Wealth tax to 'Black Budget': Here're India-specific snippets on Budget

Budget, which comes from bougette (French for bag), has a storied history. Starting today, we will bring you some India-specific snippets

Wealth Tax was introduced in Budget 1957-58, presented by T T Krishnamachari. Levied on the total value of personal assets, it remained in the picture in one form or the other till Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman abolished it in 2015, her maiden Budget. During his next stint as finance minister, Krishnamachari, in his interim and Union Budgets of 1965-66, introduced the first voluntary disclosure income scheme (VDIS) against black money — it was the first such effort.

T T Krishnamachari (centre) presiding over the State’s Finance Minister’s Conference in New Delhi on November 18, 1957

The 1973-74 Budget, presented by Y B Chavan, came to be called the “Black Budget”. The 1971 India-Pakistan war and a failed monsoon had caused severe economic distress in India. The Budget had a deficit of Rs 550 crore — hence "Black Budget", though the term usually refers to a Budget where funds are set aside for classified work. Further, it came under criticism for setting aside Rs 56 crore for the nationalisation of coal mines, general insurance companies and Indian Copper Corporation.