List of Finance Ministers of India (1947 to 2025)

Dec 27, 2024, 13:25 IST

Nirmala Sitharaman is the current finance minister of India. She was appointed as the Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs on 31 May 2019. She became India’s first full-time female Finance Minister. Check out the list of finance ministers of India here.  

Finance Ministers of India 2023
Finance Ministers of India 2023

Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the fourth Pre-Budget Consultation with stakeholders and experts from the export, trade, and industry sectors on 26 December 2024. The consultation was part of the preparations for the Union Budget 2025, scheduled to be presented on February 1, 2025. This will mark Sitharaman's eighth Budget as India’s Finance Minister.


The Ministry of Finance (Vitta Maṃtrālaya) is a key department within the Government of India, tasked with managing the nation’s economy and serving as its Treasury. Its responsibilities encompass taxation, financial legislation, oversight of financial institutions, regulation of capital markets and currency, banking services, and the finances of both the Centre and states. It also plays a pivotal role in preparing the Union Budget. The ministry serves as the apex authority for four central civil services: the Indian Revenue Service, Indian Audit and Accounts Service, Indian Economic Service, and Indian Civil Accounts Service. Additionally, it oversees the Indian Cost and Management Accounts Service, one of the central commerce services.

Who is the Current Finance Minister of India?

Nirmala Sitharaman is the current finance minister of India. She was appointed as the Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs on 31 May 2019. She became India’s first full-time female Finance Minister. She presented her maiden budget in the Indian Parliament on 5 July 2019. Sitharaman has presented six budgets from 2019 to 2024, including the interim budget for 2024. With the presentation of the Union Budget in February 2024, she became the first finance minister to deliver seven consecutive budgets. 

Budget 2024 Date and Time: Why Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is presenting an Interim Budget this year?

Former PM Manmohan Singh Passed Away At 92 

Former PM Manmohan Singh

Image: AP

Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, aged 92, passed away on 26 December 2024 at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). An esteemed Indian politician, economist, academic, and bureaucrat, Dr Singh served as the 13th Prime Minister of India from 2004 to 2014.

He was the fourth longest-serving Prime Minister, following Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, and Narendra Modi. A prominent member of the Indian National Congress, Dr Singh made history as India’s first Sikh Prime Minister. Additionally, he was the first Prime Minister since Nehru to be re-elected after completing a full five-year term.

List of Finance Ministers of India

Sir Ramasamy Chetty Kandasamy Shanmukham Chetty KCIE (17 October 1892 – 5 May 1953) holds the distinction of being India’s first Finance Minister post-independence. He presented the country’s inaugural budget on 26 November 1947.

S.N.

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

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The department of public enterprises has been included under the Ministry of Finance which would still be headed by the Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman. It has been decided in the most recent cabinet reshuffle. This move of including DPE in the FM is said to be a step towards privatization and financial influence on the state-run enterprises. Know more about the Finance Ministers of India below.

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FAQs

  • On which day the Union Budget is presented every year in India?
    +
    From 2016 onwards, the Union Budget is presented on 1 February every year so that it could be materialised before the beginning of the new financial year in April.
  • Who is the current Finance Minister of independent India?
    +
    Nirmala Sitharaman is the current Finance Minister of independent India. She took charge on 31 May 2019.
  • Who served as the first female Finance Minister of independent India?
    +
    Indira Gandhi served as the first female Finance Minister of independent India from 16 July 1969 to 27 June 1970.
  • Who is the first Finance Minister of independent India?
    +
    R. K. Shanmukham Chetty was the first Finance Minister of independent India from 15 August 1947 to 17 August 1948. He presented independent India's first Union Budget on 26 November 1947.

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