Union Budget 2026 Today: Nirmala Sitharaman’s 9th Budget, History, Records and Facts

The Union Budget 2026 is set to be special in many ways. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present her ninth consecutive budget in Parliament today, February 1st, setting a new record. Coming amidst ongoing global economic uncertainties, this budget is expected to showcase the government's reformist measures and development-oriented decisions.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to create a record

By presenting nine consecutive budgets, Nirmala Sitharaman will also come close to the historic record of former Prime Minister Morarji Desai. Morarji Desai presented a total of 10 budgets during his different tenures. He presented six budgets while serving as Finance Minister between 1959 and 1964, and then four more between 1967 and 1969. However, the record for presenting the most consecutive budgets under a single Prime Minister will now belong to Nirmala Sitharaman. She has achieved this feat by presenting nine consecutive budgets under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership.

The first budget was presented on November 26th

Looking at the history of budgets in the country, several prominent names come to mind. The first budget of independent India was presented by RK Shanmukham Chetty on November 26, 1947. After him, Morarji Desai became the Finance Minister who presented the most budgets. P Chidambaram also presented the budget nine times. He presented his first budget in 1996 during the United Front government and later presented several budgets during the UPA government. Pranab Mukherjee presented eight budgets as Finance Minister, including those during the 1980s and the UPA government.

Union Budget 2026: The longest budget speech

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also played a significant role as Finance Minister. He presented five consecutive budgets between 1991 and 1995, which proved to be a milestone in India's economic reforms. Speaking of budget speeches, Nirmala Sitharaman also holds the record for the longest budget speech. Her speech on February 1, 2020, lasted for approximately two hours and 40 minutes. On the other hand, the shortest budget speech was the interim budget presented in 1977, which was just 800 words long.

The time and date of the budget presentation have also changed over time. Previously, the budget was presented at 5 PM on the last day of February. This tradition dated back to the British era. In 1999, the then Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha changed the time to 11 AM. Then, in 2017, the budget date was changed from the last day of February to February 1st, to allow for the timely implementation of new financial schemes from April 1st.

Read More: Union Budget 2026 Date, Time, Live Streaming: All You Need to Know