Lens Eye Exclusive :: Former Finance Minister Morarji Desai presented the budget Ten times, the most by any.

27 February 2015 ::  Former Finance Minister Morarji Desai presented the budget ten times, the most by any.

Former Finance Minister Morarji Desai presented the budget ten times, the most by any, where as P. Chidambaram is second only to Morarji Desai in presenting Budget

Morarji Desai went on to present eight annual Budgets and two Interim Budgets. In his first stint as finance minister, he presented five regular Budgets from 1959-60 to 1963-64 and one Interim Budget for 1962-63.

In his second stint, he presented three annual Budgets from 1967-68 to 1969-70 and one Interim Budget for 1967-68. During all the four Budget presentations in the second stint as finance minister -regular and Interim-Desai was also deputy prime minister in the Indira Gandhi Cabinet.

Morarji Desai

Morarji Desai (29 Feb 1896 – 10 April 1995), was a notable Indian independence activist and the fifth Prime Minister of India from 1977 – 1979. He was also the first Prime Minister to head India’s first non-Congress Government. He held many important posts in the Government of India such as: Chief Minister of Bombay State, Home Minister, Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of India. At foreign fronts, Desai holds international fame for his peace activism and made notable efforts to initiate peace between two-rival South Asian states, Pakistan and India. After India’s first nuclear explosion in 1974, Desai helped restore friendly relations with China and Pakistan, and vowed to avoid armed conflict such as Indo-Pakistani war of 1971. Domestically, he played crucial role in Indian nuclear program after it was targeted by major nuclear powers after conducting a surprise test in 1974. Morarji Desai closed down much of India’s premier intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing ( R&AW ), and reduced its budget and operations. Morarji Desai indiscreetly told Pakistan’s Chief Martial Law Administrator General Zia ul-Haq that his government was well aware of Pakistan’s nuclear development which prompted the Pakistani government in removing all spies from around its nuclear research facilities and thus finally being successful in its nuclear dream. Desai was the only Indian national to be conferred with Pakistan’s highest civilian award, Nishan-e-Pakistan, which was conferred on him by President Ghulam Ishaq Khan in 1990 in a colorful ceremony. Later, his policies promoted social, health and administrative reforms in the country.