The Ministry of Finance (Vitta Mantrālaya) is a central government institution of the Government of India that serves as the Treasury of India, responsible for managing the nation's economy and fiscal policy. Its origin can be traced back to 1810 when a separate Department of Finance was first established under the Supreme Government of India to manage the country's finances. The Department of Finance was formally formed on October 29, 1946, and was redesignated as the Ministry of Finance in 1947 after independence. The Ministry was created to solve the problem of centralizing and administering the country's taxation, revenue collection, and economic policy.
The Ministry works through six specialized departments: the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Department of Expenditure, Department of Revenue, Department of Financial Services (DFS), Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), and Department of Public Enterprises. The DEA is the nodal agency for formulating economic policies and is responsible for preparing and presenting the Union Budget to Parliament, which is the Annual Financial Statement mandated by Article 112 of the Constitution. The Department of Revenue oversees tax matters through the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), both established under the Central Boards of Revenue Act, 1963. The Department of Expenditure is the nodal department for overseeing the public financial management system and administers the General Financial Rules, 2017.
The Ministry connects to several key concepts and institutions, including the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Finance Commission (the Sixteenth Finance Commission recently submitted its report for the period 2026-27 to 2030-31), and various financial institutions like Public Sector Banks. A significant recent change occurred when the Department of Disinvestment was renamed the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) in 2016-17. Furthermore, the Ministry recently notified 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the insurance sector under the automatic route by amending the Foreign Exchange Management (Non-debt Instruments) (Second Amendment) Rules, 2026, following the passage of the Sabka Bima Sabki Raksha (amendment of insurance laws) Bill, 2025.