The wait to know whether the Union Budget 2026 will be presented on a Sunday is likely to end soon. The government is expected to decide on the date of Budget 2026-27 presentation on Wednesday. The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs, led by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, is likely to meet today and take the final decision on the matter.
Budget 2026 on Feb 2?
As is the norm, the budget every year is presented on February 1. This time, February 1 falls on a Sunday. The day also marks Guru Ravidas Jayanti, which is observed as a restricted holiday. As it is a Sunday, government offices and stock markets remain closed.
Despite this, there is a strong chance that the government may go ahead and present the Budget on Sunday, as it allows the Parliament to review and implement the proposals from the start of the new financial year on April 1.
A weekend budget? Not the first time
However, a weekend budget won’t be a first for the Modi government. Last year, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had presented the Budget on a Saturday.
Arun Jaitley, who served as the first finance minister in the Modi government, presented the Union Budgets for 2015 and 2016 on February 28, both of which fell on Saturday. During his term as finance minister from 2014 to 2019, the government changed the budget presentation date to February 1. Arun Jaitley died on August 24, 2019.
On the other hand, a Money Control report citing sources said that a proposal to continue with the budget on February 1 has already been moved.