Budget 2024: Who Gave The Longest Budget Speech In History?

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present the Union Budget on Tuesday, July 23. This will be the first comprehensive budget since the BJP-led NDA government secured a third consecutive term earlier this year. Notably, Sitharaman holds the record for delivering the longest budget speech in Parliament, underscoring the significance of this occasion.

Some of the Longest Union Budget Speeches in History

Nirmala Sitharaman (2020-2021): Sitharaman delivered the longest budget speech, lasting 2 hours and 40 minutes. During the 2020 Union Budget on February 1, she began her presentation at 11 am and continued until 1:40 pm. Her speech was cut short due to health concerns, with only two pages remaining, and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla completed the rest of the budget reading.

Nirmala Sitharaman (2019-2020): In her first budget speech for the year 2019-2020, Sitharaman spoke for 2 hours and 17 minutes. In 2022, her speech lasted for one and a half hours, making it her shortest budget presentation.

Jaswant Singh (2003-2004): Previously, the record for the longest Union Budget speech was held by then-Finance Minister Jaswant Singh in 2003. His speech lasted 2 hours and 13 minutes, making it the third-longest budget speech so far.

Arun Jaitley (2014-2015): The fourth-longest Union Budget speech was delivered by Arun Jaitley in 2014, lasting for 2 hours and 10 minutes.

The record for the most words in a budget speech belongs to Manmohan Singh, who delivered an 18,650-word speech in 1991 when he served as the Finance Minister of the Narasimha Rao government. This speech included significant announcements regarding the liberalisation of the Indian economy. In 2018, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's speech comprised 18,604 words.

On the other end of the spectrum, the shortest budget speech was delivered in 1977 by Finance Minister Hirubhai Mulljibhai Patel, with only 800 words.