Budgets That Have Changed the Course of India's Economy

BANGALORE:  Since independence more than 80 budgets have been presented. And recently Arun Jaitley presented the Union Budget for 2014-15 on 10^thJuly 2014. Most of the today’s youth is less interested with the budget and budget related news. But if you go back into the history of budgets in India, you can acknowledge how much important role these budgets have played into the development of India.

1. 1947: The First Budget

Soon after the independence, India’s first budget was introduced in 26^th November 1947. R K Shanmukham Chetty was the finance Minister at that time. The Budget’s total estimate was upto 171.15 crore, but the total expenditure only was calculated to 197.39 crore.

The only tax proposal that was discussed in the budget was 3 percent increase in the export duty on cotton cloth and yarn, which was an increment of four annas per square yard on cotton cloth and six annas on a pound of cotton yarn. Although it was very minute change, it marked the beginning of Indian economy.