Black Budget of India 1973: The country once presented a budget that has come to be known as the Black Budget. It was presented at a time when the country was grappling with an economic crisis, and upon its presentation, it became known nationwide as the Black Budget. Now that the budget debate has begun once again, let’s explore the story of the country’s First Black Budget.

The common man has many expectations from the budget; every common man and special person keeps an eye on it. On this occasion, let us know the story of the country’s black budget and why it was been given this name.

Why was it called the Black Budget?

The 1973-74 budget is known as the Black Budget. At that time, Indira Gandhi’s government was at the helm, and Yashwantrao B. Chavan was the Finance Minister. Following the 1971 war between India and Pakistan, the country’s economy was going through a difficult phase. The monsoon was also out of order, leading to drought-like conditions. Clearly, the government was facing immense difficulties on many fronts, and every effort was being made to somehow bring the economy back on track.

Crisis behind the 1973-74 budget

The situation was such that the government was forced to spend more than it earned. Then, the then Finance Minister, Shri Yashwantrao B. Chavan, presented a budget that has been called the Black Budget. Now, let’s find out why it was been given this name. It was called the Black Budget because it was a deficit budget. This budget for the year 1973-74 had a deficit of Rs 550 crore, and the speech given by the then Finance Minister, Yashwantrao Chavan, while presenting it, was also discussed. While presenting the budget, he said, “Drought has worsened the situation in the country. There has been a huge decline in food grain production, due to which the budgetary deficit has increased, and now the time has come to present a Black Budget.”

When government spending exceeds its revenue, various cuts are required, and such a budget is called a black budget. Since India’s independence, a black budget has been implemented only once, when the Indira Gandhi government presented a budget with a deficit of ₹550 crore (US$1.5 billion), which became a topic of national discussion.

Know other kinds of budgets

However, several subsequent budgets were presented, known by various names such as the Dream Budget, Rollback Budget, Millennium Budget, and Once-in-a-Century Budget, all of which were given these names based on their respective characteristics.