Nirmala Sitharaman holds record: Here is the list of longest-serving FMs

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who will present her ninth consecutive Union Budget on Sunday (February 1), is the longest-serving finance minister to have held the office continuously.

She assumed charge of the Finance Ministry on May 31, 2019, and has overseen the economy through the COVID-19 pandemic and periods of geopolitical uncertainty, during which India emerged as the world’s fastest-growing major economy.

Ninth budget in a row

By January 31, 2026, Nirmala will have completed six years and eight months in office. On February 1, she is set to present a record ninth Budget in succession.

Ahead of the Budget session, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that Nirmala presenting the Union Budget for the ninth consecutive time "will be recorded as a matter of pride in India's parliamentary history".

Former prime minister Morarji Desai had presented the Union Budget on 10 occasions, while P Chidambaram presented the Budget nine times, but not for consecutive years.

Former finance ministers

The other longest-serving Finance Minister at a stretch was C D Deshmukh, who took charge of the Ministry on June 1, 1950, and remained in office for about six years and two months.

Manmohan Singh, known for pushing economic liberalisation, served as Finance Minister for about five years, from June 21, 1990, to June 16, 1996.

Later as Prime Minister, Singh held the additional charge of Finance portfolio for a brief period once in 2008 and again in 2012.

Non-consecutive tenures

P Chidambaram served as Finance Minister for about eight years, but in four separate stints.

The others who steered the Ministry for long time, but non-consecutive stints, include Morarji Desai (about 7 years 9 months), Pranab Mukherjee (6 years 4 months), Arun Jaitley (4 years 8 months), Y B Chavan (4 years 3 months) and Yashwant Sinha (4 years 4 months).

The first Finance Minister of Independent India was R K Shanmukham Chetty.

(With agency inputs)