NEW DELHI: Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday presented the Union Budget for the fiscal year 2025-26, marking her eighth consecutive budget speech, setting multiple records in India’s financial history.
Sitharaman presented her speech for the Modi 3.0 full Budget wearing a Madhubani art saree created by Padma awardee Dulari Devi. The speech lasted 1 hour and 14 minutes, making it the shortest full Budget speech she has delivered to date.
Her previous shortest speech was delivered during the Interim Budget on February 1, 2024, lasting 57 minutes.
Over the years, the finance minister has set key milestones, from giving the longest Budget speech in history to introducing India’s first paperless Budget, highlighting changes in the country’s economic priorities and policies.
Speech durations over the years:
2019 Budget lasted for 2 hours and 15 minutes: Her 2019 Budget, her first as finance minister, outlined a 10-point vision for India’s economic growth over the next decade, outlining benefits for entrepreneurs and the MSME sector, among other key areas. The speech lasted 2 hours and 15 minutes, setting the stage for long-term policy direction.
2020 Budget: 2 hours and 42 minutes (longest budget speech)
The 2020 Budget speech set a record as the longest in India’s history, spanning 2 hours and 42 minutes. Marking Sitharaman’s third consecutive budget, the address made headlines for its unprecedented length and detailed policy announcements.
2021 Budget: India’s first paperless milestone speech lasted for 1 hour and 40 minutes
In 2021, Sitharaman delivered India’s first-ever paperless budget, a significant shift towards digital governance. Her speech lasted 1 hour and 40 minutes, outlining key reforms and economic policies in a fully digital format.
2022 Budget: 1 hour and 30 minutes speech, consisting more than 9,200 words
At just over 1 hour and 30 minutes, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman delivered her speech — roughly 9,200+ words long — which was peppered with words like “digital”, “infrastructure” and “tax”, indicating the government’s focus on infra spending and digital assets.
2023 Budget: Speech lasted for 1 hour 30 minutes
The 2023 Budget speech lasted 1 hour and 30 minutes, reflecting a concise yet comprehensive presentation of the government’s fiscal roadmap.
2024 Budget: Speech spanned for 1 hour and 25 minutes
In the fiscal year 2024-25 Budget, Sitharaman delivered her speech for 1 hour and 25 minutes, wearing a white silk saree with a magenta border, breaking the previous record set by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai. She delivered her shortest speech, lasting 57 minutes during the Interim Budget on February 1, 2024.
2025 Budget: Speech spanned for 1 hour and 14 minutes
FM Sitharaman’s speech for the Modi 3.0 full Budget lasted 1 hour and 14 minutes, marking the shortest speech delivered to date.
The budget is built on four fundamental pillars—Garib (poor), Yuva (youth), Annadata (farmers), and Nari (women)—ensuring that economic growth translates into socio-economic upliftment for all sections of society.
Longest record-breaking budget speeches by word count
Manmohan Singh 1991 Budget: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the architect of India’s economic reforms, delivered the longest Budget speech by word count, comprising 18,700 words during his landmark 1991 Budget.
The speech not only set a record for its length but also stood out for its poetic touch, as Singh incorporated Urdu verses.
Arun Jaitley 2014 Budget: Close behind him was Arun Jaitley, whose Budget speech contained 18,604 words, making it one of the lengthiest in India’s history.
Shortest Budget speech: In contrast, Hirubhai M. Patel holds the record for the shortest Budget speech, delivering just 800 words during his interim Budget of 1977.
Record number of Budgets presented
1. Morarji Desai – 10 Budgets: Morarji Desai holds the record for presenting the highest number of Union Budgets, delivering a total of 10 budgets between 1959 and 1969 during his tenure as finance minister. He presented six budgets between 1959 and 1964 under Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and four more between 1967 and 1969 under Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri.
2. P. Chidambaram – 9 Budgets: Former finance minister P. Chidambaram delivered a total of nine Union Budgets, making him the second-most frequent budget presenter in Indian history. His first budget was presented on March 19, 1996, during the United Front government led by Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda.He presented another budget the following year and later returned as finance minister under the Congress-led UPA government in 2004, presenting multiple budgets until 2009.3.
Pranab Mukherjee – 8 Budgets: Pranab Mukherjee, who served as finance minister across different tenures, presented eight budgets in total. His first three budgets were in 1982, 1983, and 1984, during his initial term as finance minister. He later delivered five consecutive budgets from February 2009 to March 2012 under the Congress-led UPA government.