First Finance Minister of India: History, Achievements & Impact

Who was the first finance minister of India?

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R.K. Shanmukham Chetty was the first finance minister of independent India. He served a year-long tenure from August 1947 to August 1948 under Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

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He was born in Coimbatore in 1892 and graduated from Madras Law College. After graduating, Shanmukham Chetty joined politics and worked for the Indian nationalist Swaraj Party and Justice Party. 

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Political History

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In 1920, R.K. Shanmukham Chetty served as a member of the Madras Legislative Society until he resigned in 1922. Two years later, he was elected to the Central Legislative Assembly. 

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He represented the Indian employers at the Indian Labour Conference in Geneva in 1928, 1929, and 1932. In 1934, he was appointed as the President of the Central Legislative Assembly until 1935 after losing the election that year. 

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From 1935 to 1941, Chetty served as Diwan of Cochin. He introduced new reforms and schemes in the administration to improve the Cochin port.

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Appointment as the 1st Indian Finance Minister

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R.K. Shanmukham Chetty was appointed as the first Indian finance minister by Mahatma Gandhi after India gained independence. Chetty presented the first budget of post-independent India on November 26, 1947.

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Jawaharlal Nehru, however, met his appointment with some dissent. Due to conflicts with Nehru, Chetty shortly quit his position. 

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Who is the longest-serving finance minister of India?

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P. Chidambaram is the longest-serving male finance minister of India with an 8-year-long tenure under the Indian National Congress (INC) party. He introduced the New Tax Regime of 2005, which simplified the tax structures. 

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He also enforced the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act (FRBM) to curb the fiscal deficits. Chidambaram launched an economic stimulus package to curb the global financial crisis of 2008. 

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Nirmala Sitharaman is the longest-serving female Indian finance minister who has held the position since 2019. She was appointed under the rule of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). 

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She introduced the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan during the COVID-19 pandemic and is set to enforce the New Income Tax Bill 2025. She is the second woman to present the Union Budget of India after Indira Gandhi.