From 1st Presentation to 'Leak' That Shifted Printing Venue: Tracing Budget's History & Some Key Facts

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present her fifth consecutive Budget on February 1 for the financial year 2023-24 which begins from April 1. The much-anticipated Union Budget for this fiscal year will be presented in the Budget Session, which will be held in two parts – February 1 and 13 – and will begin with President Droupadi Murmu’s address to the joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament.

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Like the previous two, this Union Budget will also be presented in paperless form, a practice that was taken up for the 2021-22 Budget due to the Covid-19 pandemic for the first time since India’s independence.

From first being presented under the British crown to a traditional dessert attached to it, the Union Budget has history of its own and many interesting facts, some of which you’ll know below:

The First Ever Budget:

The Union Budget was presented for the first time ever under the British Crown on April 7, 1860, by Scottish economist and statesman James Wilson of the East India Company. During the first British India budget, the makers accounted for four components of the source of income – Revenue derived from property, profession, or business, securities, as well as pay and pension income. There were only two tax slabs back then.

Independent India’s First Budget

Independent India’s first Budget was presented on November 26, 1947, by RK Shanmukham Chetty, who was the Finance Minister at the time. The Union Budget was delivered at 5 pm on the last working day of February up until 1999, following British tradition.

When the Budget Presentation Timing Was Changed

Until 1999, the Union Budget was presented at 5 pm on the last working day of February as per British-era practice. Former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha in 1999 changed the budget presentation timing to 11 am.

In contrast to the colonial-era custom of presenting the Union Budget on the final working day of the month, Arun Jaitley began doing it on February 1 of 2017. The Union Budget was delivered in English up until 1955. But the Congress-led administration ultimately chose to print the Budget documents in both Hindi and English.

Budget Presented by Women Only Twice So Far

In 2019, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman became the second woman to have presented the Union Budget after Indira Gandhi, who had presented the budget for the financial year 1970-71. Indira Gandhi held the Finance portfolio when she was the prime minister in 1970-71.

Longest Ever Budget Speech

Nirmala Sitharaman holds the record for delivering the longest speech when she spoke for 2 hours and 42 minutes while presenting the Union Budget 2020-21. Two pages were still left when Sitharaman had to cut short her speech as she felt unwell and asked the Speaker to consider the remaining part of the speech as read.

Nirmala Sitharaman, in fact, that time broke her own record of July 2019 – her maiden Budget – when she had spoken for 2 hours and 17 minutes.

Shortest Budget Speech

In 1977, the Union Budget presented by the then Finance Minister Hirubhai Mulljibhai Patel was all of 800 words, making it the shortest one ever.

The Budget With the Most Words

In 1991, Manmohan Singh delivered the longest Budget speech in terms of words in 1991 under the Narasimha Rao government. The word count of that Budget speech was of 18,650.

In 2018, then finance minister Arun Jaitley’s speech with 18,604 words was the second longest in terms of word count. Jaitley spoke for 1 hour and 49 minutes.

When a ‘Leak’ Shifted Budget Printing Location

Until a leak took place in 1950, budget was printed at Rashtrapati Bhavan. However, after the budget got leaked from there the venue of printing had to be shifted to a press at Minto Road in New Delhi. In 1980, a government press was set up in the North Block – the seat of the finance ministry.

When Sitharaman Opted for ‘Bahi-Khata

In 2019, Nirmala Sitharaman did away with the traditional budget briefcase and instead went for a traditional ‘bahi-khata’ with the National Emblem to carry the speech and other documents.

Budget Goes Paperless

While the British traditions of a Finance Minister reaching Parliament to present the budget by keeping the document in a briefcase was done away by Sitharaman in 2019, the Union Budget went completely paperless in 2021, a move that was necessitated by Covid-19 pandemic.

The ‘Halwa’ Ceremony

The tradition attached with the Union Budget of making ‘halwa’ – a sweet dish made of semolina – returned after a year’s break this time with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday, January 26, stirring a ‘kadhai’ to mark the traditional event.

The ‘halwa’ ceremony, an annual ritual that heralds the Union Budget, in which the sweet dish is prepared and served to officials and staff members of the finance ministry who were involved in the preparation of the Budget.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present her fifth consecutive Budget on February 1 for the financial year 2023-24 which begins from April 1. The much-anticipated Union Budget for this fiscal year will be presented in the Budget Session, which will be held in two parts – February 1 and 13 – and will begin with President Droupadi Murmu’s address to the joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament.

