Budget 2023: Did You Know Who Presented the First Indian Budget? History and Interesting Facts

UNION BUDGET 2023: Do you know when and by whom the Independent India’s first Union budget was presented? It was on November 26, 1947, when independent India’s first union budget was presented by RK Shanmukham Chetty, who served as the Finance Minister at the time. About 46 per cent of the Budget amounting to Rs 92.74 crore was allocated to defence.

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The Union Budget was delivered at 5 o’clock on the final business day of February up until 1999, following British tradition. The timing of the budget presentation was adjusted to 11 am in 1999 by the late Yashwant Sinha, the finance minister.

UNION BUDGET: HISTORY

However, the Union Budget was first presented to 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, were taken into account. There were only two tax slabs back then.

A person paid a two per cent tax if their annual income was less than Rs 500. While income over Rs 500 was subject to 4% tax. Accordingly, those with incomes of less than Rs 500 had to pay 10 taxes, while those with higher incomes had to pay 20 taxes.

Do you know the man who introduced paper money to our country?

None other than James Wilson.

WHY ON FEBRUARY 1?

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.

The Covid-19 outbreak eliminated paper from the budget for 2021–2022, a first for Independent India. After Indira Gandhi, Nirmala Sitaraman is the second woman in Indian history to present the union budget.

UNION BUDGET: INTERESTING FACTS

1. The term Budget has been derived from the French word ‘Bougette’ which translates to ‘small bag’.
2. The first Union Budget of India was introduced on April 7, 1860 by the East India Company to the British Crown. It was presented by James Wilson, a Scottish Economist.
3. The Budget did not have the word ‘infrastructure’ until it was introduced in the 1900s.
4. The first Budget of independent India was introduced on November 26, 1947. It was presented by R.K. Shanukham Chetty, India’s first Finance Minister.
5. The Budget was printed in English language only until 1955. Since 1955-56, it has been printed in English and Hindi both.
6. Former prime minister Indira Gandhi was the first woman in India’s history to present the Budget in FY 1970-71. Nirmala Sitharaman became the first full-time woman Finance Minister to present the Budget in 2019.
7. Former Finance Minister Moraji Desai holds the record for presenting the maximum number of Budgets, having done it on 10 occasions.
8. In 2017, the Rail Budget was merged into the Union Budget for the first time. The changes were introduced by former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
9. The record for delivering the longest Budget speech is held by late Arun Jaitely. He gave a 2.5 hours long Budget speech in 2014.

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