Finance Minister of India 1947 – 2023: Check Names, and Tenures and All Ministers of Finance Since Independence

Since the independence of India in 1947, the country has witnessed many Finance Ministers who have been responsible for the country’s economic growth and development. Over the years, these Finance Ministers have worked tirelessly to ensure that the Indian economy remains stable and prosperous. Each Finance Minister of India since Independence has implemented various policies to make our country an economic powerhouse. 

From the first Finance Minister of India, R.K. Shanmukham Chetty, to the current Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, their contributions have been invaluable in shaping the country’s fiscal policies. In this blog, we will explore the history of India’s Finance Ministers from 1947 to 2023.

List of Finance Ministers of India From 1947 to 2023

There have been 28 finance ministers of India from 1947 to 2023. Each of these has had a unique impact on the nation’s economic policies. Here is a list of all finance ministers of India from 1947 to till date.

Name of the Minister of Finance	Tenure	Prime Minister
R. K. Shanmukham Chetty	15 August 1947 to 17 August 1948	Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru	17 August 1948 to 22 September 1948	Jawaharlal Nehru
John Mathai	22 September 1948 to 1 June 1950	Jawaharlal Nehru
C. D. Deshmukh	1 June 1950 to 24 July 1956	Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru	24 July 1956 to 30 August 1956	Jawaharlal Nehru
T. T. Krishnamachari	30 August 1956 to 14 February 1958	Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru	14 February 1958 to 22 March 1958	Jawaharlal Nehru
Morarji Desai	23 March 1958 to 31 August 1963	Jawaharlal Nehru
T. T. Krishnamachari	31 August 1963 to 31 December 1965	Jawaharlal Nehru, Gulzarilal Nanda, Lal Bahadur Shastri
Sachindra Chaudhuri	1 January 1966 to 12 March 1967	Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi
Morarji Desai	13 March 1967 to 16 July 1969	Indira Gandhi
Indira Gandhi	16 July 1969 to 27 June 1970	Indira Gandhi
Yashwantrao Chavan	27 June 1970 to 10 October 1974	Indira Gandhi
Chidambaram Subramaniam	10 October 1974 to 24 March 1977	Indira Gandhi
Morarji Desai	24 March 1977 to 26 March 1977	Morarji Desai
Hirubhai M. Patel	26 March 1977 to 24 January 1979	Morarji Desai
Charan Singh	24 January 1979 to 16 July 1979	Morarji Desai
Morarji Desai	16 July 1979 to 28 July 1979	Morarji Desai
Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna	28 July 1979 to 19 October 1979	Charan Singh
Charan Singh	19 October 1979 to 14 January 1980	Charan Singh
R. Venkataraman	14 January 1980 to 15 January 1982	Indira Gandhi
Pranab Mukherjee	15 January 1982 to 31 December 1984	Indira Gandhi
Vishwanath Pratap Singh	31 December 1984 to 24 January 1987	Rajiv Gandhi
Rajiv Gandhi	24 January 1987 to 25 July 1987	Rajiv Gandhi
N. D. Tiwari	25 July 1987 to 25 June 1988	Rajiv Gandhi
Shankarrao Chavan	25 June 1988 to 2 December 1989	Rajiv Gandhi
Madhu Dandavate	6 December 1989 to 10 November 1990	V.P. Singh
Yashwant Sinha	21 November 1990 to 21 June 1991	Chandra Shekhar
Manmohan Singh	21 June 1991 to 16 May 1996	P.V. Narasimha Rao
Jaswant Singh	16 May 1996 to 1 June 1996	Atal Bihari Vajpayee
P. Chidambaram	1 June 1996 to 21 April 1997	H.D. Deve Gowda
I. K. Gujral	21 April 1997 to 1 May 1997	I.K. Gujral
P. Chidambaram	1 May 1997 to 19 March 1998	I.K. Gujral
Yashwant Sinha	19 March 1998 to 1 July 2002	Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Jaswant Singh	1 July 2002 to 22 May 2004	Atal Bihari Vajpayee
P. Chidambaram	22 May 2004 to 30 November 2008	Manmohan Singh
Manmohan Singh	30 November 2008 to 24 January 2009	Manmohan Singh
Pranab Mukherjee	24 January 2009 to 26 June 2012	Manmohan Singh
Manmohan Singh	26 June 2012 to 31 July 2012	Manmohan Singh
P. Chidambaram	31 July 2012 to 26 May 2014	Manmohan Singh
Arun Jaitley	26 May 2014 to 14 May 2018	Narendra Modi
Piyush Goyal	14 May 2018 to 22 August 2018	Narendra Modi
Arun Jaitley	23 August 2018 to 23 January 2019	Narendra Modi
Piyush Goyal	23 January 2019 to 15 February 2019	Narendra Modi
Arun Jaitley	16 February 2019 to 30 May 2019	Narendra Modi
Nirmala Sitharaman	30 May 2019 to Incumbent	Narendra Modi

