Union Budget 2026–27 Likely on February 1, FM Sitharaman to Present her Ninth Consecutive Budget

Key Points:

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is reportedly set to present the Union Budget for the financial year 2026–27 on February 1, 2026. On January 7, 2026, the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA) suggested beginning the Budget Session of Parliament on January 28, 2026, with the Union Budget to be presented on February 1, 2026, which falls on a Sunday.

The presentation of the Budget on a weekend is a rare instance, as the government is sticking to its February 1 timeline to ensure the timely implementation of budget proposals from the start of the financial year, according to media reports.

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Finance Minister Sitharaman will present the Budget for a record ninth time. The 2026–27 Budget Session will mark only the second time the Union Budget is tabled on a Sunday. Previously, this occurred on February 28, 1999, when then Finance Minister Yashwant Singh presented the Union Budget for the financial year 1999–2000.

According to reports, the Economic Survey, which analyses the state of the economy, will be presented in Parliament on January 29, 2026. The session will begin with an address by the President to a joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament.

This year’s Budget will be the 88th since India’s independence in 1947. After 2017, the Union Budget was tabled in Parliament at 11 a.m. on February 1, the government advanced the date from the earlier tradition of February 28.

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The change in the Budget presentation date was introduced during the tenure of former finance minister Arun Jaitley to enable faster implementation of budget proposals.

Presenting the Union Budget on a weekend is not entirely new, as Sitharaman also tabled the Union Budget 2025 on a Saturday. She became India’s first full-time woman finance minister in 2019 after Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his second term.

With this Budget, Sitharaman will achieve a new milestone by becoming the first finance minister to present nine Union Budgets consecutively. This places her close to the record held by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai, who presented a total of 10 Budgets across two separate tenures.

Inputs from IANS

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