Longest Budget Speeches: Sitharaman Tops List, Manmohan Singh's 1991 Speech Historic

• Nirmala Sitharaman holds the record for the longest budget speech in Indian history, lasting 2 hours and 40 minutes in 2020-21 with over 11,000 words.
• Her first full budget in 2019 also lasted about two hours, presented as a detailed vision document.
• Jaswant Singh's 2003-04 budget speech, focusing on economic reforms and fiscal consolidation, was approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes long.
• Manmohan Singh's 1991-92 budget speech, though around two hours, is historically significant for initiating India's economic liberalization.
• P. Chidambaram's 2013-14 budget speech, also about two hours, aimed to control fiscal deficit and boost investor confidence during economic challenges.

Why It Matters: Nirmala Sitharaman delivered India's longest budget speech; length often reflects economic conditions and government vision.