Like the previous two, this Union Budget will also be presented in paperless form, a practice that was taken up for the 2021-22 Budget due to the Covid-19 pandemic for the first time since India’s independence.

From first being presented under the British crown to a traditional dessert attached to it, the Union Budget has history of its own and many interesting facts, some of which you’ll know below:

The First Ever Budget:

The Union Budget was presented for the first time ever under the British Crown on April 7, 1860, by Scottish economist and statesman James Wilson of the East India Company. During the first British India budget, the makers accounted for four components of the source of income – Revenue derived from property, profession, or business, securities, as well as pay and pension income. There were only two tax slabs back then.

Independent India’s First Budget

Independent India’s first Budget was presented on November 26, 1947, by RK Shanmukham Chetty, who was the Finance Minister at the time. The Union Budget was delivered at 5 pm on the last working day of February up until 1999, following British tradition.

When the Budget Presentation Timing Was Changed

Until 1999, the Union Budget was presented at 5 pm on the last working day of February as per British-era practice. Former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha in 1999 changed the budget presentation timing to 11 am.

In contrast to the colonial-era custom of presenting the Union Budget on the final working day of the month, Arun Jaitley began doing it on February 1 of 2017. The Union Budget was delivered in English up until 1955. But the Congress-led administration ultimately chose to print the Budget documents in both Hindi and English.

Budget Presented by Women Only Twice So Far

In 2019, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman became the second woman to have presented the Union Budget after Indira Gandhi, who had presented the budget for the financial year 1970-71. Indira Gandhi held the Finance portfolio when she was the prime minister in 1970-71.

Longest Ever Budget Speech

Nirmala Sitharaman holds the record for delivering the longest speech when she spoke for 2 hours and 42 minutes while presenting the Union Budget 2020-21. Two pages were still left when Sitharaman had to cut short her speech as she felt unwell and asked the Speaker to consider the remaining part of the speech as read.

Nirmala Sitharaman, in fact, that time broke her own record of July 2019 – her maiden Budget – when she had spoken for 2 hours and 17 minutes.

Shortest Budget Speech

In 1977, the Union Budget presented by the then Finance Minister Hirubhai Mulljibhai Patel was all of 800 words, making it the shortest one ever.

The Budget With the Most Words

In 1991, Manmohan Singh delivered the longest Budget speech in terms of words in 1991 under the Narasimha Rao government. The word count of that Budget speech was of 18,650.

In 2018, then finance minister Arun Jaitley’s speech with 18,604 words was the second longest in terms of word count. Jaitley spoke for 1 hour and 49 minutes.

When a ‘Leak’ Shifted Budget Printing Location

Until a leak took place in 1950, budget was printed at Rashtrapati Bhavan. However, after the budget got leaked from there the venue of printing had to be shifted to a press at Minto Road in New Delhi. In 1980, a government press was set up in the North Block – the seat of the finance ministry.

When Sitharaman Opted for ‘Bahi-Khata

In 2019, Nirmala Sitharaman did away with the traditional budget briefcase and instead went for a traditional ‘bahi-khata’ with the National Emblem to carry the speech and other documents.

Budget Goes Paperless

While the British traditions of a Finance Minister reaching Parliament to present the budget by keeping the document in a briefcase was done away by Sitharaman in 2019, the Union Budget went completely paperless in 2021, a move that was necessitated by Covid-19 pandemic.

The ‘Halwa’ Ceremony

The tradition attached with the Union Budget of making ‘halwa’ – a sweet dish made of semolina – returned after a year’s break this time with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday, January 26, stirring a ‘kadhai’ to mark the traditional event.

The ‘halwa’ ceremony, an annual ritual that heralds the Union Budget, in which the sweet dish is prepared and served to officials and staff members of the finance ministry who were involved in the preparation of the Budget.

Halwa ceremony is organised every year in the basement of North Block, which houses the ministry in the national capital, and is attended by the finance minister and other high-ranking officials.

The ‘halwa’ ceremony did not take last year due to Covid-19 pandemic and sweets were distributed to the core staff instead. This year, the customary ‘halwa’ ceremony, performed every year before the ‘lock-in’ process of Budget preparation begins, coincided with Republic Day.

Halwa ceremony is organised every year in the basement of North Block, which houses the ministry in the national capital, and is attended by the finance minister and other high-ranking officials.

The ‘halwa’ ceremony did not take last year due to Covid-19 pandemic and sweets were distributed to the core staff instead. This year, the customary ‘halwa’ ceremony, performed every year before the ‘lock-in’ process of Budget preparation begins, coincided with Republic Day.

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