New Delhi: Presenting the Union Budget is one of the most powerful responsibilities in the Indian government. It is the Finance Minister’s moment to outline the country’s economic direction, priorities and vision for the year ahead. Over the decades, however, very few women have had the opportunity to take on this crucial role.
The first woman to present India’s Union Budget was Indira Gandhi. In July 1969, she took charge of the Finance Ministry in addition to serving as Prime Minister, following Morarji Desai’s resignation. On February 28, 1970, she presented the Budget for 1970–71 in Parliament, becoming the first woman in independent India to do so. Her Budget focused on socialist policies, self-reliance, agricultural growth and reducing economic inequality at a time when the country was dealing with inflation and industrial slowdown.
For nearly 50 years after that, no woman presented the Union Budget. The next major milestone came in 2019, when Nirmala Sitharaman was appointed India’s first full-time woman Finance Minister under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She presented her first Budget on July 5, 2019, with a focus on infrastructure development, tax reforms and boosting economic growth.
Add Zee News as a Preferred Source
Since then, Sitharaman has created history by presenting consecutive Union Budgets. By February 2025, she had delivered eight in a row — the first person ever to achieve this milestone. Reports suggest she is set to present her ninth Budget in February 2026. This would make her the finance minister with the longest run of consecutive Budget presentations, second overall only to Morarji Desai, who presented 10 Budgets across different terms.
Her Budgets have highlighted themes such as women-led development, digital expansion, infrastructure growth, fiscal discipline and post-pandemic recovery, along with production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes aimed at strengthening manufacturing.
So far, only two women Indira Gandhi and Nirmala Sitharaman have presented India’s Union Budget. Their journeys mark significant moments in the country’s political and economic history, reflecting how women have broken barriers in one of the highest decision-making roles in governance.