Budget 2024: Nirmala Sitharaman set to equal record of ex-PM Morarji Desai

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will equal the record of former Prime Minister Morarji Desai as she presents her sixth straight budget on February 1.

Nirmala Sitharaman has presented five full budgets since July 2019 and is the first full-time woman finance minister of the country. With the presentation of interim budget on February 1, Nirmala Sitharaman will surpass the records of her predecessors- Manmohan Singh, Arun Jaitley, P Chidambaram and Yashwant Sinha- who presented five budgets in a row.

Morarji Desai’s presentation of budget

Morarji Desai, as finance minister, presented five annual budgets and one interim budget between 1959-1964. He holds the tag of presenting 10 budgets- the maximum by any finance minister.

Arun Jaitley’s presentation of budget

After the PM Modi government came to power in 2014, Arun Jaitley took charge of the finance ministry and presented five budgets in a row from 2014-15 to 2018-19.

Piyush Goyal’s budget presentation

Piyush Goyal presented the interim budget for 2019-20 on February 1, 2019.

Nirmala Sitharaman’s budget record

After the 2019 general elections, Nirmala Sitharaman was given the charge of the finance portfolio, becoming the second woman to have presented budget after Indira Gandhi, who had presented the budget for financial year 1970-71.

Why an interim budget?

The interim budget is presented when general elections are due in the country. The new government, which is likely to be formed around June, will come up with a final budget for 2024-25 sometime in July.