11 facts about budget presenters over six decades

Who were the three PMs who presented the budget speech in their tenures? Read on to know the answer and many more interesting nuggets as HT compiles a ready reckoner on the personalities with special distinctions when it comes to presenting the budget.

The Union Budget generates a lot of attention as it outlines the economic roadmap for the year ahead. But, what about them who present the budget speech? HT compiles a list of personalities who have the 'firsts', or some other distinction, in their kitty when it comes to presenting the Union Budget. Read on.

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1) The first finance minister to present a budget in independent India:
RK Shanmugham Chetty. He presented the first budget on November 26, 1947.

2) The first Rajya Sabha member to present a budget:
Pranab Mukherjee, in 1982-83.

3) The finance minister who has presented the maximum number of budgets:
Morarji Desai. He presented eight full and two interim budgets.

4) The year in which finance ministers of two parties presented the budget:
Yashwant Sinha and Manmohan Singh in 1991. The former presented the interim budget in March and the latter presented the full budget in July.

5) The finance minister who first introduced a scheme for voluntary disclosure of unaccounted or black money:
TT Krishnamachari, in 1965.

6) The first RBI governor who later took charge as the finance minister and presented the budget:
CD Deshmukh, in 1955-56.

8) The only woman finance minister of India:
Indira Gandhi.

9) The finance minister who introduced service tax:
Manmohan Singh, in 1994-95.

10) Years in which Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, all as Prime Ministers, presented the budget:
1958-59, 1968-70 and 1986-87, respectively.

11) Finance ministers who have presented six or more budgets:
Morarji Desai (10), P Chidambaram (9), Pranab Mukherjee (7) and CD Deshmukh (6).