New Delhi: On February 1, 2025, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget. It will be the eighth consecutive Union Budget presented by FM Sitharaman. While the first-ever Union Budget of independent India was presented on November 26, 1947, by the nation’s first Finance Minister R.K. Shanmukham Chetty, the actual first Budget in the history of India was presented during the British Raj. India’s history of financial governance and economic planning goes back to the era of colonialism and in this article, we will take a look at the first Budget ever in the history of India.
The first Budget in the Indian history
The first Budget ever in the history of India was presented in 1860 when the country was under the rule of the British Empire. James Wilson, a member of the British Parliament and the Finance Member of the Indian Council, tabled the Budget. Lord Canning, India’s Governor-General at that time appointed Wilson to address the financial challenges that the country was facing after the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny.
Who was James Wilson?
James Wilson was a Scottish businessman and economist who was entrusted with the task of organising the financial structure of India and addressing the revenue management challenges. A founder of The Economist magazine and Standard Chartered Bank, Wilson left his parliamentary seat in Britain after the First War of Independence in 1857 and was sent to India by Queen Victoria to remodel the country’s finance structure, introduce a new paper currency and establish a tax structure.
How did the first Budget impact Indian economy?
In the first Budget, Wilson introduced income tax, a major source of revenue for the government even today. He stabilized the Indian economy by introducing income tax which marked a turning point in revenue generation for the colonial administration. Also, he introduced the license bill and exempted people whose yearly income was less than Rs 200 from filing taxes. Also, an appropriation audit based on the English model was introduced to check the progress of expenditure accounts every month. The financial governance system introduced by Wilson through his reforms is something that is still followed in India, cementing his immortal legacy to the economy of this country.
This article delves into India’s first budget, presented in 1860 under British rule by James Wilson. It explores Wilson’s background, his mandate to reform India’s finances post-1857 mutiny, and the introduction of income tax as a pivotal revenue source. knowledge Knowledge News, Photos and Videos on General Knowledge
