Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present the Union Budget 2026 on February 1. Ahead of the presentation, attention once again turns to the tradition of the Budget speech, which reflects the country's economic priorities for the coming fiscal year.
This will mark Sitharaman's ninth consecutive Union Budget presentation, extending her record as the finance minister with the highest number of consecutive Budget speeches. In 2025, on February 1, she became the first person to present eight consecutive Union Budgets.
Over the years, Union Budget speeches have evolved in both substance and style to address the changing economic needs and challenges.
While every Union Budget is closely watched for its policy signals and fiscal priorities, some speeches have also made history for their length, or lack of it.
Over the years, a few Finance Ministers have stood out for delivering the longest and shortest Budget speeches ever made in Parliament.
Longest Union Budget Speech Ever
The record for the longest Union Budget speech in terms of duration belongs to Nirmala Sitharaman. While presenting the Union Budget in 2020, her address lasted two hours and 42 minutes, making it the longest Budget speech in India's parliamentary history.
During the speech, Sitharaman announced major policy measures, including the introduction of a new income tax regime and the proposed initial public offering of the Life Insurance Corporation of India. Towards the end of her address, she felt unwell, following which Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla read out the remaining two pages of the speech.
The 2020 Budget speech surpassed Sitharaman's own record from 2019, when she spoke for two hours and 17 minutes. In contrast, her interim Budget speech in 2024 was significantly shorter, lasting just 56 minutes, making it her shortest address since assuming office.
Shortest Union Budget Speech Ever
The shortest Union Budget speech on record was delivered by former Finance Minister Hirubhai M Patel during the 1977-78 financial year. Patel, who served in the Morarji Desai government, presented an interim Budget speech that contained only around 800 words, making it the shortest Budget address in India's history.
Longest Budget Speech By Word Count
In terms of word count, the longest Union Budget speech was delivered by former Finance Minister Manmohan Singh in 1991. His Budget address contained 18,650 words and remains the longest by word count to date.
The second-longest Budget speech by word count was presented by former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in 2018, with his address comprising 18,604 words.
