Union Budget 2026: Will Budget be presented on February 1, a Sunday? Cabinet committee to decide soon
Since 2017, February 1 has been fixed as the Budget presentation date. While Union Budgets have been presented on Saturdays in the past, they have never been tabled on a Sunday.
- Jan 2, 2026,
- Updated Jan 2, 2026 5:08 PM IST
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present India’s 80th Union Budget in the coming weeks, but there is a question mark over the date. The reason: February 1, the customary Budget day, falls on a Sunday. The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs is expected to take a final decision next week, sources said. This will be Sitharaman’s ninth consecutive Budget.
Since 2017, February 1 has been fixed as the Budget presentation date. While Union Budgets have been presented on Saturdays in the past, they have never been tabled on a Sunday. On occasions when February 1 fell on a Saturday, the government went ahead with the presentation despite it being a public holiday in most parts of the country.
This year, however, discussions over the date began early within government circles as February 1 falls on a Sunday and coincides with Guru Ravidas Jayanti, a restricted holiday in parts of Delhi. This briefly raised the possibility that the Budget could be advanced to January 31. An official said the concern was linked to the festival rather than the fact that February 1 is a Sunday. Government sources, however, indicated that departments are proceeding on the assumption that the Budget will be presented on February 1, in keeping with tradition.
Meanwhile, preparatory work for the Budget is already underway. Pre-Budget consultations were held from October 9, 2025, until mid-November. The Budget Estimates for 2026–27, along with the Revised Estimates for 2025–26, have been provisionally finalised. The finance ministry is also in the process of collecting GDP estimates from the Central Statistical Office, which will feed into the final fiscal calculations.
Last year, Sitharaman made history by presenting her eighth consecutive Union Budget, equalling former Prime Minister Morarji Desai’s record of ten Budgets delivered across two tenures as finance minister.
India’s Budget tradition dates back to November 26, 1947, when R.K. Shanmukham Chetty presented the first Budget of independent India. Over the decades, leaders such as Manmohan Singh and P. Chidambaram have shaped the country’s economic direction. Sitharaman, India’s first full-time woman Finance Minister, has firmly cemented her place in this legacy, holding the global record among women for the highest number of Budget presentations.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present India’s 80th Union Budget in the coming weeks, but there is a question mark over the date. The reason: February 1, the customary Budget day, falls on a Sunday. The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs is expected to take a final decision next week, sources said. This will be Sitharaman’s ninth consecutive Budget.
Since 2017, February 1 has been fixed as the Budget presentation date. While Union Budgets have been presented on Saturdays in the past, they have never been tabled on a Sunday. On occasions when February 1 fell on a Saturday, the government went ahead with the presentation despite it being a public holiday in most parts of the country.
This year, however, discussions over the date began early within government circles as February 1 falls on a Sunday and coincides with Guru Ravidas Jayanti, a restricted holiday in parts of Delhi. This briefly raised the possibility that the Budget could be advanced to January 31. An official said the concern was linked to the festival rather than the fact that February 1 is a Sunday. Government sources, however, indicated that departments are proceeding on the assumption that the Budget will be presented on February 1, in keeping with tradition.
Meanwhile, preparatory work for the Budget is already underway. Pre-Budget consultations were held from October 9, 2025, until mid-November. The Budget Estimates for 2026–27, along with the Revised Estimates for 2025–26, have been provisionally finalised. The finance ministry is also in the process of collecting GDP estimates from the Central Statistical Office, which will feed into the final fiscal calculations.
Last year, Sitharaman made history by presenting her eighth consecutive Union Budget, equalling former Prime Minister Morarji Desai’s record of ten Budgets delivered across two tenures as finance minister.
India’s Budget tradition dates back to November 26, 1947, when R.K. Shanmukham Chetty presented the first Budget of independent India. Over the decades, leaders such as Manmohan Singh and P. Chidambaram have shaped the country’s economic direction. Sitharaman, India’s first full-time woman Finance Minister, has firmly cemented her place in this legacy, holding the global record among women for the highest number of Budget presentations.