The first Union budget of independent India was presented by R. K. Shanmukham Chetty on November 26, 1947.

The Union budgets for the fiscal years 1959-60 to 1963-64, inclusive of the interim budget for 1962-63, were presented by Morarji Desai. On February 29 in 1964 and 1968, he became the only finance minister to present the Union budget on his birthday. Desai presented budgets that included five annual budgets, an interim budget during his first stint and one interim budget and three final budgets in his second tenure when he was both the Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of India.

After Desai’s resignation, Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India, took over the Ministry of Finance to become the only woman to hold the post of the finance minister.

Pranab Mukherjee, the first Rajya Sabha member to hold the Finance portfolio, presented the annual budgets for 1982-83, 1983-84 and 1984-85.

Rajiv Gandhi presented the budget for 1987-88 after V P Singh quit his government, and in the process became only the third Prime Minister to present a budget after his mother and grandfather.

N. D. Tiwary presented the budget for 1988-89, S B Chavan for 1989-90, while Madhu Dandawate presented the Union budget for 1990-91.

Yashwant Sinha became the Finance Minister but presented the interim budget for 1991-92 as elections were forced.

Due to political developments, early elections were held in May 1991 following which the Indian National Congress returned to political power and Manmohan Singh, the Finance Minister, presented the budget for 1991-92.

Dr. Manmohan Singh, the current Prime Minister of India, was instrumental in liberalising the Indian economy.