With this year's Union Budget, Nirmala Sitharaman will become the first finance minister to present nine consecutive Union Budgets during her tenure as a finance minister
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present her ninth consecutive Union Budget this year. File Pic/PTI
The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA) on Wednesday proposed that the Union Budget for 2026-27 be presented on February 1, even though the date falls on a Sunday, according to reports.
If approved, this would be a rare occasion in recent years when the Union Budget is tabled on a weekend. The government is keen to maintain the February 1 schedule to ensure that budget proposals are implemented from the start of the new financial year in April, reported the IANS.
The Budget Session of Parliament is expected to begin on January 28 with the President’s address to a joint sitting of both Houses.
The Economic Survey, which outlines the current state of the Indian economy, will be presented in Parliament on January 29, as per reports.
Sitharaman to present ninth consecutive budget
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present her ninth consecutive Union Budget, making it the 88th Budget since Independence. Since 2017, Union Budgets have been presented at 11 am on February 1, after the date was advanced from February 28, according to the IANS.
The change was introduced by former Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to allow faster execution of budget measures from the beginning of the financial year.
Weekend budgets not unprecedented
Presenting the Union Budget on a weekend is not entirely new.
Nirmala Sitharaman had earlier presented the Union Budget 2025 on a Saturday.
Earlier, Arun Jaitley also presented the Budgets of 2015 and 2016 on February 28, both of which fell on Saturdays.
Historic milestone for Sitharaman
With this year's Union Budget, Nirmala Sitharaman will become the first finance minister to present nine consecutive Union Budgets during her tenure as a finance minister.
She is now close to the record held by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai, who presented 10 Union Budgets across two terms.
Among other former finance ministers of the UPA government, P Chidambaram had presented nine Union Budgets, while Pranab Mukherjee presented eight.
Sitharaman was appointed India’s first full-time woman finance minister in 2019 and has continued in the role after the Modi-led government returned to power for a third term in 2024.
(with IANS inputs)
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