Some interesting facts on indian budget

Some Interesting facts on Indian Budget

·         Sir R. K. Shanmukham Chetty presented Independent India’s first budget on the 26th of November, 1947

·         The word “Budget” was derived from French “bougette—meaning a leather

·         James Wilson presented the First Indian Budget on February 18, 1869

·         India started following the April 1- March 31 financial year from1867. Prior to 1867, the financial year would begin May 1 and end on April 30.

·         Budget papers began to be prepared in Hindi from 1955-56.

·         The 1957 budget featured the first attempt to distinguish between active income -salaries or business and passive income -interest or rent.

·         The Union Budget of 1965-66 launched India’s first disclosure scheme for black money.

·         Rajiv Gandhi in the Budget of 1987 first introduced corporate tax or Minimum Alternate Tax.

·         Finance Minister Manmohan Singh introduced Service Tax in the 1994 Union Budget. The idea was to include the growing services sector in the tax net.

·         Until 2000, the Union Budget was announced at 5 pm on the last working day of the month of February. Starting 2001, the Finance Minister presents the Union Budget before Parliament at 11 am.

·         The maximum numbers of 10 budgets have been presented by Morarji Desai, while P Chidambram has presented the budget 9 times.
 

·         Morarji Desai presented two budgets on February 29th on his birthday in the years 1964 and 1968.

·         One week prior to the disclosure, publishers of the budget under the finance ministry, are kept isolated from the press and other sources.
 

·         Earlier budget papers were printed in Rashtrapati Bhavan. The printing venue was shifted to Minto Road in New Delhi.  Since 1980, budget papers are printed in the North Block.
 

·         After Desai's resignation in 1979, Indira Gandhi took over as the first and only female Finance Minister of India.
 

·         Till the year 2000, the Union budget was announced at 5 pm, but Yashwant Sinha began a new trend by announcing it at 11 am in 2001.

·         The word “Interim Budget” was for the first time introduced by R.K. Shanmukham Chetty in his budget speech for 1948-49. From then onwards an interim budget began to mean a budget for a short period.

·         John Mathai presented the first Budget of the Republic of India on February 28, 1950.

·         Jawaharlal Lal Nehru, Indira and Rajiv Gandhi have presented the budget while serving as the Prime Minister of India.

·         Corporate tax (today is known as Minimum Alternate Tax) was first introduced by Rajiv Gandhi in 1987 Budget.

·         Manmohan Singh during his speech for the 1992-93 Budget, said, "It is said that child is the father of the man, but some of our taxpayers have converted children into tax shelters for their fathers."