SSC · Railway
Who was the first Finance Minister of independent India?
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Answer: Option B — R. K. Shanmukham Chetty
Detailed Solution
- Shanmukham Chetty. Sir R. K. Shanmukham Chetty (1892-1953) was the first Finance Minister of independent India, in Jawaharlal Nehru's first cabinet. He presented independent India's first Union Budget on 26 November 1947. It was an interim budget covering the seven and a half months from 15 August 1947 to 31 March 1948.
About R. K. Shanmukham Chetty:
- He was a lawyer, economist and politician from Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.
- He was a member of the Justice Party and later the Swaraj Party.
- He served as President of the Central Legislative Assembly (1933-1935).
- He was the Diwan (Prime Minister) of the princely state of Cochin (1935-1941).
- He was a member of the Constituent Assembly but resigned as Finance Minister in 1948 because of a controversy.
Later Finance Ministers and budget milestones:
- John Mathai: the second Finance Minister, who presented the first budget of the Republic of India (1950) and set up the Planning Commission.
- D. Deshmukh: the first Governor of the RBI of Indian origin, and later Finance Minister (1950-56).
- Liaquat Ali Khan: Finance Minister in the Interim Government (1946), who presented the famous "poor man's budget" of 1947; he later became Pakistan's first Prime Minister.
- Morarji Desai: has presented the most budgets (10).
- Indira Gandhi: the first woman to present the budget (1970), as Prime Minister holding the finance portfolio.
Nirmala Sitharaman: the first full-time woman Finance Minister (2019). She has presented the most consecutive budgets.
In 2017, the Railway Budget was merged with the Union Budget, and the budget date was moved to 1 February.
The budget is called the "Annual Financial Statement" under Article 112 of the Constitution.
Why not the other options?
- ✗John Mathai presented the first budget of the Republic (1950).
- ✗D. Deshmukh was the first Indian RBI Governor and later Finance Minister.
- ✗Liaquat Ali Khan was Finance Minister of the Interim Government (1946-47).
Quick tip
Remember: First Finance Minister = R. K. Shanmukham Chetty (first budget 26 November 1947); first Republic budget = John Mathai (1950); budget = Article 112, presented on 1 February since 2017.
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Firsts in India & World — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Firsts in India & World, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers the first persons and events in India and the world: the first Indian to win a Nobel Prize, the first woman to hold major offices, the first to climb Everest or reach space, and India's first institutions, newspapers, railways and satellites. It also covers the largest, longest, highest and smallest records in India and the world. These are pure memory questions, so revise them as short lists by theme: first women, first in sports, first in science and space, and first in governance. Be careful with the exact wording, such as 'first Indian' versus 'first person of Indian origin', or 'first woman President' versus 'first woman Prime Minister', since options are often designed to exploit this. Practise the firsts in India and the world questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.