Budget 2026: Budget trivia - Fascinating facts from India’s budget history
Union Budget 2026: A quick look at interesting facts and little-known moments from India’s Budget history
- Jan 27, 2026,
- Updated Jan 27, 2026 2:19 PM IST
The Union Budget 2026 is drawing closer. All are eyeing Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's February 1 Speech at 11 AM. The budget will examine spending targets and programme priorities in an extremely uncertain economic environment.
Every Union Budget is filled with numbers and policies, but behind those figures lie many interesting stories and facts. From historic firsts to unusual records, India’s Budget history has several moments that surprise and inform at the same time. As Budget 2026 draws closer, taking a quick look back helps us understand how this annual exercise has changed over the years.
India’s first Union Budget In 1947, R.K. Shanmukham Chetty, independent India’s first Finance Minister, presented the maiden Budget on November 26, months before the Constitution came into force. That Budget covered a period of just seven and a half months, making it one of the shortest in India’s history.
Record-breaking finance ministers
The longest Budget speech was delivered by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in 2020, lasting nearly 2 hours and 40 minutes and running close to 11,000 words. She had to pause before completing it, submitting the remaining part in writing.
In contrast, Manmohan Singh’s 1991 Budget holds the record for the most word-heavy speech, with around 18,650 words, even though it was delivered more concisely in the Parliament.
On the shorter side, Hirubhai M. Patel presented the briefest Budget speech in 1977, reflecting the urgency of the post-Emergency period.
Meanwhile, Morarji Desai remains unmatched for presenting the highest number of Union Budgets, ten in total.
Budgets weren’t always presented in the morning Until 1999, Union Budgets were traditionally presented at 5 PM, following a colonial-era practice aligned with British parliamentary timings. It was Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha who shifted it to 11 AM, making it more accessible and relevant for Indian markets and citizens.
Paper, leather briefcases, and now tablets
For decades, Finance Ministers carried Budget documents in leather briefcases. That changed in 2019, when the traditional briefcase was replaced by a ‘bahi-khata’, and in 2021, India went fully paperless, with the Budget being presented on a digital tablet.
The secret ritual before the budget day
Before Budget printing begins, officials participate in the traditional Halwa Ceremony, after which they remain in isolation until Budget Day.
Track live Budget updates, breaking news, expert opinions and in-depth analysis only on BusinessToday.in
The Union Budget 2026 is drawing closer. All are eyeing Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's February 1 Speech at 11 AM. The budget will examine spending targets and programme priorities in an extremely uncertain economic environment.
Every Union Budget is filled with numbers and policies, but behind those figures lie many interesting stories and facts. From historic firsts to unusual records, India’s Budget history has several moments that surprise and inform at the same time. As Budget 2026 draws closer, taking a quick look back helps us understand how this annual exercise has changed over the years.
India’s first Union Budget In 1947, R.K. Shanmukham Chetty, independent India’s first Finance Minister, presented the maiden Budget on November 26, months before the Constitution came into force. That Budget covered a period of just seven and a half months, making it one of the shortest in India’s history.
Record-breaking finance ministers
The longest Budget speech was delivered by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in 2020, lasting nearly 2 hours and 40 minutes and running close to 11,000 words. She had to pause before completing it, submitting the remaining part in writing.
In contrast, Manmohan Singh’s 1991 Budget holds the record for the most word-heavy speech, with around 18,650 words, even though it was delivered more concisely in the Parliament.
On the shorter side, Hirubhai M. Patel presented the briefest Budget speech in 1977, reflecting the urgency of the post-Emergency period.
Meanwhile, Morarji Desai remains unmatched for presenting the highest number of Union Budgets, ten in total.
Budgets weren’t always presented in the morning Until 1999, Union Budgets were traditionally presented at 5 PM, following a colonial-era practice aligned with British parliamentary timings. It was Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha who shifted it to 11 AM, making it more accessible and relevant for Indian markets and citizens.
Paper, leather briefcases, and now tablets
For decades, Finance Ministers carried Budget documents in leather briefcases. That changed in 2019, when the traditional briefcase was replaced by a ‘bahi-khata’, and in 2021, India went fully paperless, with the Budget being presented on a digital tablet.
The secret ritual before the budget day
Before Budget printing begins, officials participate in the traditional Halwa Ceremony, after which they remain in isolation until Budget Day.
Track live Budget updates, breaking news, expert opinions and in-depth analysis only on BusinessToday.in