New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present a record ninth consecutive Union Budget on 1 February, a milestone that underscores continuity in fiscal policymaking under the Narendra Modi-led government.
The upcoming Budget is expected to outline reform measures aimed at supporting economic growth at a time of heightened global and geopolitical uncertainty.
With this, Sitharaman will move closer to the record held by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai, who presented 10 Budgets across different tenures, six as Finance Minister between 1959 and 1964 and four more during 1967-69. Among other former finance ministers, P Chidambaram delivered nine Budgets, while Pranab Mukherjee presented eight under different prime ministers.
Appointed in 2019 as India’s first full-time woman Finance Minister, Sitharaman has retained the portfolio since, including after the Modi government’s return to power for a third term in 2024. She has so far presented eight consecutive Budgets, including an interim Budget in February 2024.
Sitharaman also holds the record for the longest Budget speech, lasting two hours and 40 minutes in 2020.
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