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Union Budget 2025: When Prime Minister, instead of finance minister, presented the budget

Jan 22, 2025 04:07 PM IST

Union Budget 2025: While the budget is mostly presented by the finance minister, there are rare occasions when the PM could also turn up to do so.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget 2025 in the parliament on February 1.

Union Budget 2025: FILE: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman carrying the Budget tablet wrapped in a traditional 'Bahi Khata' style pouch as she arrived at Parliament to present the interim Budget 2024.( ANI)
Union Budget 2025: FILE: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman carrying the Budget tablet wrapped in a traditional 'Bahi Khata' style pouch as she arrived at Parliament to present the interim Budget 2024.( ANI)

While the budget is mostly presented by the finance minister, there are rare occasions when someone else could also turn up to do so. Even the Prime Minister.

While in numerous cases, a finance minister went on to become the PM after some years, there have been three occasions when a Prime Minister presented the Union Budget in the parliament, mostly because they held the finance portfolio. The first time it happened was in 1958 while the last time a PM gave a budget speech was in 1987.

While the nation waits for the Union Budget 2025, here is a list of Prime Ministers who presented the budget during their term as the head of the cabinet.

When Prime Minister presented the Union Budget

Jawaharlal Nehru (1958)

Jawaharlal Nehru was India’s first prime minister, serving from 1947 until his death in 1964. He was also the first Indian PM to present the Union Budget, which he presented in 1958. TT Krishnamachari, the then-finance minister, was forced to resign on February 12 of the same year after details of the Mundhra Scandal became public, forcing Nehru to take charge of the finance ministry.

Also read: Union Budget 2025: Who has presented budget the most number of times?

Morarji Desai was made the finance minister soon after the budget and served till August 1963.

Indira Gandhi (1970)

The second time, Jawaharlal Nehru's daughter Indira Gandhi presented the budget as Prime Minister. She took control of the finance ministry after Morarji Desai resigned in 1969 after his second stint and presented the Union Budget 1970. After a year, she subsequently appointed Home Minister Yashwantrao Chavan as the finance minister.

Also read: Budget 2025: How is the new income tax slab different from old version?

Rajiv Gandhi (1987)

Rajiv Gandhi briefly headed the finance ministry between January and July 1987 and presented the 1987 budget, becoming the third Indian PM to do so. After the Bofors scandal exploded, Gandhi removed VP Singh from his position as finance minister.

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