Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said the Budget for 2023-24 hopes to build on the foundation of the previous budget and blue print for India@100. This is the first Budget in Amrit Kaal, she said. This is the last full Budget of the second term of the BJP-led NDA government ahead of the general elections in 2024. LIVE Updates
Sitharaman is presenting her fifth full Budget after she took over as Finance Minister in July 2019. Amid the anticipation, let’s take a look at the first budget(s) of India:
Post-independence and Secrecy Traditions
The then Union Finance Minister Sir RK Shanmukham Chetty delivered the first budget for Independent India (1947–48). He wasn’t a leader in the Congress. He was the chairman of the British Justice Party. He was also an industrialist, a former Diwan of the state of Cochin, and the Chamber of Princes’ constitutional adviser, a report by India Today said.
What Was Included in the First Budget?
A total of Rs 197.39 crore was set aside for budgetary expenses, of which roughly Rs 92.74 crore (or 46 percent) went toward defence services.
The Indian budget was then unveiled at 5:00 pm. Politicians and government representatives wanted their British counterparts to be able to follow the specifics with ease, therefore they did as such. It was and is noon in the UK at 5 p.m. in India.
As it turned out, some tax adjustments suggested by India in the budget were inadvertently disclosed to a journalist by UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Hugh Dalton. Before Chetty delivered his budget speech to the Indian Parliament, the journalist publicised the information. This made Dalton submit his paperwork. The formulation of India’s budget became known for its secrecy.
What About First Budget Pre-independence?
In 1859, as the British Crown was still recovering from the injuries caused to it by the mutiny of 1857, it appointed a Scottish businessman to find a solution to India’s financial crisis. James Wilson, better known at that time as the founder of The Economist newspaper, had a credible presence in England for his firm grasp over economic theory and policy as well as a practical knowledge of commercial affairs. Karl Marx in his ‘Capital’ had described Wilson as ‘an economic mandarin of high standing’, a report by Indian Express explains.
Wilson would go on to present the first-ever budget in India in 1860. He is credited with introducing a financial budget in India framed upon the English model. Although Wilson’s budget did receive some criticism for not taking into consideration Indian conditions, it did lay down the foundations of the way in which several economic institutions in India would go on to function, especially that of the income tax, the report said.
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