Following the Cabinet’s nod, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to table the Budget in the Lok Sabha, marking her ninth consecutive Budget presentation—a record in itself
Pic/PTI
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Sunday gave its formal approval to the Union Budget 2026, clearing the way for its presentation in Parliament later in the day.
Following the Cabinet’s nod, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to table the Budget in the Lok Sabha, marking her ninth consecutive Budget presentation—a record in itself. The Budget is being presented at a time when the global economy is facing uncertainty, with slowing exports and external headwinds posing challenges for growth.
The Union Budget 2026 will be the third financial blueprint of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in its third term in office. Expectations are high that the government will continue to balance fiscal discipline with measures aimed at boosting domestic demand, infrastructure spending and economic resilience amid volatile global conditions.
Since assuming office as finance minister in 2019, Sitharaman has introduced several symbolic and procedural changes to the Budget presentation. In her very first Budget, she replaced the decades-old leather briefcase traditionally used to carry Budget papers with a red cloth-wrapped ‘bahi-khata’, signalling a break from colonial-era practices.
Continuing with that shift, the Union Budget 2026 will also be presented in a completely paperless format, in line with the government’s push towards digitisation and sustainability.
The approval by the Cabinet is the final step before the Budget is formally laid before Parliament, where it will outline the government’s estimates of receipts and expenditure for the coming financial year, along with its broader fiscal and economic priorities.
Sitharaman creates history with 9th consecutive Budget, longest serving FM
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday makes history as she presents a record ninth consecutive Budget that is expected to unveil measures to sustain growth momentum, maintain fiscal discipline, and contain reforms that could buffer the economy from global trade frictions, including US tariffs.
This will take Sitharaman closer to the record of 10 budgets that were presented by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai over different time periods. Desai presented six budgets during his tenure as finance minister from 1959 to 1964, and four budgets between 1967 and 1969.
Former finance ministers P Chidambaram and Pranab Mukherjee had presented nine and eight budgets, respectively, under different prime ministers.
Sitharaman, however, will continue to hold the record of presenting the maximum number of budgets on the trot -- nine straight budgets under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
She was in 2019 appointed as India's first full-time woman finance minister when Prime Minister Narendra Modi won a decisive second term. After PM Modi came back to power in 2024 for the third time, Sitharaman continued to retain her finance portfolio.
Sitharaman took charge of the Finance Ministry on May 31, 2019, and has steered the economy through the Covid-19 pandemic and geopolitical turmoil, making India the fastest-growing major economy in the world.
Sitharaman completed six years and eight months in office on January 31, 2026. On February 1, she will present a record ninth budget in a row.
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