Important Budgets in the history of India

1947: The First BudgetFinance Minister: R K Shanmukham Chetty
- Independent India’s first budget
- Presented in November 1947
- Concentrated on agriculture
- Over the next decade focus to move to expansion of industrial sector
- Forestry, fishing and textile identified as focus areas

1950 : The Agriculturist’s Budget
Finance Minister: C D Deshmukh
- Proposed a ‘Grow More Food’ Plan
- Nehru’s vision to push agriculture via assured irrigation
- Plan to meet the growing demand as population expanded
- Economic growth from Grow More Food Plan helped only in short term

1969: Bank Nationalization
Finance Minister: Morarji Desai
- 14 banks were nationalize.
- Became mandatory for banks to provide 40% of net credit to priority sectors
- Priority sectors: agriculture, small-scale industry, retail trade, small businesses
- Aim for nationalization: Ensure that banks fulfill social and developmental goals
- Budget in the 60s focused on public finance, savings, taxation and inflation
- Aim was to secure a balance between consumption and investment on resources and increase exports.

1970: Garibi Hatao
Finance Minister: Indira Gandhi
- Budget presented by India’s first woman Finance Minister
- Indira Gandhi’s claimed, “the weaker sections are the greatest source of economic strength”.
- Proposed “anti-poverty programmes”
- Introduced special schemes and discretionary transfers
- Sought to combine social welfare expenditure & growth potential
- Set the economy on the irreversible path of high spending by central government
- Revenue surplus turned into a revenue deficit

Budget 1986: Cheers for Tax Reform
Finance Minister: VP Singh
- Launched long-term program for tax reform
- Excise policy saw a major overhaul.
- Fiscal Policy was designed to widen tax base
- Introduced modified value added tax or MODVAT
- MODVAT allowed manufacturers to obtain instant and full reimbursement of excise duty paid on components and raw materials

 1992: Rise of a New India
  Finance Minister: Manmohan Singh
 The budget that changed the rules of the game
 Introduced an inclusive economic strategy
 Unveiled a new currency policy
 Abolished license regime
 New import-export policy opened up the economy for FDI
 Foreign investment limit in high-priority industries was raised to 51%
Interest rates were made flexible
Commercial banks were allowed to set interest rates based on risk on loans
 The private sector emerged as the star gainer.
 Opportunities and scope of expansion of private sector increased manifold
 The 1992 Budget changed the way the world viewed India

1997: The Dream Budget
Finance Minsiter: P Chidambaram
- Budget presented a road map for economic reforms
- A slew of measure both on the direct and indirect tax front changed India’s tax landscape
- Maximum income tax rate for individuals was cut from 40% to 30%
- Income tax rate for companies was decreased to 35% per from 40%
- Peak customs duty came down to 40% from 50%Dividend tax on individual investors was abolished.This budget introduced the Voluntary Disclosure of Income Scheme, which targeted recovery of black money.Tax filing was made mandatory based on ownership of a telephone, four-wheeler, occupation of immovable property and foreign travel.This budget known as the Dream Budget.

2002: The Rollback Budget
Finance Minister: Yashwant Sinha

  The Rollback budget: 5 key proposals were withdrawn or rolled back

  Rebate in income tax under Section 88 of the IT Act was cut to 15% for the Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 5 lakh bracket. The original proposal had reduced the tax rebate in this bracket from 20% to 10%. And tax rebate for income up to Rs 1.5 lakh was rolled back to 20%.

  5% service tax on life insurance premium, was done away with.

  4% excise duty on spare parts and accessories of bicycles, hand pumps, toys and umbrellas was abolished.

  LPG price hiked by Rs 40 per cylinder was reduced to a cut of Rs 20 per cylinder.100% income tax deduction on export profits in SEZs, software technology parks (STPs) and 100% EOUs was restored. The budget had proposed to restrict the tax deduction to 90% of profits.Housing was considered a growth driver. Construction for residential purposes was incentivized.VAT or value added tax was introduced. VAT now is the backbone for the introduction of GST.

2005: Social Sector Impetus
Finance Minister: P Chidambaram
- Landmark schemes of the government like National Rural Health Mission, Gender Budget and NREGA were announced first time in budget of 2005-06.
- The National Rural Health Mission is a health program for improving health care delivery across rural India. The scheme proposes a number of new mechanisms for healthcare delivery including training local and the Janani Surakshay Yojana (motherhood protection program). It also aims at improving hygiene and sanitation infrastructure.National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (now called MGNREGA) is a job guarantee scheme. It provides a legal guarantee for one hundred and fifty days of employment in every financial year to adult members of any rural household willing to do public work-related unskilled manual work at a minimum wage. If they fail to do so the government has to pay the salary at their homes

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