Sun Feb 02 07:15:21 UTC 2025: ## Nirmala Sitharaman Presents Record Eighth Consecutive Union Budget
**New Delhi, February 1, 2025** – Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today presented her eighth consecutive Union Budget, a record in India’s history. This historic presentation comes amidst a backdrop of economic slowdown and calls for middle-class tax relief. The budget, presented at 11 a.m., marks a significant milestone for Sitharaman, bringing her closer to the record of 10 budgets presented by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai across different tenures.
While Desai holds the overall record, Sitharaman maintains the record for the most consecutive budgets presented – eight, all under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. This achievement follows her appointment as India’s first full-time woman finance minister in 2019 and her continued tenure after Modi’s third electoral victory in 2024.
The article also highlights key moments in India’s budget history, including:
* **First Budget:** Presented by R.K. Shanmukham Chetty on November 26, 1947.
* **Most Budgets (Overall):** Morarji Desai (10 budgets).
* **Second Most Budgets:** P. Chidambaram (9 budgets).
* **Third Most Budgets:** Pranab Mukherjee (8 budgets).
* **Longest Budget Speech:** Nirmala Sitharaman (February 1, 2020).
* **Shortest Budget Speech:** Hirubhai Mulljibhai Patel (1977).
The shift in budget presentation timing from the traditional 5 p.m. on February 28th to the current 11 a.m. on February 1st is also explained, reflecting changes implemented since 1999 to streamline the parliamentary approval process and ensure timely budget implementation from April 1st.
First Piper 