Union Budget 2026 to Be Presented on Sunday; Check Key Dates and Policy Focus Here

The Union Budget 2026 calendar is now official, ending days of speculation around the presentation date. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will table the Budget on February 1, 2026, Sunday, making it one of the more unusual Budget Days in recent memory.

The decision was cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs, which has also finalised the schedule for the Budget Session of Parliament. Proceedings will begin on January 28 and continue until April 2, giving lawmakers over two months to debate fiscal priorities and legislative proposals.

As with previous years, the session will be split into two parts. The first phase will conclude on February 13, shortly after the budget is presented, while the second phase is scheduled to start on March 9. This break allows parliamentary panels to examine budget proposals in detail.

The government will set the economic context ahead of the Budget with the presentation of the Economic Survey for 2025–26 on January 29. The document is expected to outline growth trends, fiscal pressures and sector-wise performance from the past year.

Historic Budget Streak

A Sunday budget presentation is almost unheard of in India’s parliamentary history. While Budgets have occasionally been moved to avoid weekends, none has so far been delivered on a Sunday.

In 1999, then Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha advanced the Budget by a day to avoid presenting it on February 28, which fell on a Sunday. The long-followed practice of presenting the Budget at February-end changed in 2017, when it was moved to February 1 to allow spending approvals before the new financial year.

Union Budget 2026 will also mark an important milestone for Nirmala Sitharaman. It will be her ninth Budget in a row, putting her just one short of Morarji Desai’s record of 10 budget presentations.

She already holds the distinction of delivering the most consecutive budgets as finance minister. Her record includes seven full Budgets and one Interim Budget, spread across politically and economically challenging years.

Key Expectations From Budget 2026

The Union Budget 2026 is expected to explain how the New Income Tax Act, 2025 will be rolled out when it takes effect from April 1, 2026. The government is likely to focus on helping taxpayers understand what changes on day one.

Mahendra Dev, Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, said on Saturday that keeping the fiscal deficit under control and managing public debt will remain central to the Budget, in line with the government’s Viksit Bharat plans.

The budget is also expected to turn attention to demand and smaller businesses. Steps to ease loan access for micro, small and medium enterprises are likely to be part of the package.

Officials may also look at ways to support domestic manufacturing and increase production as demand across sectors continues to rise.