This article talks about the Finance Ministers Of India since independence. The list of Finance Ministers of the country will give you the names of the personalities who served the Ministry of Finance from 1946 to 2023, their term of office and the related political parties.
The list of Finance Ministers of India is an important Static GK topic that holds relevance in the UPSC exam and other competitive exams as well. For more such Static GK articles, kindly check the linked page.
Having knowledge about the head of the Ministry of Finance, their term of office and the political parties they relate to is imperative to ace the general awareness section of various competitive exams. Minimum of 1-2 questions will be asked about Finance Ministers of India in most of the competitive exams like Bank, RRB, SSC, Insurance and other Government exams.
Candidates preparing for any competitive exam are advised to take Online quizzes to boost their preparation and can refer to the related links given below:
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Finance Ministers Of India
The Ministry of Finance, Government of India is one of the senior-most offices in the Union Cabinet and the Finance minister is the head of it.
The Finance Minister of India is responsible for the budgetary policy of the government and within this framework, it is the duty and responsibility of the Finance Minister to prepare and present the annual Union Budget in the Parliament.
List of Finance Ministers of India – Download PDF Here
The Union Budget prepared by the Finance Minister of India gives the details of the Government’s plan spending and taxations in the coming financial year. With the help of this budget, Finance Ministers outlines the distribution of finances to different departments and Ministries.
Check the List of Cabinet Ministers of India along with their portfolios on the linked page.
K. Shanmukham Chetty was the first Finance Minister of independent India and also presented the first Union Budget. Later, Indira Gandhi held the post for one year from 1970 – 1971 and was the first female Finance Minister. The current Finance Minister of India 2020 is Nirmala Sitharaman.
List Of Finance Ministers Of India Since Independence
Since 1945, India has had 38 Finance Ministers and there have been tenures when the country was headed by an acting Minister of Finance. The Indian Finance Ministers list from 1946 till 2022 is given in the table below:
| Finance Ministers Of India – (1946 – 2022) | |||
| Name | Political Party | Office Tenure | |
| Liaquat Ali Khan | All-India Muslim League | October 29, 1946, to August 14, 1947 | |
| R. K. Shanmukham Chetty | Indian National Congress | August 15, 1947, to 1949 | |
| John Mathai | 1949 to 1950 | ||
| C. D. Deshmukh | May 29, 1950, to 1957 | ||
| T. T. Krishnamachari | 1957 to February 13, 1958 | ||
| Jawaharlal Nehru | February 13, 1958, to March 13, 1958 | ||
| Morarji Desai | March 13, 1958, to August 29, 1963 | ||
| T. T. Krishnamachari | August 29, 1963, to 1965 | ||
| Sachindra Chaudhuri | 1965 to March 13, 1967 | ||
| Morarji Desai | March 13, 1967, to July 16, 1969 | ||
| Indira Gandhi | 1970 to 1971 | ||
| Yashwantrao Chavan | 1971 to 1975 | ||
| Chidambaram Subramaniam | 1975 to 1977 | ||
| Haribhai M. Patel | Janata Party | March 24, 1977, to January 24, 1979 | |
| Charan Singh | January 24, 1979, to July 28, 1979 | ||
| Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna | Janata Party (Secular) | July 28, 1979, to January 14, 1980 | |
| R. Venkataraman | Indian National Congress | January 14, 1980, to January 15, 1982 | |
| Pranab Mukherjee | January 15, 1982, to December 31, 1984 | ||
| V. P. Singh | December 31, 1984, to January 24, 1987 | ||
| Rajiv Gandhi | January 24, 1987, to July 25, 1987 | ||
| N. D. Tiwari | July 25, 1987, to June 25, 1988 | ||
| Shankarrao Chavan | June 25, 1988, to December 2, 1989 | ||
| Madhu Dandavate | Janata Dal (National Front) | December 2, 1989, to November 10, 1990 | |
| Yashwant Sinha | Samajwadi Janata Party (National Front) | November 10, 1990, to June 21, 1991 | |
| Manmohan Singh | Indian National Congress | June 21, 1991, to May 16, 1996 | |
| Jaswant Singh | Bharatiya Janata Party | May 16, 1996, to June 1, 1996 | |
| P. Chidambaram | Tamil Manila Congress (United Front) | June 1, 1996, to April 21, 1997 | |
| I.K. Gujral | Janata Dal (United Front) | April 21, 1997, to May 1, 1997 | |
| P. Chidambaram | Tamil Manila Congress (United Front) | May 1, 1997, to March 19, 1998 | |
| Yashwant Sinha | Bharatiya Janata Party (NDA) | March 19, 1998, to July 1, 2002 | |
| Jaswant Singh | July 1, 2002, to May 22, 2004 | ||
| P. Chidambaram | Indian National Congress (UPA) | May 22, 2004, to November 30, 2008 | |
| Manmohan Singh | November 30, 2008, to January 24, 2009 | ||
| Pranab Mukherjee | January 24, 2009, to June 26, 2012 | ||
| Manmohan Singh | June 26, 2012, to July 31, 2012 | ||
| P. Chidambaram | July 31, 2012, to May 26, 2014 | ||
| Arun Jaitley | Bharatiya Janata Party (NDA) | May 26, 2014, to May 30, 2019 | |
| Nirmala Sitharaman | Bharatiya Janata Party (NDA) | May 31, 2019, to till date | |
List of Finance Ministers of India – Download PDF Here
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her first Union Budget on July 5, 2019. She holds the full-time office as the Finance Minister and if she completes her term of office as mentioned in the constitution, she would become the first Indian lady finance minister to do so.
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