Budget Trivia (Part VII): Which two Hindu gods found a mention in former President Pranab Mukherjee's 2011 budget speech?
Encompassing over 70 years of history of independent India, in our Budget Trivia series, we present to you 70 lesser-known facts about the Budget process
June 25, 2019 / 18:20 IST
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2008-09 || The last full budget of the UPA 2 government was famous for an unprecedented bailout move that cost the government Rs 60,000 crore. What was the measure? Ans: The government announced a loan waiver cum relief programme under which it waived off outstanding loans of thousands of farmers worth more than Rs 60,000 crore. (Image source: Reuters)
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2009-10 || The first budget of the UPA 2 government announced the setting up of a new organisation that has evolved into a defining institution for delivery of most services. Which is this institution? Ans: Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) that launched the Aadhaar project to give a unique identification number/card to each Indian containing biometric and other personal details. (Image source: Reuters)
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2010-11 || This budget announced a plan that eventually made India enter an elite group comprising the US, the UK, Japan and the European Union (EU). What was the plan? Ans: The government announced plans to formalise a symbol for the Indian Rupee, joining the select club of currencies such as the US Dollar, British Pound Sterling, Euro and Japanese Yen that have a clear distinguishing identity.
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2011-12 || Pranab Mukherjee invoked the name of two Hindu deities in budget speech seeking their blessings for two unknown events that could affect the economy. Whose name did he invoke? Ans: Lord Indra, praying for timely and plentiful monsoon rains, and Goddess Lakshmi for a bountiful harvest. (Image source: Reuters)
2012-13 || Pranab Mukherjee’s last budget had a one-off peculiarity in presentation and also lasting fiscal legacy that roiled the investor community? Which are these? Ans: The budget was presented on March 16, 2012, and not in the last week of February. It was delayed because of the UP Assembly elections. The 2012-13 budget is also known for the controversial “Retrospective Tax” that allowed made companies pay taxes even on previous merger and acquisitions (M&A) affecting deals like the Vodafone’s purchase of Hutchison Whampoa’s telecom assets in India. (Image source: Reuters)
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2013-14 || Finance minister P Chidambaram’s last full budget introduced a new taxation concept for individuals on the higher income scale? What was the measure? Ans: For the first time he introduced a so-called “super-rich tax” in India. “Relatively prosperous" persons with a taxable income of more than Rs 1 crore — and there are supposedly only 42,800 of them in India in 2013 — were made to pay an additional surcharge of 10 percent.
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2014-15 || Finance minister Arun Jaitley’s first budget, among other things, also stood out for two unique characteristics. What are these? Ans: It was the longest budget speech that lasted two and a half hours long and included a ten-minute break. It also came to be known as the Rs 100-crore budget speech because it included 12 schemes for which Rs 100 crore each were allocated. (Image source: Reuters)
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2015-16 || What exception did the stock markets make for this budget speech? Ans: The budget was presented on a Saturday. Markets made a budget-day exception to remain open on Saturday.
2016-17 || This budget launched a programme to revitalize India’s public sector bank through a massive capital infusion programme. The programme is named after a Hindu mythological weapon. What is the name of the programme? Ans: Project Indradhanush (Image source: Reuters)
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2017-18 || The budget for 2017-18 had three firsts to its credit. What are these? Ans: For the first time in 92 years, the Rail Budget, presented separately, was merged with the Union Budget of 2017. The budget also did away with the decades-old Plan, non-Plan expenditure classification. Lastly, the budget was presented on February 1 to enable early implementation of budget proposals. (Image source: Reuters)
![2013-14 || Finance minister P Chidambaram’s last full budget introduced a new taxation concept for individuals on the higher income scale? What was the measure? Ans: For the first time he introduced a so-called “super-rich tax” in India. “Relatively prosperous" persons with a taxable income of more than Rs 1 crore — and there are supposedly only 42,800 of them in India in 2013 — were made to pay an additional surcharge of 10 percent.](https://images.moneycontrol.com/static-mcnews/2018/01/tax2.jpg "2013-14 || Finance minister P Chidambaram’s last full budget introduced a new taxation concept for individuals on the higher income scale? What was the measure? Ans: For the first time he introduced a so-called “super-rich tax” in India. “Relatively prosperous" persons with a taxable income of more than Rs 1 crore — and there are supposedly only 42,800 of them in India in 2013 — were made to pay an additional surcharge of 10 percent.")
