Budget Trivia
- R K Shanmukham Shetty presented independent India's first budget.
- The budget papers are printed in the Finance Ministry's press. A week before the budget is presented, the employees of the press stay in the ministry and have no means of communicating with the outside world.
- The 1991-92 final and interim Budgets were presented by finance ministers of two different political parties. While Yashwant Sinha presented the interim budget, the final budget was presented by Manmohan Singh.
- The 1965-66 budget contained the first disclosure scheme for black money.
- Jawahar Lal Nehru was the first prime minister to present the budget when he held the finance portfolio in 1958-59.
- Morarji Desai holds the unique distinction of presenting the budget - not once but twice - on his birthday. In 1964 and 1968 - both leap years - Desai presented the budget on February 29, his birthday.
- R Venkataraman was the only finance minister who later became the President of India. Three interim budgets were presented in the 1990s. While Yashwant Sinha presented the interim Budgets for 1991-92 and 1998-99, Manmohan Singh presented the 1996-97 interim Budget.
- The precedent for the convention of the budget speech beginning at 5:00 pm was set by Sir Basil Blackett in 1924. According to him, this was done to give some relief to officials who worked all night to present a financial statement. He also felt that this would give traders an opportunity to study the announcements overnight instead of in the middle of a busy day.
- P Chidambaram rewrote India's Exim Policy in one non-stop eight-hour sitting in July 1991, when he became the commerce minister.
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