At a glance: Finance ministers of India since independence

New Delhi: On 28th February of every year, the entire country holds its breath to know how the General Budget, presented by the Union finance minister, is going to affect different stakeholders of the nation, ranging from a common man, farmer to SMEs and big corporate houses.The day belongs to the Finance minister of the country.Let's have a look at the illustrious list of all the finance ministers (including those who didn't get the chance of presenting Union budget) who gave direction to nation's economy in last 65 years of independence:1. R. K. Shanmukham Chetty (1947-1949): a lawyer by profession, he also became the first finance minister of independent India from 1947 to 1949. He also was the president of India's legislative assembly from 1933-1995. Due to his excellent command over economics, Chetty was chosen as the first finance minister of independent India by Jawahar Lal Nehru. Although he quit shortly after taking over as FM, he is remembered for presenting the first ever budget of India in 1947. 2. John Mathai (1949-150): an economist who not only served as the second finance minister of India but was also the first Railway Minister of Independent India. He presented two budgets during his tenure but resigned shortly following a protest. He was also the first chairman of State bank of India.3. C. D. Deshmukh (1950-1957): He became the union minister of finance in the year 1950 and remained in office till 1956. He resigned in 1956 in order to join the protest against government who was not letting Mumbai be a part of a separate Marathi-speaking state of Maharashtra.4. T. T. Krishnamachari (1957-1958) and (1963-1965): He served as finance minister of India twice. He resigned both times. He was a member of drafting committee and a part of Congress. 5. Jawaharlal Nehru (February 1958- March 1958): He served as the fifth finance minister of India after Krishnamachari's resignation for a month. 6. Morarji Desai (1958-1963) and (1967-1969): He first served as FM from 1958 to 1963. He served as Deputy Prime Minister and finance minister of India after being defeated by Indira Gandhi in Congress Party's leadership election. He served as the finance minister till the time the portfolio was taken away from him by Indira Gandhi. Consequently, he resigned form Congress. 7. Sachindra Chaudhuri (1965-1967): He served as the finance minister in the government of Infia form the year 1865 to 1967. 8. Indira Gandhi (1970-19701: After many arguments with Morarji desai she herself took the charge of finance minister's office. She took the support of Socialist and Communist parties to rule. She nationalized banks during her tenure as the finance minister.9. Yashwantrao Chavan (1971-1975): He was appointed as the finance minister by Indira Gandhi in the year 1971. During the 1975 emergency period, a lot of Congress members quit the party but Chavan remained an integral part of the party. In 1977, when Indira Gandhi lost her seat in general elections, Chavan was elected as the Congress party leader and hence he became the leader of opposition after Congress's defeat. 10. Chidambaram Subramaniam (1975-1977): He was an Indian activist and played a major role in bringing the era of self-sufficiency in food production in India. He took care of many portfolios like agriculture, defence and finance. 11. Haribhai M. Patel (1977-1979): He was instrumental in role in resolving issues of internal and national security of India in its initial days after independence. He became the finance minister in 1977 and later served as the Home Minister. 12. Charan Singh (January 1979-July 1979): He was the fifth Prime Minster of independent of India. He served as the finance minister of India from the year 1979 to 1979. He was also the Revenue Minister of the then populous state of India, Uttar Pradesh. 13. Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna (1979-1980): He was a prominent Congress leader and former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. He was given the portfolio of finance minister but very shortly he joined Bhartiya Lok Dal and started working with Charan Singh. 14. R. Venkataraman (1980-1982): He was the eighth President of independent India. He became the minister of finance in Indira Gandhi government. He later also handled the portfolio of minister of defnce. 15. Pranab Mukherjee (1982-1984) and (2009-2012): The current and 13th president of India has also served as the finance minister twice. He became the finance minister in Inidira Gandhi's government. He played a major role in improving the financial condition of the government and returning the last EMI of the IMF loan. He presented his first budget in 1982. 16. V. P. Singh (1984-1987): He was the seventh prime minister of free India. In Rajiv Gandhi's government he was given the crucial portfolio of finance minister. He was successful in reducing gold smuggling by reducing gold taxes. He was sacked by Rajiv Gandhi due to many raids that Singh conducted on many powerful indusrtilists. 17. Rajiv Gandhi (January 1987-July1987): the sixth prime minister of India took charge of the finance ministry for a very short duration right after sacking of VP Singh. 18. N.D Tiiwari (1987-1989): Thrice the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh he was appointed as the minister of finance in Rajiv Gandhi government in 1987. 19. Shankarrao Chavan (1988-1989): He served as the chief minister of Maharashtra twice and was appointed as the finance minister in the year 1988 in PV Narsimha Rao government. 20. Madhu Dandavate (1989-1990): An economist by profession, he was chosen as the finance minister in VP Singh government in 1989. He campaigned for Konkan Railway and is also one of its founders. 21. Yashwant Sinha (1990-1991): He was chosen as the finance minister in Chandra Shekhar government in 1990. He is known for reforms that helped Indian economy touch new heights. He introduced several reforms like low interest rates, tax deduction for mortgage interest, freeing up telecom sector and many more. 22. Manmohan Singh (1991-1996), (2008-2009) and (June 2012-July 2012): 13th and the current prime minister of India has also served as the finance minister three times. He has major economic reforms credited to his account. His policies changed the face of India's economy. 23. Jaswant Singh (May 1996-June 1996): He is a member of BJP and served in many portfolios like defence, finance and external affairs during NDAs rule. 24. P. Chidambaram (1996-1997), (1997-1998), (2004-2008) and (2012-till date): He served as the finance minister three times. He has a set a record number of presenting budget- eight times.

At a glance: Finance ministers of India since independence

New Delhi: On 28th February of every year, the entire country holds its breath to know how the General Budget, presented by the Union finance minister, is going to affect different stakeholders of the nation,

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