Budget 2023: At 16,236 words and 85 minutes, Sitharaman delivers shortest speech ever

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her shortest-ever Budget speech in her fifth presentation.

Bengaluru, Feb 01: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday delivered the Budget 2023-24 with her shortest budget speech of approximately 16,236 words so far. She spoke for 1 hour and 25 minutes, making it the shortest among the budget speeches that generally go for about 2 hours at least.

Despite its brevity, the budget speech was packed with a number of key announcements and initiatives aimed at boosting the country's economy and improving the standard of living of its citizens.

One of the key highlights of the budget was the allocation of Rs 35,000 crore for the agriculture sector. The finance minister also announced several measures aimed at boosting the country's health sector, with a sum of Rs 64,180 crore allocated for the sector. Another major announcement was the allocation of Rs 2.23 lakh crore for the education sector. This is aimed at improving the quality of education in the country and making it accessible to all. In addition to these measures, the budget also had a number of initiatives aimed at boosting the country's infrastructure.

The Longest Budget Speech

Sitharaman holds the record for delivering the longest speech when she spoke for 2 hours and 42 minutes while presenting the Union Budget 2020-21 on February 1, 2020.

With two pages still remaining, she had to cut short her speech as she felt unwell. She asked the Speaker to consider the remaining part of the speech as read. During the course of this speech, she broke her own record of July 2019 - her maiden Budget - when she had spoken for 2 hours and 17 minutes.

The Shortest Budget Speech

The shortest Budget speech in history consisted of just 800 words. It was the interim Budget that was presented by former Finance Minister Hirubhai Mulljibhai Patel in 1977.

Meanwhile, Sitharaman's daughter and relatives watched from the visitor gallery in Lok Sabha as she presented the Union Budget for 2023-24 on Wednesday.

The visitor gallery was full as the last full-fledged budget of the second Narendra Modi government was presented.

Among those present were Sitharaman's daughter Vangmayi Parakala and many of her relatives.

Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and several Rajya Sabha members were also present and were seen taking notes as various proposals were announced.

In her budget speech, Sitharaman said the world has recognised India as a bright star as the country is recording healthy economic growth despite global uncertainties.

India's growth at 7 per cent in the current fiscal is the highest among major economies and the Indian economy is on the right track, she said.

In the 75th year of Independence, the world has recognised India as a bright star, the minister said, adding the world appreciates the country's achievements.