• Union Budget 2021-22

    Nirmala Sitharaman
    'Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark'
    A King/Ruler is the one who creates and acquires wealth, protects and distributes it for common good.
  • Union Budget 2020-21

    Nirmala Sitharaman
    Saun Watan Gulzar Shalamaar Hyur Dal Manz Pholvun Pamposh Hyuv Navjavan-an-hund, Vushun Khumaar Hyuv Myon Watan, Chyon Watan Saun Watan, Nundbony Watan
    Bhumi tiruthi Unn
    Freedom from illness, wealth, produce, happiness and protection (to subjects); these five, are the ornaments of a kingdom
  • Union Budget 2019-20

    Nirmala Sitharaman
    Mazzboot Deshke liye Mazzboot nagrik
    Karya purusha karena lakshyam sampadyate.
    Yakeen ho to koi rasta nikalta hai , hawa ki oat bhi lekar charag jalta hai
    A few mounds of rice from paddy that is harvested from a small piece of land would suffice for an elephant. But what if the elephant itself enters the field and starts eating? What it eats would be far lesser than what it would trample over !
  • Union Budget 2019-20

    Piyush Goyal
    Ek paanv rakhta hoon hazaar raahen foot parti hain
    Citing a Hindi poet
  • Union Budget 2018-19

    Arun Jaitley
    "Sarkar ki is pehal se hawai chappal pehnne wale nagarik bhi hawai jahaj main yatra ker rahe hain "
    "You merge yourselves in the void and disappear, and let new India arise in your place. Let her arise - out of the peasants' cottage, grasping the plough; out of the huts of the fisherman. Let her spring from the grocer's shop, from beside the oven of the fritter seller. Let her emanate from the factory, from marts, and from markets. Let her emerge from groves and forests, from hills and mountains"
  • Union Budget 2017-18

    Arun Jaitley
    "A right cause never fails"
    "Is mod per ghabra ke na tham jayea aap Jo baat nayi hai use apnaayea aap Dertein hain nayi rah pe kyun chanle se Hum aage-aage chatein hain aajayea aap "
    "Transform, Energise and Clean India"
    "Nayi duniya hai, naya duar hai, nayi hai umaang Kuch the pehle ke tarike , to hain kuch aaj ke dhaang Roshni aake andhere se jo takarayee hai Kale dhan ko bhi badalna pada, aaj apna raang "
    "When my aim is right, when my goal is in sight, the winds favour me and I fly "
  • Union Budget 2016-17

    Arun Jaitley
    "Kashti chalane walon ne jab haar ke di patwaar humein lehar-lehar toofan melein aur mauj-mauj
    majdhar humien phir bhi dhikhaya hai humne aur phir ye dhikha dengein sabko een halat main aata hai dariya karna paar humein"

    Said Jaitley when he started his Budget speech

    "Madame humein aasmani aur sultani dono paribalon ne pareshaan kiya hai"

    Champions are made from something they have deep inside of them - a desire, a dream, a vision

    Jaitley concluded his Budget speech with this

  • Union Budget 2015-16

    Arun Jaitley
    “Kuch to phool khilaye humne, aur kuch phool khilane hai...
    Mushkil yeh hai bag me ab tak, kaante kai purane hai”

    Said Jaitley before starting his Budget speech

    “Om Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah Sarve Santu Nir-Aamayaah Sarve Bhadraanni Pashyantu Maa Kashcid-Duhkha-Bhaag-Bhavet Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih”

    (OM! May All Be Happy May All Be Free From Illness May All See What is Beneficial May No One Suffer)
    - Mantra from Upanishad
    Quoted while speaking on equality and justice.