R. K. Shanmukham Chetty – First Finance Minister of India

R. K. Shanmukham Chetty was a pioneering figure in Indian politics and economics, who made history in 1947 when he was appointed the first Finance Minister of India. As the first Finance Minister, he was responsible for laying the foundation of India’s financial system and setting the stage for future economic development. His legacy is still felt today, and he is remembered as a visionary leader who had the foresight to recognize the importance of financial stability and economic progress.

Born in Coimbatore in 1892, Shanmukham Chetty studied economics at Madras Christian College. Before independence, Chetty served as the diwan of Cochin.

Check the List of Railway Ministers of India

Indira Gandhi – First Woman Finance Minister of India

Indira Gandhi was an Indian politician and stateswoman, who served as the first female Finance Minister of India. She was also the first woman Prime Minister of India, serving multiple terms. She was the only child of the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru.

Gandhi was sworn in as Finance Minister on 16th July 1969. Her tenure as a finance minister was short, but she left a lasting legacy. She left behind a strong economy and set the stage for India’s high growth rate in the coming decades.

Check – List of Home Ministers of India

During her tenure, she implemented several economic reforms in India, including fiscal, agricultural, and trade reforms.

Nirmala Sitharaman – Current Finance Minister of India

Nirmala Sitharaman is the current Finance Minister of India. She is the second female Finance Minister of India after Indira Gandhi and is a part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet. She is known for her inclusive and decisive approach to managing the Indian economy.

Sitharaman has taken several bold steps to reform the economy and has made India’s fiscal position better. With her leadership, the government has been able to achieve impressive economic growth and create jobs. Overall, her tenure as Finance Minister has been successful and she has been able to prove her worth in the current Indian government.

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Ministers of State of Finance in India

The job of the ministers of state in the union government is to assist the cabinet ministers. Here is the list of all ministers of state of finance in India to date.

Name of the ministers	Tenure	Party
R. K. Kumar	20 March 1998 to 22 May 1998	All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Kadambur M. R. Janarthanan	22 May 1998 to 8 April 1999	Bharatiya Janata Party
V. Dhananjay Kumar	13 October 1999 to 30 September 2000	Bharatiya Janata Party
Balasaheb Vikhe Patil	13 October 1999 to 1 July 2002	Shiv Sena
Gingee N. Ramachandran	30 September 2000 to 24 May 2003	Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Anant Geete	1 July 2002 to 26 August 2002	Shiv Sena
Anandrao Vithoba Adsul	26 August 2002 to 22 May 2004	Shiv Sena
Shripad Naik	8 September 2003 to 22 May 2004	Bharatiya Janata Party
Nirmala Sitharaman	26 May 2014 to 9 November 2014	Bharatiya Janata Party
Jayant Sinha	9 November 2014 to 5 July 2016	Bharatiya Janata Party
Santosh Gangwar	5 July 2016 to 3 September 2017	Bharatiya Janata Party
Arjun Ram Meghwal	5 July 2016 to 3 September 2017	Bharatiya Janata Party
Pon Radhakrishnan	3 September 2017 to 30 May 2019	Bharatiya Janata Party
Shiv Pratap Shukla	3 September 2017 to 30 May 2019	Bharatiya Janata Party
Anurag Thakur	30 May 2019 to 7 July 2021	Bharatiya Janata Party
Bhagwat Karad	7 July 2021 to Incumbent	Bharatiya Janata Party

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources – Google and Wikipedia

The information provided in this post is accurate as per our research. However, if you think there is some kind of mistake then please let us know through the comment section. Thank You!