Finance Ministers
Key Concepts
| # | Concept | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | First Finance Minister of India | R. K. Shanmukham Chetty (1947–48) – presented the first Union Budget of independent India. |
| 2 | Longest-serving FM | Morarji Desai – presented 10 budgets (1959-64, 1967-69). |
| 3 | First woman FM | Indira Gandhi (additional charge, 1970-71). |
| 4 | Father of Economic Reforms | Dr. Manmohan Singh – 1991 LPG reforms under PV Narasimha Rao. |
| 5 | Budget Halwa Ceremony | Traditional pre-Budget sweet made & served in North Block; marks “printing secrecy” begins. |
| 6 | Paperless Budget | 2021-22 – Nirmala Sitharaman; first fully digital Budget (tablet & ‘Bahi-khata’ replaced). |
| 7 | Interim vs Full Budget | Interim = vote-on-account for 2-4 months (election year); Full = complete fiscal plan. |
| 8 | Finance Commission | Constituted every 5 years under Art. 280; recommends centre-state tax devolution. |
15 Practice MCQs
1. Who was the first Finance Minister of independent India?
**Options:** A) Liaquat Ali Khan B) John Mathai C) R. K. Shanmukham Chetty D) C. D. Deshmukh **Answer:** C) R. K. Shanmukham Chetty **Solution:** He presented the first budget on 26 Nov 1947. **Shortcut:** “R K S = Real Kadam Start” (first). **Tag:** #FirstFM2. Who holds the record for presenting the maximum number of Union Budgets?
**Options:** A) P. Chidambaram B) Morarji Desai C) Pranab Mukherjee D) Yashwant Sinha **Answer:** B) Morarji Desai (10 budgets) **Solution:** 1959-64 & 1967-69. **Shortcut:** “Morarji = Ten-ji”. **Tag:** #Record3. The 1991 Economic Reforms were presented by which Finance Minister?
**Options:** A) I. G. Patel B) Dr. Manmohan Singh C) Pranab Mukherjee D) Yashwant Sinha **Answer:** B) Dr. Manmohan Singh **Solution:** Under PM P. V. Narasimha Rao. **Shortcut:** “1991 = MMS = Manmohan Made Swatantra”. **Tag:** #Reforms4. First woman to hold full-time Finance Ministry charge (not interim) was:
**Options:** A) Indira Gandhi B) Nirmala Sitharaman C) Sushma Swaraj D) Sheila Dikshit **Answer:** B) Nirmala Sitharaman (2019-till date) **Solution:** Indira Gandhi only held additional charge. **Tag:** #WomanFM5. Who presented India’s first “paperless” Budget?
**Options:** A) Arun Jaitley B) Piyush Goyal C) Nirmala Sitharaman D) Pranab Mukherjee **Answer:** C) Nirmala Sitharaman (2021-22) **Solution:** Used tablet instead of Bahi-khata. **Shortcut:** “Paper-21 = Nirmala-done”. **Tag:** #DigitalBudget6. The famous “Dream Budget” of 1997-98 was presented by:
**Options:** A) P. Chidambaram B) Yashwant Sinha C) Jaswant Singh D) Arun Jaitley **Answer:** A) P. Chidambaram **Solution:** Slashed tax rates & introduced VDIS. **Tag:** #DreamBudget7. Which FM presented the maximum number of budgets in the 21st century so far?
**Options:** A) Pranab Mukherjee B) Arun Jaitley C) P. Chidambaram D) Nirmala Sitharaman **Answer:** B) Arun Jaitley (5 full + 1 interim) **Shortcut:** “Jaitley = 21st-century JACK-of-budgets”. **Tag:** #21stCentury8. Who was the Finance Minister during the demonetisation year 2016-17?
**Options:** A) Manmohan Singh B) Pranab Mukherjee C) Arun Jaitley D) Piyush Goyal **Answer:** C) Arun Jaitley **Tag:** #Demonetisation9. The first budget of Republic India (1950-51) was presented by:
**Options:** A) R. K. Shanmukham Chetty B) John Mathai C) C. D. Deshmukh D) T. T. Krishnamachari **Answer:** B) John Mathai **Solution:** Chetty resigned after 1948 budget; Mathai took over. **Tag:** #RepublicBudget10. Who succeeded Arun Jaitley as FM when he went on medical leave in 2019?
**Options:** A) Rajnath Singh B) Piyush Goyal C) Nirmala Sitharaman D) Amit Shah **Answer:** B) Piyush Goyal (interim 2019) **Tag:** #InterimFM11. The only FM to become both PM & President of India:
**Options:** A) Charan Singh B) Morarji Desai C) Pranab Mukherjee D) Dr. Manmohan Singh **Answer:** B) Morarji Desai **Solution:** PM 1977-79; never President, but only FM to become PM. **Clarification:** Pranab was President only. **Shortcut:** “Morarji = PM chair from FM”. **Tag:** #PoliticalClimb12. Which FM presented the “Millennium Budget” of 2000-01?
**Options:** A) Jaswant Singh B) Yashwant Sinha C) P. Chidambaram D) Pranab Mukherjee **Answer:** B) Yashwant Sinha **Solution:** Coined phrase “Millennium Budget”; stressed IT & infrastructure. **Tag:** #Y2K13. The 15th Finance Commission was constituted under which FM’s tenure?
**Options:** A) Arun Jaitley B) Piyush Goyal C) Nirmala Sitharaman D) Pranab Mukherjee **Answer:** A) Arun Jaitley (Nov 2017) **Tag:** #FinanceCommission14. Who presented the shortest Budget speech (1991) of just 90 minutes?
**Options:** A) Yashwant Sinha B) Pranab Mukherjee C) Dr. Manmohan Singh D) P. Chidambaram **Answer:** C) Dr. Manmohan Singh **Tag:** #ShortestSpeech15. Match the FM to the famous quote: “India is on the verge of bankruptcy.”
**Options:** A) Yashwant Sinha B) Dr. Manmohan Singh C) P. Chidambaram D) Arun Jaitley **Answer:** B) Dr. Manmohan Singh (1991 budget opening line) **Shortcut:** “Bankruptcy-91 = MMS-stone”. **Tag:** #FamousQuoteSpeed Tricks
| Situation | Shortcut | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Who presented first budget? | “R K C = Real Kadam Chetty” | R. K. Shanmukham Chetty |
| Max budgets? | “Morarji = Ten-ji” | 10 budgets |
| Reforms 1991 | “M-S = Manmohan-Singh” | MMS |
| Woman full-time FM | “NS = Nirmala Sitharaman” | 2019 onwards |
| Paperless budget | “21-NS = 2021 Nirmala” | Digital tablet |
Quick Revision
| Point | Detail |
|---|---|
| 1 | First FM: R. K. Shanmukham Chetty (1947). |
| 2 | Longest FM: Morarji Desai (10 budgets). |
| 3 | 1991 reforms: Dr. Manmohan Singh. |
| 4 | Dream Budget: P. Chidambaram (1997-98). |
| 5 | First woman full-time FM: Nirmala Sitharaman. |
| 6 | Paperless Budget: 2021-22 (Nirmala). |
| 7 | Interim Budget = election-year vote-on-account. |
| 8 | Halwa ceremony marks Budget printing secrecy. |
| 9 | Finance Commission: every 5 years under Art. 280. |
| 10 | Budget time: 11 AM tradition started by Yashwant Sinha (1999). |
BETA
