For the first time in India’s fiscal history, the Union Budget will be presented on a Sunday. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to table the Budget for 2026–27 in the Lok Sabha at 11 am today.
Why February 1 matters
Since 2017, the Union Budget has been presented on February 1, following a reform introduced by the BJP-led NDA government. Earlier, the Budget was traditionally presented on the last working day of February, a practice inherited from the colonial period.
Advancing the Budget date was intended to give ministries and State governments more time to plan, allocate, and implement expenditure before the new financial year begins on April 1.
Past instances and precedents
While this is the first time a Union Budget will be presented on a Sunday, there have been earlier adjustments when Budget Day coincided with a holiday. In 1999, when February 28 fell on a Sunday, then Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha presented the Budget a day earlier, on February 27, a Saturday, in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government.
That Budget was significant for another reason as well. Until then, Union Budgets were presented in the evening, around 5 pm. Sinha broke from that tradition by presenting the Budget at 11 am, a change that has since become the norm.