  • Union Budget 2014-15

    P. Chidambaram
    “Vel Anru Venri Tharuvathu Mannavan Kol Athuvoom Kodaathu Enin.”- Saint Tiruvalluvar

    (Not the spear but scepter swayed with equity alone gives the ruler victory)

  • Union Budget 2013-14

    – P. Chidambaram
    “Kalangathu Kanda Vinaikkan Thulangkathu Thookkang Kadinthu Seyal” –Saint Tiruvalluvar

    (What clearly eye discerns as right, with steadfast will and mind unslumbering, that should man fulfil)

  • Union Budget 2010-11

    Pranab Mukherjee
    "A wise Collector General shall conduct the work of revenue collection.. in a manner that production and consumption should not be injuriously affected.. financial prosperity depends on public prosperity, abundance of harvest and prosperity of commerce among other things." - Kautilya

    Mukherjee quoted Kautilya while presenting tax-related proposals in the budget.

  • Union Budget 2009-10

    Pranab Mukherjee
    “Democracy is the art and science of mobilizing the entire physical, economic and spiritual resources of various sections of the people in the service of the common good of all.” – Mahatma Gandhi
  • Union Budget 2009-10

    Pranab Mukherjee
    “In the interest of the prosperity of the country, a King shall be diligent in foreseeing the possibility of calamities, try to avert them before they arise, overcome those which happen, remove all obstructions to economic activity and prevent loss of revenue to the state” –Kautilya

    He quoted Kautilya to contextualize that the short-term fiscal stimulus has to be balanced against long-term prudence and fiscal sustainability objectives.

    “Just as one plucks fruits from a garden as they ripen, so shall a King have revenue collected as it becomes due. Just as one does not collect unripe fruits, he shall avoid taking wealth that is not due because that will make the people angry and spoil the very sources of revenue.” - Kautilya

    Mukherjee revisited Kautilya in his speech announcing tax-related proposals in the budget.

  • Union Budget: 2008-09

    P. Chidambaram
    “The more one does, the more one attempts, the more one is capable of doing”. What I have narrated so far is indeed proof of more inclusive growth, but if you ask me “can we do better?, my answer would be “we can and we should.”- Indira Gandhi
    He quoted Saint Tiruvalluvar again in his budget speech.
    "Kodai Ali Sengol Kudi Ombal Nangum Udaiyanam Vendharkku Oli" - Saint Tiruvalluvar

    (Generous grants, compassion, righteous rule and succor to the downtrodden are the hallmarks of good governance)

  • Union Budget 2007-08

    P. Chidambaram
    "Faster growth rate is essential for faster reduction in poverty. There is no other trick to it." - Muhammad unus
  • Union Budget 2006-07

    P. Chidambaram
    "We reap what we sow; we are the makers of our own fate. The wind is blowing; those vessels whose sails are unfurled catch it, and go forward on their way, but those which have their sails furled do not catch the wind. Is that the fault of the wind?... We make our own destiny." - Swami Vivekananda
  • Union Budget 2005-06

    P. Chidambaram
    “Growth of GNP or of individual incomes can, of course, be very important as a means to expanding the freedoms enjoyed by the members of the society. But freedoms depend also on other determinants, such as social and economic arrangements (for example, facilities for education and health care) as well as political and civil rights.” - Amartya Sen
    “Pini Inmai Selvam Vilaivu Inbam Emam Ani Enba Nattirkku Iv Iyndhu” - Saint Tiruvalluvar

    (Health, wealth, produce, the happiness that is the result and securing them are the ornaments of a polity)

  • Union Budget 2004-05

    P. Chidambaram
    "Aran Izhukkathu Allavai Neeki Maran Izhukka Maanam Udayathu Arasu" – Saint Tiruvalluvar

    (They are good rulers who observe ethics, commit no crime and walk the path of honour and courage)

    Saint Tiruvalluvar is Chidambaram’s favorite poet and the former finance minister has quoted him many times in his speeches.

  • Union Budget 1998-99

    Yaswant Sinha
    ‘Flag we hold shall never bow, Marching steps shall never halt’– Atal Bihari Bajpayee
  • Union Budget 1991-92

    Manmohan Singh
    “No power on earth can stop an idea whose time has come.” - Victor Hugo

    (Manmohan Singh, then finance minister, presented a landmark budget in 1991-92 that eased the foreign investment regime. A new economic policy was put in place, which changed the way the world viewed India.)