Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to make history on Tuesday as she presents her seventh consecutive budget for the 2024-25 fiscal year, breaking the record of former Prime Minister Morarji Desai.

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The first budget of the Modi government's third term is expected to focus on post-pandemic fiscal consolidation while pursuing long-term goals for a developed India (Vikshit Bharat).

In setting the agenda for this term, key areas of focus may include boosting consumption through tax benefits for the middle class, prioritizing agriculture, infrastructure spending, and pushing for enhanced manufacturing.

With India emerging as a key player in global growth, the budget is anticipated to address three major trends: global offshoring, digitalization, and energy transition.

Over the past decade, the Modi government has invested heavily in infrastructure, cut corporate taxes, and launched subsidies to encourage export-driven manufacturing. While these measures have stabilized the macroeconomy and boosted stock markets, challenges remain in job creation, income inequality, and rural distress.

Sitharaman, who turns 65 next month, was appointed as India's first full-time woman finance minister in 2019. She has since presented six consecutive budgets, including an interim one this February.

The 2024-25 budget will be her seventh, surpassing Desai's record of presenting five full budgets and one interim budget between 1959 and 1964. Desai, however, holds the record for the most budgets presented, with ten in total.

Key facts about budget presentations in independent India

First Budget: The first Union Budget of independent India was presented on November 26, 1947, by Finance Minister RK Shanmukham Chetty.

Most Number of Budgets: Former Prime Minister Morarji Desai holds the record, having presented ten budgets during his tenure as finance minister.

Second Most Budgets: P. Chidambaram presented nine budgets, starting on March 19, 1996, and continuing during his terms under the United Front government and the Congress-led UPA.

Third Most Budgets: Pranab Mukherjee presented eight budgets, first in the early 1980s and then between 2009 and 2012 under the UPA government.

Manmohan Singh: As finance minister in the P.V. Narasimha Rao government, Singh presented five straight budgets from 1991 to 1995.

Longest Budget Speech: Sitharaman holds the record for the longest budget speech, lasting two hours and 40 minutes on February 1, 2020.

Shortest Budget Speech: Hirubhai Mulljibhai Patel's interim budget speech in 1977 is the shortest, at just 800 words.

Timing: The budget was traditionally presented at 5 PM on the last day of February, aligning with London time. This changed in 1999 when Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha moved the presentation to 11 AM.

Date: Since 2017, the budget presentation date has been moved to February 1 to ensure the government can complete the Parliamentary approval process by the end of March, allowing for the budget's implementation from April 1.