7 memorable quotes by finance ministers from past Budgets
Jul 17, 2024
Credit: BCCL
Iconic Budget speeches
Previous budget speeches have seen mentions of various poets, philosophers and even politicians, among other things.
Credit: BCCL
Morarji Desai (Budget 1967-1968)
Desai said, “I look upon the coming financial year with a certain degree of optimism and with the expectation that, given the right policies, it can become a year of revival".
Credit: Public Domain
Manmohan Singh (Budget 1991-1992)
Singh quoted famous poet Victor Hugo while describing India's economic potential: "no power on Earth can stop an idea whose time has come".
Credit: BCCL
P Chidambaram (Budget 2005-2006)
Chidambaram quoted Amartya Sen: “Growth of GNP or of individual incomes can, of course, be very important as means to expanding the freedoms enjoyed by the members of the society. But freedoms depend also on other determinants, such as social and economic arrangements, as well as political and civil rights”.
Credit: Ministry of Finance
Pranab Mukherjee (Budget 2010-2011)
Pranab Mukherjee quoted Kautilya: “A wise collector general shall conduct the work of revenue collection in a manner that production and consumption should not be injuriously affected. Financial prosperity depends on public prosperity, abundance of harvest, and prosperity of commerce, among other things”.
Arun Jaitley (Budget 2017-2018)
Jaitley said: “When my aim is right, when my goal is in sight, the winds favour me, and I fly".
Credit: Ministry of Finance
Piyush Goyal (Budget 2019-2020)
The Interim Finance Minister said, "Inflation is a hidden and unfair tax on the poor and the middle class." "We have also not been as successful in controlling persistent inflation as we would have wished," he added.
Credit: BCCL
Nirmala Sitharaman (Budget 2022-2023)
Finance Minister Sitharaman recently quoted a couplet fromThirukkural in her Budget speech — “A king/ruler is the one who creates and acquires wealth, protects and distributes it for common good”.
Credit: BCCL