Indian Budget
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee became the first finance minister to present the Union Budget on either side of an election and the first to do so after a quarter-century gap, in 2009. His last three Budgets were presented between 1982 and 1984. Mukherjee was rated as the best finance minister in the world in 1984 by Euromoney magazine. Budgets have always been presented on the last day of February. So B-day is always on February 28, except on leap years when it is presented on February 29. However, last year, the Budget was presented on February 26 as 28th was a Sunday. Of course, there are occasions when instead of a full-fledged Budget, an interim budget is presented. On occasions, a vote on account is presented in place of a Budget: this is done during an election year. The full or interim Budget, as the case may be, is presented by the new dispensation that has been voted to power. R K Shanmukham Chetty presented independent India's first budget. R K Shan...