Budget 2026: 10 Interesting Facts About India's Union Budget You Probably Didn't Know

The Union Budget 2026 is just around the corner. India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Budget for the ninth consecutive time, on 1st February 2026.

While it remains to be seen what this year’s Budget has in store for India’s 1.4 billion people, let us bring to you some really interesting facts around the history of India’s Union Budget.

10 Interesting Facts About Union Budget 2026

1. A Scottish Presented India's First-Ever Budget

Most of you might be assuming that it must have been an Indian who would have presented the first ever Budget. But you’ll be surprised to know that it was actually a Scottish man named James Wilson who presented the first ever Budget of India in the year 1860¹. On April 7th, 1860, India’s first pre-independence Budget was presented by Wilson, who was the British Finance Minister at that time.

2. Most Number Of Budget Presentations

While the Union Budget 2026 will be Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's ninth consecutive Budget presentation since 2019, the most number of Budgets presented as India's FM is a record that remains with the country's Former Prime Minister Morarji Desai, who had presented it ten times².

3. 1973’s Budget Was Called The 'black Budget’

The Union Budget of 28th February, 1973, which was presented by India’s then Finance Minister Yashwantrao B Chavan, under the leadership of PM Indira Gandhi, is widely regarded as a ‘Black Budget’. This is because the country’s fiscal deficit (difference between govt’s total income and total expenditure) during that year was Rs 550 crore³. India was going through financial stress during that period, after the 1971 India-Pakistan war and the 1972 drought.⁴

4. India’s First And Only Full Time Female Finance Minister

India’s current Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is the first full-time female Finance Minister of India. While India’s former PM Indira Gandhi had briefly taken over the role of Finance Minister and presented the Budget in 1970 after Morarji Desai resigned in 1969, it was not a full-time role⁵. 

After nearly one year (16 July 1969- 27 June 1970) as the Finance Minister, Gandhi assigned the role to Yashwantrao B. Chavan.

So, while Sitharaman is not the first female Finance Minister to present the Budget, since Indira Gandhi did so in 1970, Sitharaman is the first full time female Finance Minister to do so.

5. Budget’s Date And Time Was Not Always 1st February

Until 1999, the Union Budget used to be presented at 5 pm on the last working day of February. Then in 1999, former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha changed the Union Budget presentation timing to 11 am instead of 5 pm⁶. Then in 2017, the then FM Arun Jaitley began presenting the Union Budget on February 1st, breaking away from the colonial-era tradition of using the last working day of February as the day of the Union Budget presentation.

6. Longest Ever Budget Speech 

On 1st February 2020, India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman broke the record for the longest budget speech in India's history⁷. Spanning over 2 hours and 42 minutes, that speech could not be finished, as FM Sitharaman began feeling unwell towards the end and had to cut short the speech, with two pages still remaining⁸.

7. The 'dream' Budget Of 1997

Presented by the then Finance Minister P Chidambaram, 1997’s Union Budget is regarded as the 'Dream Budget', because it laid the road map for big reforms. From lowering the maximum marginal income tax rate for individuals from 40% to 30%, slashing the customs duty from 50% to 40%, to simplification of excise duty structure, 1997’s Budget announced many key reforms⁹.

8. Railway Budget Used To Be A Separate Budget Until 2016

Until the year 2016, the Railway Budget used to be presented separately, usually a few days before the Union Budget. But from 2017 onwards, the government decided to merge the Railway Budget with the Union Budget¹⁰.

The last separate Railway Budget was presented by the then Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on February 25, 2016. Just a few days after that, the 2016 Union Budget was presented by the then Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on February 29, 2016.

9. The 'carrot And Stick' Budget Of 1986

On February 28th 1986, the Union Budget was presented by VP Singh under the Congress government. It was called the ‘Carrot and Stick’ Budget because it offered both rewards and punishment, such as introduction of MODVAT (Modified Value Added Tax) credit for lowering the cascading effect of tax that consumers had to pay, and the launch of an intense drive against tax evaders, smugglers and black marketers¹¹.

10. Three Prime Ministers Have Presented The Budget

Three of India’s Prime Ministers have till date presented the Union Budget during their tenure after taking over the role of Finance Minister for a brief period¹². India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had presented the Union Budget in 1958 after the resignation of T.T. Krishnamachari. 

Then in 1970, India’s then PM Indira Gandhi had presented the Union Budget after Morarji Desai resigned in 1969. Then in 1987, India’s then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi presented the Union Budget after his Finance Minister, V.P. Singh, resigned.

Also Read:  List Of Finance Ministers Of India

FAQs

1. Why does the Union Budget matter so much for individuals and businesses?
The Union Budget shapes how money flows through the economy for the entire year. It influences income tax slabs, GST and customs duties, subsidies, government borrowing, welfare schemes, and infrastructure spending. For individuals, it affects take-home income, savings, and cost of living. For businesses, it impacts compliance costs, profitability, demand conditions, and investment sentiment. In short, it sets the economic tone for the year ahead.

2. How is the Union Budget prepared before it is presented in Parliament?
Budget preparation is a long, multi-month process involving consultations with ministries, state governments, industry bodies, economists, and regulators. Revenue projections, expenditure needs, fiscal deficit targets, and macroeconomic assumptions are carefully balanced. Confidentiality is strictly maintained until Budget Day, traditionally marked by the halwa ceremony, after which officials involved in drafting remain in isolation to prevent leaks.

3. Do historic Union Budgets still influence today’s economic policies?
Yes, many structural reforms announced in past Budgets continue to shape India’s economy today. Measures like tax rationalisation, MODVAT (which later evolved into GST), fiscal discipline frameworks, and disinvestment policies all began as Budget proposals. Studying historic Budgets helps explain why current tax structures, spending priorities, and reform debates look the way they do today.

References:

1. money control, accesses from:

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/photos/business/who-presented-the-most-budgets-in-india-how-many-did-nirmala-sitharaman-deliver-12926232-2.html

2. WRIC, accessed from:

https://wirc-icai.org/html/Newsletter/member/February-2024/Introduction-and-History-of-Indian-Budget.html

3. PMC, accessed from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10762040/

4. India budget, accessed from:

https://www.indiabudget.gov.in/doc/bspeech/bs197071.pdf

5. WRIC, accessed from: https://wirc-icai.org/html/Newsletter/member/February-2024/Introduction-and-History-of-Indian-Budget.html

6. Live mint, accessed from: https://www.livemint.com/news/india/budget-trivia-2026-from-longest-speech-to-halwa-ceremony-here-are-7-interesting-facts-about-indias-union-budget-11767694353574.html

7. The Hindu, accessed from: https://www.thehindu.com/business/budget/budget-2020-a-long-record-speech-and-an-abrupt-end/article30714553.ece

8. WRIC, accessed from: https://wirc-icai.org/html/Newsletter/member/February-2024/Introduction-and-History-of-Indian-Budget.html

9. PIB, accessed from: https://www.pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=153672&reg=3&lang=2

10. WRIC, accessed from: https://wirc-icai.org/html/Newsletter/member/February-2024/Introduction-and-History-of-Indian-Budget.html

11. DOR, accessed from: https://dor.gov.in/fm-independence 

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