New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is gearing up to unveil a "paperless" budget for the third consecutive year on February 1 in the Lok Sabha. The move to a digital presentation of the budget began in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, marking the first-ever paperless budget in independent India. Interestingly, the upcoming interim budget for 2024, like the other general budgets, will too be paperless, and the first ever interim budget to go digital.


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Meanwhile, days before the Interim Buget is being presented, there is some really fascinating tidbit regarding the complete financial excersise! Today, let's dive into some historical trivia concerning the Budget! Ever wondered who holds the record for presenting the budget the most number of times? Enter Morarji Desai, the former Finance Minister, who delivered the budget a whopping 10 times. Notably, he presented it on his birthday twice, both falling on leap years—talk about a unique coincidence!


Shifting gears to a change in tradition, before 1999, the Union Budget was unveiled at 5 pm on the last working day of February, following a British-era practice. However, former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha shook things up by moving the budget presentation to 11 am in the same year.


Breaking Gender Barriers In Budget


Breaking gender barriers, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who also served as Finance Minister, became the first woman to present a budget in India. Fast forward to 2019, and Nirmala Sitharaman followed suit as the second woman to take on this significant role. Sitharaman also holds the record of presenting 5 Budgets to her kitty, which is also her fifth straight Budget since 2019.


Highest Number Of Budget Presentations


For those curious about the budget veterans, here's a quick rundown: Morarji Desai leads with 10 budgets, followed by P Chidambram with 9, Pranab Mukherjee with 8, Yashwant Sinha, YB Chawan, and CD Deshmukh with 7 each, and notable figures like Manmohan Singh and Arun Jaitley with 6 and 5 budgets, respectively, each turn speaking volumes about the fiscal excercise. Quite a journey through the budgetary history of India!


Conventions Of Interim Budget


Also, as per the convention, the government does not introduce any new service, nor does it bring Finance Bill or present the Economic Survey in an Interim Budget. The incoming government has the freedom to change the estimates in the Interim Budget when it presents the final budget after taking office. However incumbent governments in the country have generally followed the convention of avoiding major policy announcements or taxation proposals in the Interim Budget.