In photos, powerful finance ministers from the past & their key Budgets

Indira Gandhi, V.P. Singh, Manmohan Singh, Yashwant Sinha, Arun Jaitley and others with their Budgets.

Manmohan Singh in his office after presenting the historic 1991 Budget | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrint

New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to balance the needs of the economy and fiscal constraints in her maiden Budget. In the process, some believe that she may give relief to the common man by raising personal income tax threshold for certain categories, while on the other hand, increasing expenditure on agriculture, healthcare and social sectors. Infrastructure is also expected to be a key sector for big push by the government.

Here are some powerful finance ministers from the past and their key proposals in their respective budgets.

A quick look on past Budgets

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Former PM and first woman finance minister Indira Gandhi presented the 1971-77 Budget, which focused on improving employment | Special arrangement | ThePrint

Former PM and first woman finance minister Indira Gandhi presented the 1971-77 Budget, which focused on improving employment | ThePrint arrangement

V.P. Singh | Special arrangement | ThePrint

V.P. Singh presented the 1985-86 Budget, which introduced a credit system for duty to be paid on raw materials rather than final products | Special arrangement | ThePrint

Manmohan Singh in his office after presenting the historic 1991 Budget | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrint

Manmohan Singh after presenting historic 1991 budget that liberalised the Indian economy | Photo: Praveen Jain | ThePrint

In 2000, Yashwant Sinha phased out tax incentives for software exporters implemented by Manmohan Singh | Photo: ThePrint arrangement

In 2000, Yashwant Sinha phased out tax incentives for software exporters implemented by Manmohan Singh | Photo: ThePrint arrangement

Pranab Mukherjee presented the 2010-11 Budget in which he introduced 20 per cent income tax for income between Rs 5-8 lakh | ThePrint

Pranab Mukherjee presented the 2010-11 Budget in which he introduced 20 per cent income tax for income between Rs 5-8 lakh | ThePrint

P. Chidambaram presented 2013 -14 Budget. The UPA Budget gave tax credit of Rs 2,000 for income up to Rs 5 lakh | ThePrint

P. Chidambaram presented 2013 -14 Budget. The UPA Budget gave tax credit of Rs 2, 000 for income upto Rs 5 lakh | | ThePrint

Arun Jaitley presented the 2018-19 Budget. The focus was on strengthening agriculture, rural development, health, education, MSME and infrastructure sectors | ThePrint

Current Railway Minister Piyush Goyal presented the 2019 interim budget. He introduced tax slab for income upto Rs 6.5 lakh

Piyush Goyal presented the 2019 interim Budget. He introduced tax slab for income upto Rs 6.5 lakh | Photo: Suraj Singh Bisht | ThePrint

Piyush Goyal presented the 2019 interim Budget. He introduced tax slab for income upto Rs 6.5 lakh | Photo: Suraj Singh Bisht | ThePrint