7 Interesting facts about India's Union Budget

Let's explore some interesting facts about the India's Union Budget.

India’s first Union Budget was presented by R.K. Shanmukham Chetty on November 26, 1947.

Morarji Desai presented the budget 10 times, twice on February 29, in 1964 and 1968.

Indira Gandhi became the only woman to present the Union Budget in 1970 as Prime Minister.

The Halwa Ceremony marks the traditional start of the budget printing process every year.

Arun Jaitley moved the Budget presentation date to February 1 in 2017 for efficient policy implementation.

Nirmala Sitharaman presented India’s first paperless Budget on February 1, 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The first live broadcast of the Budget was introduced during P. Chidambaram’s tenure.

Yashwant Sinha changed the Budget presentation time from 5 PM to 11 AM in 1999, ending a colonial-era practice.

The printing of budget documents was relocated from the United Kingdom to India in 1950.

The Railway Budget was merged with the Union Budget in 2017 to streamline governance.