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Photograph: Kind courtesy Ministry of Finance of India/Wikimedia Commons
The halwa has already been had… With the Union Budget 2026, India’s 74th, fast approaching, all eyes are once again on New Delhi’s North Block as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is preparing to table it on February 1, 2026, marking her ninth Budget presentation in a row.
While the contents (which will not be carried in a leather briefcase but on a digital tablet in a bahi-khata) still remain a surprise, let’s learn a few interesting details about the Budget.
Photograph: Kind courtesy Wikimedia Commons
1. The First Budget Architect Of British India
British India’s very first budget was presented by James Wilson in 1860, a Scottish economist and politician, who served as the finance member of the India Council during British rule.
India’s kings and emperors had their own style of drawing up budgets of their kingdoms. For instance, Emperor Akbar instituted the sophisticated Dahshala system operating on crop yields and more.
Photograph: Kind courtesy Ritva Bäckman/Wikimedia Commons
2. A Woman At The Helm
Indira Gandhi was the first woman to present the Union Budget, in 1970.
Photograph: Kind courtesy Family member/Wikimedia Commons
3. The Black Budget Of 1973
The Union Budget tabled on February 28, 1973 by Finance Minister Yashwantrao B Chavan earned the grim label of being a Black Budget due to a massive fiscal deficit of ₹550 crores.
Photograph: ANI Photo
4. The Halwa Ceremony
Since 1980, the Budget process officially begins with the traditional Halwa Ceremony. Held just before the Budget is finalised, it signals the start of the ‘lock-in’ period and send off ritual, during which officials involved in printing the Budget remain cut off from the outside world to maintain absolute confidentiality and are given a katori of halwa cooked in an iron kadhai inside the finance ministry before going into seclusion.
Another food-related custom is that on Budget presentation day, the finance minister calls on the President at Rashtrapati Bhavan, getting permission or assent to present the Budget and the President feeds the finance minister dahi and shakkar from a silver bowl for good luck. Once again it will be a ritual between two women.
Photograph: Kind courtesy Christian Lambiotte – European Commission/Wikimedia Commons
5. The Carrot And Stick Budget Of 1986
Presented on February 28, 1986 by V P Singh, this Budget balanced incentives with strict measures. While MODVAT was introduced to ease the tax burden on consumers, a tough crackdown was launched against tax evasion, smuggling and black money.
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Photograph: Kind courtesy Ministry of Finance of India/Wikimedia Commons
6. When Timing Changed History
For decades, the Budget was unveiled at 5 pm on the last working day of February. This colonial-era practice ended in 2001 when Yashwant Sinha shifted it to 11 am. In 2017, Arun Jaitley advanced the date to February 1 and merged it with the railway budget.
