From Manmohan Singh introducing liberalisation, privatisation, and globalisation in 1991 to P Chidamabaram reducing personal and corporate tax in 1997, the country, in the last four decades, has witnessed some landmark Budgets. While Singh's 1991 Union Budget ended the Licence Raj, opening the Indian economy to the world, P Chidambaram's presentation was labelled a "Dream Budget" for the relief it brought to the taxpayer.
The same couldn't be said about Indira Gandhi's 1973-74 Budget, which, in the annals of Indian economic history, is referred to as the "Black Budget".
Presented by Yashwantrao B Chavan, the then Finance Minister, the Budget received the infamous nickname due to the massive fiscal deficit of Rs 550 crore, an unprecedented figure which underscored the country's economic challenges.
The fiscal deficit, the gap between the government's total income and total spending, indicates the health of a country's economy. A bigger Budget deficit implies stormy times for the government; hence, the Rs 550 crore deficit was a major issue at the time.
Why It Was Called The "Black Budget"
The "Black Budget", in many ways, was in the making. The 1971 India-Pakistan war had drained India's resources, and the post-war expenses, including the gargantuan task of rehabilitating over 10 million refugees, took a huge toll on the exchequer.
The defence costs rose to a staggering Rs 1,600 crore. And if that wasn't enough, the 1972 drought, the worst in decades, ripped apart the agricultural sector and left rural India reeling under food shortages. India's urban areas experienced power shortages and rising unemployment.
When Finance Minister Yashwantrao Chavan spoke on the floor of the house, his words were: "This is not a time for hesitation but for bold action to secure our future."
The 1973 Budget also made some significant policy changes. The Indira Gandhi government created a Rs 56 crore fund to nationalise coal mines, insurance businesses and the Indian Copper Corporation. The government's premise was that nationalising coal mines would help meet rising demand in the power sector.
Among other things, the government at the time earmarked Rs 220 crore as drought relief to help millions affected by crop failures. The Indira Gandhi government also spent Rs 160 crore on the import of 2 million tonnes of foodgrains to tackle food shortages.
Budget 2025
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present her eighth consecutive Budget in Parliament on Saturday, February 1, 2025. This is the second full-fledged financial Budget under the BJP-led NDA government's third consecutive term. In 2025, the Budget will continue to follow the paperless format adopted a few years ago.
