India has seen many finance ministers since its independence in 1947 and each finance minister has their own importance in framing of India’s fiscal policy. Here we bring you the complete Finance Ministers of India list along with their basic details such as term of office, tenure and political party name with which they were associated.
R. K. Shanmukham Chetty became the 1st Finance Minister of India & served for more than 1 year. Famous personalities like Jawahar Lal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Morarji Desai, Charan Singh, Pranab Mukherjee, I.K. Gujral, Manmohan Singh, P. Chidambaram, Arun Jaitley, Piyush Goyal also served as the finance minister of India. In this article, we will describe some of the most interesting information about our finance ministers.
List of Finance Ministers of India
Here is the complete list of finance ministers in India from the year 1947 to 2024:-
| Name | Term of Office | Tenure | Political Party |
|---|---|---|---|
| R. K. Shanmukham Chetty | 15 August 1947 to 17 August 1948 | 1 year, 2 days | Indian National Congress |
| Jawaharlal Nehru | 17 August 1948 to 22 September 1948 | 36 days | Indian National Congress |
| John Mathai | 22 September 1948 to 1 June 1950 | 1 year, 252 days | Indian National Congress |
| C. D. Deshmukh | 1 June 1950 to 24 July 1956 | 6 years, 53 days | Indian National Congress |
| Jawaharlal Nehru | 24 July 1956 to 30 August 1956 | 37 days | Indian National Congress |
| T. T. Krishnamachari | 30 August 1956 to 14 February 1958 | 1 year, 168 days | Indian National Congress |
| Jawaharlal Nehru | 14 February 1958 to 22 March 1958 | 36 days | Indian National Congress |
| Morarji Desai | 23 March 1958 to 31 August 1963 | 5 years, 161 days | Indian National Congress |
| T. T. Krishnamachari | 31 August 1963 to 31 December 1965 | 2 years, 122 days | Indian National Congress |
| Sachindra Chaudhuri | 1 January 1966 to 12 March 1967 | 1 year, 70 days | Indian National Congress |
| Morarji Desai | 13 March 1967 to 16 July 1969 | 2 years, 125 days | Indian National Congress |
| Indira Gandhi | 16 July 1969 to 27 June 1970 | 346 days | Indian National Congress |
| Yashwantrao Chavan | 27 June 1970 to 10 October 1974 | 4 years, 105 days | Indian National Congress |
| Chidambaram Subramaniam | 10 October 1974 to 24 March 1977 | 2 years, 165 days | Indian National Congress |
| Morarji Desai | 24 March 1977 to 26 March 1977 | 2 days | Janata Party |
| Hirubhai M. Patel | 26 March 1977 to 24 January 1979 | 1 year, 304 days | Janata Party |
| Charan Singh | 24 January 1979 to 16 July 1979 | 173 days | Janata Party |
| Morarji Desai | 16 July 1979 to 28 July 1979 | 12 days | Janata Party |
| Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna | 28 July 1979 to 19 October 1979 | 83 days | Janata Party (Secular) |
| Charan Singh | 19 October 1979 to 14 January 1980 | 87 days | Janata Party (Secular) |
| R. Venkataraman | 14 January 1980 to 15 January 1982 | 2 years, 1 day | Indian National Congress |
| Pranab Mukherjee | 15 January 1982 to 31 December 1984 | 2 years, 351 days | Indian National Congress |
| Vishwanath Pratap Singh | 31 December 1984 to 24 January 1987 | 2 years, 24 days | Indian National Congress |
| Rajiv Gandhi | 24 January 1987 to 25 July 1987 | 182 days | Indian National Congress |
| N. D. Tiwari | 25 July 1987 to 25 June 1988 | 336 days | Indian National Congress |
| Shankarrao Chavan | 25 June 1988 to 2 December 1989 | 1 year, 160 days | Indian National Congress |
| Madhu Dandavate | 6 December 1989 to 10 November 1990 | 343 days | Janata Dal |
| Yashwant Sinha | 21 November 1990 to 21 June 1991 | 212 days | Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya) |
| Manmohan Singh | 21 June 1991 to 16 May 1996 | 4 years, 330 days | Indian National Congress |
| Jaswant Singh | 16 May 1996 to 1 June 1996 | 16 days | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| P. Chidambaram | 1 June 1996 to 21 April 1997 | 324 days | Tamil Maanila Congress |
| I. K. Gujral | 21 April 1997 to 1 May 1997 | 10 days | Janata Dal |
| P. Chidambaram | 1 May 1997 to 19 March 1998 | 322 days | Tamil Maanila Congress |
| Yashwant Sinha | 19 March 1998 to 1 July 2002 | 4 years, 104 days | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Jaswant Singh | 1 July 2002 to 22 May 2004 | 1 year, 326 days | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| P. Chidambaram | 22 May 2004 to 30 November 2008 | 4 years, 192 days | Indian National Congress |
| Manmohan Singh | 30 November 2008 to 24 January 2009 | 55 days | Indian National Congress |
| Pranab Mukherjee | 24 January 2009 to 26 June 2012 | 3 years, 154 days | Indian National Congress |
| Manmohan Singh | 26 June 2012 to 31 July 2012 | 35 days | Indian National Congress |
| P. Chidambaram | 31 July 2012 to 26 May 2014 | 1 year, 299 days | Indian National Congress |
| Arun Jaitley | 26 May 2014 to 14 May 2018 | 3 years, 353 days | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Piyush Goyal | 14 May 2018 to 22 August 2018 | 100 days | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Arun Jaitley | 23 August 2018 to 23 January 2019 | 153 days | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Piyush Goyal | 23 January 2019 to 15 February 2019 | 23 days | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Arun Jaitley | 16 February 2019 to 30 May 2019 | 103 days | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| Nirmala Sitharaman | 30 May 2019 – Incumbent | 3 years, 31 days | Bharatiya Janata Party |
First Woman Finance Minister of India
Nirmala Sitharaman as India’s first woman Finance Minister on May 31, 2019, shattered conventional gender barriers in the realm of finance and economics.
Finance Ministers of India – FAQ’s
Who was the first finance minister of India
R. K. Shanmukham Chetty was the first finance minister of independent India.
What was the tenure of Manmohan Singh as Finance Minister
Manmohan Singh became the finance minister from 21 June 1991 to 16 May 1996 (4 years 330 days), 30 November 2008 to 24 January 2009 (55 days), 26 June 2012 to 31 July 2012 (35 days) and his tenure in office was 5 years 55 days.
Who was the longest serving finance minister of India
P. Chidambaram from 1 June 1996 to 21 April 1997 (324 days), 1 May 1997 to 19 March 1998 (322 days), 22 May 2004 to 30 November 2008 (4 years, 192 days), 31 July 2012 to 26 May 2014 (1 year, 299 days). His total tenure was 8 years 42 days.
Who was the shortest serving finance minister of India
I.K Gujaral from 21 April 1997 to 1 May 1997 (10 days)
Official Website for Ministry of Finance – https://www.finmin.nic.in/
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