Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who will present her ninth consecutive budget on Sunday, is the longest serving finance minister to hold the post continuously.
Sitharaman took charge of the Finance Ministry on May 31, 2019, and has steered the economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical turmoil, making India the world’s fastest growing major economy.
Nirmala Sitharaman will complete six years and eight months of her tenure on January 31, 2026. After this, on February 1, she will present the ninth consecutive budget, which is a record.
Ahead of the budget session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that Sitharaman presenting the Union Budget for the ninth consecutive time “will go down as a matter of pride in the parliamentary history of India”.
Former Prime Minister Morarji Desai had presented the Union Budget 10 times, while P Chidambaram had presented the Budget nine times, but not in consecutive years.
The other longest serving Finance Minister was C.D. Deshmukh, who took charge of the ministry on June 1, 1950 and remained in office for about six years and two months.
Manmohan Singh, known for promoting economic liberalization, was the Finance Minister for almost five years between June 21, 1990 and June 16, 1996.
Later as Prime Minister, Singh held additional charge of the Finance Ministry for a short period in 2008 and again in 2012.
P Chidambaram served as the Finance Minister for almost eight years, but in four different tenures.
Others who led the ministry for longer, but not continuous, periods include Morarji Desai (about 7 years 9 months), Pranab Mukherjee (6 years 4 months), Arun Jaitley (4 years 8 months), Y B Chavan (4 years 3 months) and Yashwant Sinha (4 years 4 months).
Let us tell you that the first Finance Minister of independent India, R. Of. Shanmukham Chetty.
