Union Budget 2025-26: Key Milestones in Union Budget History

First Budget of India (1860): by James Wilson, who was the Finance Member of the Indian Council at the time, India was under British colonial rule

First Budget of Independent India (1947): Presented by the then Finance Minister, R.K. Shanmukham Chetty. Introduced income tax and reforms in tariff policies.

Bank Nationalization Budget (1969): Presented by R. K. Shanmukham Chetty on November 26, 1947. Focused on economic restructuring after independence.

Presented by Morarji Desai. Led to the nationalization of 14 major banks to expand credit availability. Black Budget (1973)

Presented by Yashwantrao Chavan with a fiscal deficit of ₹550 crore. Focused on self-reliance but led to an economic crisis. Economic Liberalization Budget (1991)

Presented by Dr. Manmohan Singh under PM P. V. Narasimha Rao. Introduced Liberalization, Privatization, and Globalization (LPG reforms). Abolished License Raj, reduced import duties, and encouraged foreign investments. Service Tax Introduction (1994)

Introduced by Manmohan Singh. Brought a new revenue stream for the government. Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act (2003)

Introduced by Jaswant Singh. Aimed at reducing fiscal deficit and ensuring financial discipline. Merger of Railway Budget with Union Budget (2017)

Railway Budget was separate for 92 years. Merged by Arun Jaitley to streamline government finances. Introduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST) (2017)

Brought by Arun Jaitley. Replaced multiple indirect taxes with one unified tax system.

First Paperless Budget (2021) Introduced by Nirmala Sitharaman due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Budget documents were made digital for the first time.