Latest Update: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Interim Budget for 2024 on 1 February 2024 and this will be her sixth Budget presentation today. Article 112 of the Indian Constitution envisages laying down the annual budget in the Parliament.
Earlier the Union Budget was presented on the last working day of February, but the BJP government has changed this tradition. From 2016 onwards, the Union Budget will be presented on the first day of February so that it can be materialised before the beginning of the new financial year in April.
Ministry of Finance deals with taxation, financial legislation, financial institutions, capital markets, central and state finances, and the Union Budget. The first Finance Minister of independent India was R. K. Shanmukham Chetty, who also presented the first Budget.
List of Finance Ministers of India
| S.N. | Name | Term of office | Political Party | Prime Minister | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Liaquat Ali Khan | 29 October 1946 | 14 August 1947 | All-India Muslim League | Jawaharlal Nehru |
| 2. | R. K. Shanmukham Chetty | 15 August 1947 | 17 August 1948 | Indian National Congress |
|
| 3. | John Mathai
| 22 September 1948 | 26 January 1950 | ||
| 26 January 1950 | 6 May 1950 | ||||
| 6 May 1950 | 1 June 1950 | ||||
| 4. | C. D. Deshmukh | 1 June 1950 | 13 May 1952 | ||
| 13 May 1952 | 1 August 1956 | ||||
| 5. | 1 August 1956 | 30 August 1956 | |||
| 6.
| T. T. Krishnamachari
| 30 August 1956 | 17 April 1957 | ||
| 17 April 1957 | 14 February 1958 | ||||
| 7. | Jawaharlal Nehru | 14 February 1958 | 22 March 1958 | ||
| 8.
| Morarji Desai
| 22 March 1958 | 10 April 1962 | ||
| 10 April 1962 | 31 August 1963 | ||||
| 9. | T. T. Krishnamachari | 31 August 1963 | 31 December 1965 | Jawaharlal Nehru | |
| 10.
| Sachindra Chaudhuri
| 1 January 1966 | 11 January 1966 | Lal Bahadur Shastri
| |
| 11 January 1966 | 24 January 1966 | ||||
| 24 January 1966 | 13 March 1967 | ||||
| 11. | Morarji Desai | 13 March 1967 | 16 July 1969 | Indira Gandhi | |
| 12. | 16 July 1969 | 27 June 1970 | |||
| 13.
| Yashwantrao B. Chavan
| 27 June 1970 | 18 March 1971 | ||
| 18 March 1971 | 10 October 1974 | ||||
| 14. | 10 October 1974 | 24 March 1977 | |||
| 15. | Haribhai M. Patel | 26 March 1977 | 24 January 1979 | Janata Party | Morarji Desai |
| 16. | Charan Singh | 24 January 1979 | 16 July 1979 | ||
| 17. | Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna | 28 July 1979 | 19 October 1979 | Janata Party (Secular) | Charan Singh |
| 18. | R. Venkataraman | 14 January 1980 | 15 January 1982 | Indian National Congress | Indira Gandhi
|
| 19.
| 15 January 1982 | 31 October 1984 | |||
| 31 October 1984 | 31 December 1984 | ||||
| 20.
| V. P. Singh
| 31 December 1984 | 14 January 1985 | Rajiv Gandhi | |
| 14 January 1985 | 30 March 1985 | ||||
| 30 March 1985 | 25 September 1985 | ||||
| 25 September 1985 | 24 January 1987 | ||||
| 21. | 24 January 1987 | 25 July 1987 | |||
| 22. | N. D. Tiwari | 25 July 1987 | 25 June 1988 | ||
| 23. | Shankarrao B. Chavan | 25 June 1988 | 2 December 1989 | ||
| 24. | Madhu Dandavate | 5 December 1989 | 10 November 1990 | Janata Dal (National Front) | V. P. Singh |
| 25. | Yashwant Sinha | 21 November 1990 | 21 June 1991 | Samajwadi Janata Party | Chandra Shekhar |
| 26. | 21 June 1991 | 16 May 1996 | Indian National Congress | P. V. Narasimha Rao | |
| 27. | Jaswant Singh | 16 May 1996 | 1 June 1996 | Bharatiya Janata Party | Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
| 28. | P. Chidambaram | 1 June 1996 | 21 April 1997 | Tamil Maanila Congress | H. D. Deve Gowda |
| 29. | I.K. Gujral | 21 April 1997 | 1 May 1997 | Janata Dal | I. K. Gujral |
| 30. | P. Chidambaram | 1 May 1997 | 19 March 1998 | Tamil Maanila Congress (United Front) | |
| 31.
| Yashwant Sinha
| 19 March 1998 | 13 October 1999 | Bharatiya Janata Party (National Democratic Alliance) | Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
| 13 October 1999 | 1 July 2002 | ||||
| 32. | Jaswant Singh | 1 July 2002 | 22 May 2004 | ||
| 33. | P. Chidambaram | 23 May 2004 | 30 November 2008 | Indian National Congress | Manmohan Singh |
| 34. | 30 November 2008 | 24 January 2009 | |||
| 35.
|
| 24 January 2009 | 22 May 2009 | ||
| 23 May 2009 | 26 June 2012 | ||||
| 36. | Manmohan Singh | 26 June 2012 | 31 July 2012 | ||
| 37. | P. Chidambaram | 31 July 2012 | 26 May 2014 | ||
| 38. | 26 May 2014 | 30 May 2019 | Bharatiya Janata Party (National Democratic Alliance) | Narendra Modi | |
| 39. | 31 May 2019 | Incumbent | Bharatiya Janata Party (National Democratic Alliance) | Narendra Modi | |
Nirmala Sitharaman is the first full-time female Finance Minister of India. If she completes her full term, she would be the first Indian lady to do so. On 5 July 2019, she presented her first Union Budget and second of the NDA government.
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The department of public enterprises has been included under the Ministry of Finance which would still be headed by the Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman. It has been decided in the most recent cabinet reshuffle. This move of including DPE in the FM is said to be a step towards privatization and financial influence on the state-run enterprises. Know more about the Finance Ministers of India below.