Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget 2022 at 11 am on February 1, 2022 in Parliament. This will be her fourth budget presentation. The FM will be presenting a paperless budget this year as well, after she ditched the traditional 'Bahi Khata' that she had carried along with her in previous budgets. She had carried a Made in India tablet to present her budget last year, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
When and where to watch Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget Speech LIVE?
The 2022-23 Union Budget session of Parliament commenced on January 31 with President Ram Nath Kovind's address to both Houses. Following the president’s speech, Sitharaman tabled the Economic Survey 2021-22 in Parliament. The survey has forecast an 8% to 8.5% economic growth for the FY22-23.
Brief history of India's Union Budget
The first budget in Independent India was presented by then Finance Minister RK Shanmukham Chetty on November 26, 1947. Since then, there have been 73 annual budgets, 14 interim budgets and four special or mini budgets.
Even as Budget speeches last for close to the two hours, Sitharaman has delivered lengthy speeches so far. In 2020, she spoke for 2.40 hours. Although her speech commenced at 11 am, she ended it around 1:40 pm, despite a few pages remaining as the speech was incomplete. She had broken her own 2019 record of making India's longest Budget speech.
First Published: Jan 31, 2022 10:27 PM IST
