Will the central government present the Union Budget on Sunday this time? A decades-old tradition could be broken; a meeting is scheduled for today.

The countdown to the Union Budget 2026-27 has begun. As always, the central government is likely to present the budget on February 1, 2026. This will be the first time in recent years that the central government will present the budget on a Sunday.

The Budget Session of Parliament is likely to begin on January 28, 2026, with the President's address. The date for the budget session may be finalized today at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs. The budget is also expected to be presented on February 1st.

Budget presented on February 1st since 2017

Before 2017, the budget was presented on the last day of February, but former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the budget on February 1st for the first time in 2017, and since then, the budget has been presented on February 1st every year. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presents the budget in Parliament on February 1st.

February 1st is a Sunday.

This year, February 1st falls on a Sunday, and for the first time, the budget will be presented on a Sunday. ​​Guru Ravidas Jayanti also falls on the same day, due to which there will be a holiday in many places. Government offices and the stock market remain closed on Sundays.

When has the budget been presented on a Saturday?

The central government will also release the Economic Survey on January 29, followed by holidays on January 30 and 31. Earlier, the central government had presented the interim budget on Saturday, February 1, 2025. This was the first time since 1999 that the central government's budget was presented on a Saturday. Former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha had presented the budget at 11 am on Saturday, February 27, 1999. Before that, the budget was presented at 5 pm.

Why is this budget special?

Everyone is eagerly awaiting the 2026-27 budget. Especially in the context of US tariffs and global tensions, everyone's eyes are on what special announcements the budget will contain. It is estimated that the government may make some major announcements in the budget to boost the country's growth rate.