Union Budget 2018 to be Out on 1st Feb | Know Previous Year Highlights

Dear Students,

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will present the Union Budget for the financial year 2018-19 on February 1. The first phase of the budget session of the parliament began from January 29 and will continue till February 9. This year's budget session is crucial as it comes after the Indian government made two very big financial decisions in the last couple of years - Demonetisation and implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). So this becomes very important for all our aspirants to know well about the present as well as the past Union budgets of India as there is high chance that the questions based on these facts might appear in your examinations.

Origin of the word "Budget"-

The word “Budget” was derived from the Middle English word “bowgette”, which came from Middle French 'bougette'- meaning a leather bag. The Budget speech of the finance minister normally has two parts. Part A deals with the general economic survey of the country while Part B relates to taxation proposals.

India's Union Budget was leaked in 1950

A certain portion of India's Union Budget was leaked in 1950 when the printing used to take place at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Later, the venue was moved to a government press on Minto Road in Delhi after the leak. The North Block basement at the capital's Secretariat Building has become the permanent place for printing Budget papers since 1980.

How is the Union Budget kept secret before being presented?

The Budget is printed at the North Block's basement in Delhi, where over hundred officials are locked for over a week with no social interaction till the Finance Minister presents the Budget. A single phone is available on which the families of officials can leave messages. Electronic jammers are installed ensuring that no information is leaked using mobile phones.

Why was the 1973 Budget called the Black Budget?

India's Union Budget for 1973-74 was called the 'Black Budget' as the nation had a deficit of Rs550 crore. The Budget was presented on February 28, 1973, by then Finance Minister in the Congress government, Yashwantrao Chavan.

Pre Independence Budget-

1. The Budget was first introduced in India on 7th April 1860 from East-India Company to British Crown. The first Indian Budget was presented by James Wilson on February 18, 1869.

Post Independence Budgets-

2. The first Union Budget of independent India was presented on November 26, 1947, by the first finance minister of Independent India, RK Shanmukham Chetty.

3. The highest number of budget presentations have been made by former finance minister Morarji Desai. He presented 10 union budgets, followed by P Chidambaram's 9 and Pranab Mukherjee's 8.

4. On February 29 in 1964 and 1968, Morarji Desai became the only finance minister to present the Union budget on his birthday.

5. After Morarji Desai's resignation from finance minister's post in 1969, Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India, took over the Ministry of Finance to become the only woman to hold the post of the Finance Minister. She remains the only woman finance minister of India till date.

6. The 1997-98 Union Budget, presented by the Finance Minister P Chidambaram, was termed as "Dream Budget" as a number of economic reforms were done including lowering income tax rates, removal of the surcharge on corporate taxes and reduced corporate tax rates.

7. Until the year 1999, the Union Budget was announced at 5 pm on the last working day of February. The former finance minister in the NDA government Yashwant Sinha, however, changed the ritual by announcing the 1999 Union Budget at 11 am.

8. Till 2016 the Union Budget was presented on the last working day of February. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, however, changed that tradition in 2017, the Union Budget was presented on February 1.