New Delhi, February 1: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman scripted history on Sunday by presenting her ninth consecutive Union Budget, surpassing previous benchmarks and positioning her as India’s longest-serving Finance Minister in terms of back-to-back presentations.
The Budget is anticipated to roll out key measures aimed at sustaining India’s growth trajectory, upholding fiscal prudence, and introducing reforms to shield the economy from global headwinds, particularly escalating US tariffs and trade tensions.
This milestone edges Sitharaman nearer to the all-time record of 10 Budgets delivered by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai across non-consecutive stints—six from 1959-1964 as FM, and four more between 1967-1969. For context, P Chidambaram presented nine Budgets and Pranab Mukherjee eight, both spanning multiple governments.
Sitharaman’s streak, unbroken since 2019 under PM Narendra Modi, underscores her pivotal role in steering India’s post-pandemic recovery and economic reforms.
