Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to present Union Budget for record ninth time

Sitharaman will present the Union Budget for 2026 at 11 am today in Parliament. With this, she will create a record by delivering her ninth Budget.

Summary

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget for 2026 at 11 am today in Parliament. With this, she will create a record by delivering her ninth Budget. This will be the first time, India's Budget is presented on a Sunday.

The Economic Survey 2026, tabled on Thursday, projects India’s economy to grow by 7.4% in the financial year 2026 (FY26), followed by growth of 6.8–7.2% in FY27. The outlook is underpinned by regulatory reforms, a stable macroeconomic framework, and renewed emphasis on private sector investment.

Stock markets fluctuate in narrow range ahead of Budget presentation

Stock market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty fluctuated in a narrow range in early trade on Sunday ahead of the Budget 2026-27 presentation.

After opening the day on a positive note, the 30-share BSE Sensex later fluctuated and quoted 13 points up at 82,282.82.

The 50-share NSE Nifty skidded 7.90 points to 25,312.75 after opening marginally higher.

Gold, silver futures plummet 9 per cent to hit lower circuit levels ahead of Budget

Gold and silver prices plunged up to 9 per cent in futures trade on Sunday, hitting their lower circuit levels ahead of the Union Budget for 2026-27, as investors extended profit booking after the recent record-breaking rally.

The rout extended for the second straight day, with the April contract for gold futures declining Rs 13,711, or 9 per cent, to Rs 1,38,634 per 10 grams, touching its lower circuit level in the futures trade on the MCX. In the previous session, the yellow metal plunged Rs 31,617, or 17.2 per cent, to close at Rs 1,52,345 per 10 grams, after hitting a record high of Rs 1,93,096 per 10 grams on Thursday.

On the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), silver futures also suffered a heavy setback as traders continued to book profits at elevated levels, with the March contract nosediving Rs 26,273, or 9 per cent, to Rs 2,65,652 per kilogram -- its lower circuit level.

On Friday, the white metal slumped Rs 1,07,968, or 27 per cent, to close at Rs 2,91,925 per kg, also touching its lower circuit level.

The sharp sell-off followed Thursday's record peak of Rs 4,20,048 per kg.

Growth with livelihoods: Six ways the budget can rethink its priorities

It is an undisputed fact that India has made only limited progress in creating sustainable livelihood opportunities. Youth unemployment and underemployment remain stubbornly high, women’s workforce participation is low, and when women do work, they are often confined to low-paying jobs. At the same time, the quality of employment, and consequently the quality of earnings has not improved for a vast majority of workers, Anil K. Sood writes in our Pre-Budget column.

Against this backdrop, we expect the Union Budget to do the following:

1. Stop investing in vanity projects: Stop investing in new vanity projects (bullet trains, metros in smaller towns, nuclear power, etc.) and be willing to abandon the current ones, if they are not expected to lower the cost of living or that of doing business.

2. Abandon unviable projects: Abandon projects that have become unviable on account of cost and time overruns.

3. Prioritise quality of life: Allocate resources to projects that help improve the quality of life for our households, e.g., sanitation, healthcare, nutrition, education, technical skills for everyday needs, etc. If we cannot provide our youth the opportunity to earn, the least we can do is to provide for a healthy life. An increase in capacity for delivering public services helps generate employment across skills levels too.

4. Invest in urban infrastructure: Invest in urban infrastructure projects that help lower the transportation cost burden, save time, and reduce pollution that is killing people at an ever-faster rate. Urban infrastructure projects will have far more significant impact than any bullet train project.

5. Enable the eighth pay commission: Allow and encourage eighth pay commission to assess the impact of upward structural shift in cost of living and enhance wages of government employees. Any increase in government sector wage encourages the private sector to pay a higher wage, which enhances our ability to invest in our future.

6. Focus on capital productivity: Focus on capital productivity, as we cannot afford to waste capital at our stage of development. Our growth in labour productivity has been higher than that in capital productivity and, therefore, the chances of wage-led inflation are low.

READ FULL COLUMN HERE.

Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with other officials outside Finance Ministry

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary and other officials outside the Finance Ministry ahead of the presentation of the 'Union Budget 2026-27 at Ministry of Finance Kartavya Bhavan in New Delhi on Sunday.Photo | Shekhar Yadav, EPS

Nirmala Sitharaman shows the digital tablet, containing the Budget document

VIDEO | Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman shows the digital tablet, containing the Budget document, enclosed in a traditional red 'bahi-khata' style pouch. #Budget2026WithPTI #UnionBudgetWithPTI

(Full video available on PTI Videos - https://t.co/n147TvrpG7) pic.twitter.com/YfF1S9zpvz

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 1, 2026

Union Budget 2026: A Sunday, first in India’s fiscal calendar

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.

Budget aligned with vision of Viksit Bharat 2047: Pankaj Chaudhary

Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said that over the past 11 years, Union Budgets under the Prime Minister’s leadership have reflected the aspirations of the people and focused on national progress.

He added that today’s Budget continues this journey, aligning strongly with the vision of building a Viksit Bharat by 2047.

VIDEO | Union Budget 2026: Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary (@mppchaudhary) says, "Over the past 11 years, the Budgets presented under the leadership of the Prime Minister have reflected the aspirations of the people and have been aimed at taking the country… pic.twitter.com/kXlcTnfAqg

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 1, 2026

Nirmala Sitharaman arrives at Finance Ministry ahead of presenting the Budget

VIDEO | Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman arrives at Finance Ministry ahead of presenting the Budget.#Budget2026WithPTI #UnionBudgetWithPTI

(Full video available on PTI Videos - https://t.co/n147TvrpG7) pic.twitter.com/F9VJooQ4zc

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 1, 2026