Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has now presented eight consecutive Union Budgets, nearing Morarji Desai’s record of ten. She holds the record for the longest-ever budget speech, delivered in 2020 and lasting 2 hours and 40 minutes.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman added another milestone to her record in 2025 as she presented her eighth consecutive Union Budget, delivering a speech that lasted 1 hour and 14 minutes. Over the years, her Budget addresses have steadily become shorter, a sharp contrast to the marathon speeches she delivered at the start of her tenure.
With eight Budgets behind her, Sitharaman is now inching closer to the record held by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai, who presented the highest number of Union Budgets in India.
Closing in on a Historic Record
Morarji Desai presented 10 Budgets in total, six between 1959 and 1964 and another four from 1967 to 1969. His record still stands tall, but Sitharaman’s uninterrupted run since 2019 places her among the most enduring finance ministers in India’s history.
Other stalwarts include P Chidambaram, who presented nine Budgets, and Pranab Mukherjee, who delivered eight under different prime ministers. What makes Sitharaman’s run unique is that all her Budgets have been presented consecutively and under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Appointed in 2019 as India’s first full-time woman Finance Minister, Sitharaman has continued in the role even after PM Modi’s third consecutive electoral victory in 2024.
From Marathon Speeches to Sharper Messaging
Beyond the number of Budgets, Sitharaman has also made headlines for the length of her speeches. She holds the record for the longest Budget speech ever delivered in India. Her 2020 Budget presentation ran for a staggering 2 hours and 40 minutes, and famously had to be cut short with two pages still unread.
Since then, her speeches have become noticeably more compact. The shortest came during the 2024 interim Budget, which wrapped up in just 60 minutes, reflecting a focus on continuity rather than headline-grabbing announcements.
A Timeline of Sitharaman’s Budget Speeches
A look at her Budget presentations shows how her approach has evolved over time:
2020 (Longest): 2 hours 40 minutes
Announcements included new income tax slabs and the landmark LIC IPO proposal.
2019: 2 hours 17 minutes
Laid out a 10-point vision for the decade, with emphasis on MSMEs and pre-filled income tax returns.
2024 (Shortest): 1 hour
An interim Budget marked by restrained announcements and policy continuity.
2025: 1 hour 14 minutes
Focused on fiscal consolidation, infrastructure expansion, and green growth.
Where Sitharaman Ranks on Budget Speech Length
In terms of duration, Sitharaman dominates the list of the longest Budget speeches in India:
- Nirmala Sitharaman (2020) – 2 hours 40 minutes
- Nirmala Sitharaman (2019) – 2 hours 17 minutes
- Jaswant Singh (2003) – 2 hours 13 minutes
- Arun Jaitley (2014) – 2 hours 10 minutes
However, when measured by word count, the longest speech belongs to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, whose 1991 Budget speech ran to 18,650 words, followed closely by Arun Jaitley’s 2018 speech at 18,604 words.