Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to create history on Sunday by presenting the Union Budget for the ninth consecutive time in Parliament, becoming the only Finance Minister in India to achieve this feat in succession. With this milestone, she also becomes the first woman Finance Minister in the country to deliver nine straight Budgets, marking a significant chapter in India’s parliamentary history.
Sitharaman has further set a new record by becoming the first Finance Minister to present nine consecutive Budgets under a single Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. While former Finance Ministers Morarji Desai and P. Chidambaram presented the Budget 10 and nine times respectively, their tenures were spread across different governments or interrupted by gaps, unlike Sitharaman’s uninterrupted run.
From 2019 to 2026, including seven full Budgets, one Interim Budget, and the upcoming Budget, Sitharaman will have presented the Budget nine times in a row. She assumed office on May 31, 2019, and as of January 31, 2026, has completed six years and eight months in the role, surpassing the previous tenure record of six years and two months held by C.D. Deshmukh.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised her achievement, calling it a proud moment for India’s parliamentary democracy. Although Morarji Desai and P. Chidambaram remain among the Finance Ministers who presented the Budget the most number of times, Sitharaman’s consecutive streak under one Prime Minister stands unmatched, underscoring her continuity and leadership in steering the country’s economic policy.