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The announcements are expected to play a key role in shaping India’s economic roadmap for the coming financial year. (file)
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present the Union Budget 2026-27 on February 1, 2026, marking her ninth consecutive Budget and the third full Budget of the Narendra Modi-led NDA 3.0 government. The Budget will be tabled on a Sunday, an uncommon occurrence in recent years.
Parliament Budget session from January 28 to April 2
The Budget session of Parliament will begin on January 28 and continue until April 2, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju announced. In a post on X, Rijiju said President Droupadi Murmu had approved the summoning of both Houses of Parliament for the Budget Session 2026 on the recommendation of the Union government.
With this presentation, Sitharaman will surpass former finance ministers including Manmohan Singh, Arun Jaitley, P. Chidambaram, Yashwant Sinha and Morarji Desai in the number of Union Budgets presented. The announcements are expected to play a key role in shaping India’s economic roadmap for the coming financial year.
Economic Survey to be tabled on January 29
The Economic Survey for 2026-27 is scheduled to be presented to both Houses on January 29 by Chief Economic Adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran, a day ahead of the Budget.
When will the Union Budget 2026 be presented?
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will start presenting the Union Budget 2026-27 in the Parliament on February 1, 2026, at 11 am sharp.
How to watch Union Budget 2026 live?
The Budget speech will be broadcast live on the official Union Budget website (indiabudget.gov.in), Sansad TV and Doordarshan. Several national news channels will also carry live coverage, while Sansad TV, Doordarshan and the Press Information Bureau will stream the proceedings on their respective YouTube platforms and provide updates on social media.
Apart from these, you can track live updates from the Union Budget presentation and its analysis on indianexpress.com.
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Taxpayers eye further relief
Expectations among taxpayers are high following the major relief announced in Budget 2025-26, which made annual income up to Rs 12 lakh tax-free under the new tax regime. This year, taxpayers are hoping for further income tax relief, simplified compliance norms and targeted benefits across sectors.
Ahead of the Budget, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) released data projecting India’s GDP growth at 7.4 per cent in the current fiscal, up from 6.5 per cent in 2024-25. However, nominal GDP growth, which does not adjust for inflation, is expected to slow to a five-year low of 8 per cent, a key input for estimating tax revenues in the 2026-27 Budget.
Key farm announcements from Budget 2025-26 yet to be implemented
Even as the government prepares for Budget 2026-27, several announcements made for the agriculture sector in the previous Budget remain unimplemented. In her Budget 2025-26 speech, Sitharaman described agriculture as the “first engine” of the economy and unveiled a series of initiatives for the sector.
These included raising the loan limit under the Modified Interest Subvention Scheme from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh for loans taken through Kisan Credit Cards (KCC), launching a Mission for Cotton Productivity, and setting up a National Mission on High-Yielding Seeds. Announcing the enhanced KCC credit, Sitharaman had said the scheme facilitates short-term loans for 7.7 crore farmers, fishermen and dairy farmers, and that the higher loan limit would improve access to institutional credit.
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