Complete List of Finance Ministers of India (1947-2024)

Introduction to the Finance Ministry of India

List of Finance Ministers of India- The Ministry of Finance in India plays a crucial role in managing taxation, financial legislation, financial institutions, capital markets, and budgets for the nation. It is responsible for shaping and implementing policies that impact the economy and welfare of the country. Article 112 of the Indian Constitution requires an annual budget to be presented in the Parliament.

Nirmala Sitharaman became India’s first full-time female Finance Minister in 2019, marking a historic milestone. As of 2024, she will be presenting her seventh budget. The tradition of presenting the Union Budget changed in 2016, with the BJP government deciding to shift the budget date from the last working day of February to February 1st.

The first Finance Minister of independent India was R. K. Shanmukham Chetty, who presented the country’s first budget. Here’s the complete list of all finance ministers who have held office in India.

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List of Finance Ministers of India (1947-2024)

S.N.	Name	Term of Office	Political Party	Prime Minister
1	Liaquat Ali Khan	29 Oct 1946 – 14 Aug 1947	All-India Muslim League	Jawaharlal Nehru (interim govt.)
2	R. K. Shanmukham Chetty	15 Aug 1947 – 17 Aug 1948	Indian National Congress	Jawaharlal Nehru
3	John Mathai	22 Sep 1948 – 6 May 1950	Indian National Congress	Jawaharlal Nehru
4	C. D. Deshmukh	1 June 1950 – 1 Aug 1956	Indian National Congress	Jawaharlal Nehru
5	Jawaharlal Nehru	1 Aug 1956 – 30 Aug 1956	Indian National Congress	Jawaharlal Nehru
6	T. T. Krishnamachari	30 Aug 1956 – 14 Feb 1958	Indian National Congress	Jawaharlal Nehru
7	Morarji Desai	22 Mar 1958 – 31 Aug 1963	Indian National Congress	Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri
8	T. T. Krishnamachari	31 Aug 1963 – 31 Dec 1965	Indian National Congress	Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri
9	Sachindra Chaudhuri	1 Jan 1966 – 13 Mar 1967	Indian National Congress	Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi
10	Morarji Desai	13 Mar 1967 – 16 Jul 1969	Indian National Congress	Indira Gandhi
11	Indira Gandhi	16 Jul 1969 – 27 Jun 1970	Indian National Congress	Indira Gandhi
12	Yashwantrao B. Chavan	27 Jun 1970 – 10 Oct 1974	Indian National Congress	Indira Gandhi
13	Chidambaram Subramaniam	10 Oct 1974 – 24 Mar 1977	Indian National Congress	Indira Gandhi
14	Haribhai M. Patel	26 Mar 1977 – 24 Jan 1979	Janata Party	Morarji Desai
15	Charan Singh	24 Jan 1979 – 16 Jul 1979	Janata Party	Morarji Desai
16	Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna	28 Jul 1979 – 19 Oct 1979	Janata Party (Secular)	Charan Singh
17	R. Venkataraman	14 Jan 1980 – 15 Jan 1982	Indian National Congress	Indira Gandhi
18	Pranab Mukherjee	15 Jan 1982 – 31 Dec 1984	Indian National Congress	Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi
19	V. P. Singh	31 Dec 1984 – 24 Jan 1987	Indian National Congress	Rajiv Gandhi
20	Rajiv Gandhi	24 Jan 1987 – 25 Jul 1987	Indian National Congress	Rajiv Gandhi
21	N. D. Tiwari	25 Jul 1987 – 25 Jun 1988	Indian National Congress	Rajiv Gandhi
22	Shankarrao B. Chavan	25 Jun 1988 – 2 Dec 1989	Indian National Congress	Rajiv Gandhi
23	Madhu Dandavate	5 Dec 1989 – 10 Nov 1990	Janata Dal (National Front)	V. P. Singh
24	Yashwant Sinha	21 Nov 1990 – 21 Jun 1991	Samajwadi Janata Party	Chandra Shekhar
25	Manmohan Singh	21 Jun 1991 – 16 May 1996	Indian National Congress	P. V. Narasimha Rao
26	Jaswant Singh	16 May 1996 – 1 Jun 1996	Bharatiya Janata Party	Atal Bihari Vajpayee
27	P. Chidambaram	1 Jun 1996 – 19 Mar 1998	Tamil Maanila Congress	H. D. Deve Gowda, I. K. Gujral
28	Yashwant Sinha	19 Mar 1998 – 1 Jul 2002	Bharatiya Janata Party	Atal Bihari Vajpayee
29	Jaswant Singh	1 Jul 2002 – 22 May 2004	Bharatiya Janata Party	Atal Bihari Vajpayee
30	P. Chidambaram	23 May 2004 – 26 May 2014	Indian National Congress	Manmohan Singh
31	Arun Jaitley	26 May 2014 – 30 May 2019	Bharatiya Janata Party	Narendra Modi
32	Nirmala Sitharaman	31 May 2019 – Present	Bharatiya Janata Party	Narendra Modi

Key Milestones in India’s Budget Presentation History

1. First Budget Presentation: Presented by R. K. Shanmukham Chetty on November 26, 1947.
2. Shift in Budget Date: Since 2016, the Union Budget is presented on February 1st instead of the last working day of February.

Female Leadership: Nirmala Sitharaman became the first full-time female Finance Minister in 2019.

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