As Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presents the Union Budget 2025-26 on Saturday (Feb 1 ), here's a glimpse into the fascinating history and traditions that surround the momentous annual occasion for Indian economy.

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India's First Budget

James Wilson, a Scottish economist, presented India’s first budget on April 7, 1860. The first annual budget post-Independence was presented by R K Shanmukham Chetty on February 28, 1948.

Prime Ministers Presenting the Budget

Though finance ministers typically present the budget, prime ministers have also stepped in on occasions, such as in 1958, 1970, and 1987, when they presented the budget after the finance ministers at the time resigned.

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The Concept of the Union Budget

The idea of a Union Budget was introduced by Prof Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis, an Indian statistician who played a key role in shaping India’s financial policies.

Shortest and Longest Budget Speeches

The shortest budget speech was by Hirubhai Mulljibhai Patel in 1977, with only 800 words. The longest speech, lasting 2 hours and 42 minutes, was delivered by Nirmala Sitharaman in 2020.

Longest Word Count Speech

The budget speech with the most words was by Manmohan Singh in 1991, containing over 18,600 words. Arun Jaitley presented the second-longest speech with around 18,604 words.

Photo Credit : AFP

The Halwa Ceremony

A fun pre-budget tradition, the ‘Halwa Ceremony’ involves preparing and serving a special sweet dish, Halwa, to all officials involved in drafting the budget. It marks the beginning of the budget document printing process.

Photo Credit : ANI