finance ministers for 2 August 2025

The Ministry of Finance, known in Hindi as Vitta Mantralaya, functions as the central authority for managing public finances and acts as the national treasury. Its core responsibilities include the formulation and implementation of tax policies, financial laws, and economic regulations. The Ministry supervises financial institutions, manages currency and capital markets, and oversees both central and state government finances. 

A key function of the Finance Ministers of India is the preparation and presentation of the Union Budget. It also serves as the cadre-controlling authority for major civil services such as the Indian Revenue Service, Indian Audit and Accounts Service, Indian Economic Service, and Indian Civil Accounts Service. It also administers the Indian Cost and Management Accounts Service, which plays a significant role in the country's commercial governance.

Finance Minister of India

Nirmala Sitharaman currently holds the position of Finance Minister of India, having taken charge of the Ministry of Finance and Corporate Affairs on May 31, 2019. She holds the distinction of being the country’s first woman to serve as a full-time Finance Minister. Her first Budget speech in Parliament was delivered on July 5, 2019. Between 2019 and 2024, she has tabled six Union Budgets, including the Interim Budget 2024. With the presentation of the Budget in February 2024, she became the First Finance Minister in India to present seven consecutive Union Budgets.

List of Finance Ministers of India

Sir Ramasamy Chetty Kandasamy Shanmukham Chetty, born on 17 October 1892, served as the independent First Finance Minister of India. He had the historic responsibility of presenting the nation’s first-ever Budget, which he delivered on 26 November 1947. His tenure marked the beginning of India's financial planning in the post-colonial era.

List of Finance Ministers of India
SNo	Name	Term of office		Political Party	Prime Minister
1.	Liaquat Ali Khan	29 October 1946	14 August 1947	All-India Muslim League	Jawaharlal Nehru (Vice President of the interim Govt.)
2.	R. K. Shanmukham Chetty	15 August 1947	17 August 1948	Indian National Congress	Jawaharlal Nehru
3.	John Mathai	22 September 1948	26 January 1950
		26 January 1950	6 May 1950
		6 May 1950	1 June 1950
4.	C. D. Deshmukh	1 June 1950	13 May 1952
		13 May 1952	1 August 1956
5.	Jawaharlal Nehru	1 August 1956	30 August 1956
6.	T. T. Krishnamachari	30 August 1956	17 April 1957
		17 April 1957	14 February 1958
7.	Jawaharlal Nehru	14 February 1958	22 March 1958
8.	Morarji Desai	22 March 1958	10 April 1962
		10 April 1962	31 August 1963
9.	T. T. Krishnamachari	31 August 1963	31 December 1965		Jawaharlal Nehru Lal Bahadur Shastri
10.	Sachindra Chaudhuri	1 January 1966	11 January 1966		Lal Bahadur Shastri Indira Gandhi
		11 January 1966	24 January 1966
		24 January 1966	13 March 1967
11.	Morarji Desai	13 March 1967	16 July 1969		Indira Gandhi
12.	Indira Gandhi	16 July 1969	27 June 1970
13.	Yashwantrao B. Chavan	27 June 1970	18 March 1971
		18 March 1971	10 October 1974
14.	Chidambaram Subramaniam	10 October 1974	24 March 1977
15.	Haribhai M. Patel	26 March 1977	24 January 1979	Janata Party	Morarji Desai
16.	Charan Singh	24 January 1979	16 July 1979
17.	Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna	28 July 1979	19 October 1979	Janata Party (Secular)	Charan Singh
18.	R. Venkataraman	14 January 1980	15 January 1982	Indian National Congress	Indira Gandhi
19.	Pranab Mukherjee	15 January 1982	31 October 1984
		31 October 1984	31 December 1984
20.	V. P. Singh	31 December 1984	14 January 1985		Rajiv Gandhi
		14 January 1985	30 March 1985
		30 March 1985	25 September 1985
		25 September 1985	24 January 1987
21.	Rajiv Gandhi	24 January 1987	25 July 1987
22.	N. D. Tiwari	25 July 1987	25 June 1988
23.	Shankarrao B. Chavan	25 June 1988	2 December 1989
24.	Madhu Dandavate	5 December 1989	10 November 1990	Janata Dal (National Front)	V. P. Singh
25.	Yashwant Sinha	21 November 1990	21 June 1991	Samajwadi Janata Party (National Front)	Chandra Shekhar
26.	Manmohan Singh	21 June 1991	16 May 1996	Indian National Congress	P. V. Narasimha Rao
27.	Jaswant Singh	16 May 1996	1 June 1996	Bharatiya Janata Party	Atal Bihari Vajpayee
28.	P. Chidambaram	1 June 1996	21 April 1997	Tamil Maanila Congress (United Front)	H. D. Deve Gowda
29.	I.K. Gujral	21 April 1997	1 May 1997	Janata Dal (United Front)	I. K. Gujral
30.	P. Chidambaram	1 May 1997	19 March 1998	Tamil Maanila Congress (United Front)
31.	Yashwant Sinha	19 March 1998	13 October 1999	Bharatiya Janata Party (National Democratic Alliance)	Atal Bihari Vajpayee
		13 October 1999	1 July 2002
32.	Jaswant Singh	1 July 2002	22 May 2004
33.	P. Chidambaram	23 May 2004	30 November 2008	Indian National Congress (United Progressive Alliance)	Manmohan Singh
34.	Manmohan Singh	30 November 2008	24 January 2009
35.	Pranab Mukherjee	24 January 2009	22 May 2009
		23 May 2009	26 June 2012
36.	Manmohan Singh	26 June 2012	31 July 2012
37.	P. Chidambaram	31 July 2012	26 May 2014
38.	Arun Jaitley	26 May 2014	30 May 2019	Bharatiya Janata Party (National Democratic Alliance)	Narendra Modi
39.	Nirmala Sitharaman	31 May 2019	Present	Bharatiya Janata Party (National Democratic Alliance)	Narendra Modi

First Finance Minister of India

K. Shanmukham Chetty served as First Finance Minister of India from 1947 to 1948. He delivered the First Union Budget of India, which projected total expenditure at Rs. 171.15 crore and a fiscal deficit of Rs. 24.59 crore. A prominent figure in India’s early political and economic landscape, Chetty was not only an economist and lawyer but also held the position of President of the Central Legislative Assembly from 1933 to 1935. His contributions laid the groundwork for India's post-independence fiscal policy.

Female Finance Minister of India

Nirmala Sitharaman holds the position of first full-time Female Finance Minister of India, a role that entrusts her with key responsibilities, including the presentation of the Union Budget. However, she is not the first woman to present a Union Budget. That milestone was achieved by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who assumed charge of the Finance Ministry following Morarji Desai’s resignation in July 1969. Gandhi went on to present the Union Budget for the financial year 1970-71.

Finance Ministers of India Roles and Responsibility

• Holds a senior position in the Union Cabinet and leads the government’s fiscal policy and economic planning.
• Prepares and presents the annual Union Budget in Parliament, detailing projected expenditures and revenue for the upcoming financial year.
• Oversees the country’s public financial management system, ensuring effective financial control, transparency, and accountability.
• Supervises the formulation and implementation of tax policies, including direct taxes, indirect taxes, tariffs, and other government duties.
• Guides resource allocation across sectors in line with national development goals and financial priorities.
• Manages government revenues and expenditures, aligning them with long-term financial and economic objectives.
• Supports economic stability through policy decisions that influence inflation, growth, investment, and employment.

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