Budget 2024: Whose Record Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Is Set To Break In Budget Speeches?

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is poised to achieve a milestone by delivering her sixth consecutive budget on February 1, matching the record set by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai.

Since July 2019, Sitharaman, the country's first full-time woman finance minister, has presented five complete budgets, surpassing the five-budget streak of her predecessors.

This includes Manmohan Singh, Arun Jaitley, P Chidambaram, and Yashwant Sinha, with the upcoming interim budget presentation, reported Mint.

Here are the records in focus:

• Morarji Desai, serving as finance minister, delivered five annual budgets and one interim budget from 1959 to 1964, holding the record for the highest number of budgets presented by any finance minister, totaling 10.
• Following the assumption of power by the Narendra Modi government in 2014, Arun Jaitley took over the Finance Ministry and presented five consecutive budgets from 2014-15 to 2018-19.
• On February 1, 2019, Piyush Goyal presented the interim budget for the fiscal year 2019-20.
• After the 2019 general elections, Nirmala Sitharaman assumed the finance portfolio, becoming the second woman to present the budget after Indira Gandhi, who delivered the budget for the financial year 1970-71.

Interim Budget

Typically, interim budgets are presented when impending general elections are on the horizon. The final budget for the fiscal year 2024-2025 is expected to be introduced in July by the new government, forming around June, irrespective of whether it is a new administration or a re-elected one.

Meanwhile, this also signifies the conclusive budget of the second term of the Modi government.

The officials involved in formulating the budget are currently in a 'lock-in' period, adhering to strict confidentiality measures for the final document. The conclusion of this period will only occur following the official presentation on February 1. The initiation of their 'lock-in' coincided with the traditional 'halwa' ceremony held on January 24 this year.

Date, time, and Where to watch

The Interim Budget 2024-2025 is scheduled to be presented on February 1 by FM Nirmala Sitharaman and is expected to commence at 11 am. FM Sitharaman's Budget speech can be watched live on the official channels of Parliament Sansad TV and Doordarshan. The live telecast of Budget 2023 will also be made available on their respective YouTube channels.

Access to the Budget 2024 documents in "paperless form" through the Union Budget Mobile App is possible. All essential Budget documents, including the Annual Financial Statement, Demand for Grants, and the Finance Bill mandated by the Constitution, will be made accessible on the app.

The bilingual app, available in English and Hindi, can be downloaded on Android, iOS, or from the Union Budget Web Portal. Following the conclusion of the Budget Speech by the Union Finance Minister in Parliament on February 1, 2024, these Budget documents will be promptly made available on the Mobile App.