Budget 2019: 6 interesting facts about Railway Budget which is now merged with Union Budget!

Sitharaman who is country's first full time Finance Minister would also be presenting the Union Railway Budget which is the annual finance statement of the state-owned Indian Railways.

Here's are some interesting facts about the history and evolution of Railways Budget. (Image: Getty)

Budget 2019: As Nirmala Sitharaman is all set to table her first Union Budget for 2019-20 fiscal year on July 5 (Friday), country's first full time Finance Minister would also be presenting the Union Railway Budget which is the annual finance statement of the state-owned Indian Railways. Till 2016, the Union Railway Budget was presented separately days ahead of the Union Budget by the Railway Minister in the Parliament.  Since 1947 when the first Railway Budget of independent India was presented, a lot of things have changed along with the rapid expansion of Indian Railways itself. Here's are some interesting facts about the history and evolution of Railways Budget: 1. The first Railway Budget of Independent India was put fourth on November 26 1947, by first Union Finance Minister RK Shanmugham Chetty. As the exercise was just a review of the Indian economy thus no new tax were imposed by the government. It was also done keeping in mind that Budget day for 1948-49 was just 95 days away. 2. The 92-year old custom of presenting Railway Budget and General Budget separately was brought to an end by PM Modi-led NDA 1 government on 21 September, 2016. Then Finance Minister Arun Jaitley became the first one to present a combined Union budget in 2017. 3. The decision of merging Railway Budget and Union Budget was finalised after a Committee recommendations which was headed by NITI Aayog member Bibek Debroy. Even during British rule, the tradition of presenting Union Budget and Railway Budget separately was practised. It was started by the British in 1924. 4. During that time (in 1924), the Railway Budget was as much as 84 per cent of the Union Budget as Railway revenue was the only major contributor for the nation’s GDP. The decision to table both Railway and General Budget separately was passed by a 10-member Acworth Committee which was headed by British economist William Mitchell Acworth. Acworth was appointed as the chairman of the Indian Railways in 1921. 5. Mamata Banerjee became the first women Railway Minister of India in 2000 and the first female Minister to present the Railway Budget. Banerjee is also the only female to have presented the Railway Budget for two different governments. First televised broadcast of railway budget happened on 24 March 1994. 6. Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, who remained Railways Minister from 2004 to May 2009, presented the Railway Budget for six consecutive times. Under the Modi regime, DV Sadananda Gowda presented the first Railway Budget and Suresh Prabhu is the last Railway minster to present the separate Railway Budget.