New Delhi: The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA) on Wednesday proposed presenting the Union Budget for 2026–27 on February 1, even though the date falls on a Sunday.
If approved, this would mark a rare instance in recent years of the Budget being tabled on a weekend, as the government sticks to its February 1 timeline to ensure timely implementation of budget proposals from the start of the financial year, as per media reports.
The Budget Session will begin on January 28 with the President’s address to a joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament. The Economic Survey, which reviews the state of the economy, will be tabled in Parliament on January 29, according to reports.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be presenting her ninth consecutive Union Budget, making it the 88th Budget since India’s Independence. Since 2017, the Union Budget has been presented at 11 am on February 1, after the government advanced the date from the earlier tradition of February 28.
This change was introduced during the tenure of former finance minister late Arun Jaitley to allow faster implementation of budget proposals from the start of the financial year.
Presenting the Budget on a weekend is not entirely new. Sitharaman had presented the Union Budget 2025 on a Saturday.
Before that, late Arun Jaitley presented the Union Budgets of 2015 and 2016 on February 28, which also fell on Saturdays.
With this Budget, Sitharaman will also make history by becoming the first finance minister to present nine consecutive Union Budgets. This achievement places her close to the record held by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai, who presented a total of 10 Budgets across two separate tenures.
Among other recent finance ministers, P Chidambaram presented nine Budgets, while Pranab Mukherjee presented eight during their time in office.
FM Sitharaman was appointed India’s first full-time woman finance minister in 2019 after Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned to power for a second term.
Finance Minister Sitharaman continued to hold the finance portfolio after the Modi-led government secured a third consecutive term in 2024.
(IANS)
