Budget 2026 to Be Presented on February 1: Will NSE and BSE Remain Open?

The Union Budget for 2026 will be presented on February 1, the government has confirmed, ending days of speculation about a possible delay.

The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA) proposed Parliament’s Budget Session schedule and made it clear the presentation will go ahead on February 1, even though that day falls on a Sunday, ANI reported.

Questions had arisen because the date is a weekend and reports suggested the government might shift the presentation to the next day; that option has now been taken off the table.

According to the proposed plan, the President will address Parliament on January 28, formally opening the Budget Session. The Economic Survey will be tabled a day later, on January 29. The document will outline the state of the economy ahead of the budget presentation.

The Budget Session will take place in two parts. The first phase is expected to run from January 28 to February 13. The second phase has been scheduled between March 9 and April 2. These sittings will be used for Budget-related discussions as well as other parliamentary work.

Budget On Sunday

If the plan goes ahead, the Union Budget will be presented on Sunday, a rare occurrence in recent years. While unusual, weekend budget presentations are not new.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had presented the Union Budget for 2025 on Saturday. Earlier, former finance minister Arun Jaitley delivered the Budgets for 2015 and 2016 on February 28, which also fell on Saturdays.

This year’s budget will also be significant for Sitharaman personally. She is set to present her ninth consecutive Union Budget, which will be the 88th Budget since Independence. Since 2017, the Budget has been presented at 11 am on February 1, after the date was moved forward from February 28 to allow budget measures to take effect sooner in the financial year.

Stock Market Impact

With the budget scheduled for a Sunday, attention has also shifted to stock market operations. The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has said it is examining whether equity markets should remain open on February 1 if the budget is presented that day.

The exchange has clarified that no final decision has been taken and that the issue is still under internal review. In the past, stock exchanges have operated on non-trading days when the Union Budget was presented on a weekend or public holiday.

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has also not made any announcement so far on whether it will open for trading on February 1.