala Sitharaman holds the record for the longest Budget speech at 2 hours and 40 minutes in FY 2020-21.

The first post-independence budget was presented by R.K. Shanmukham Chetty on November 26, 1947.

In 1950, budget documents were leaked from the Rashtrapati Bhavan Press. Since 1980, the Budget printing has been relocated to the basement of the North Block.

It will be a record seventh consecutive Budget presentation for Ms. Sitharaman.

In 2019, Sitharaman broke away from the colonial tradition of carrying a Gladstone box to Parliament and opted for a ‘Bahi Khata’ or cloth ledger. This was followed by a major shift to a paperless budget in 2021.