Union Budget 2026: Is it on Sunday, February 1 or Monday, February 2? Why is there a confusion?

Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs expected to take a decision on the date of budget presentation today

As the Budget Session of Parliament draws near, speculation remains over the date of the presentation of the Union Budget for 2026-27 by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Since 2017, the Union Budget has traditionally been presented on February 1 to give Parliament enough time to discuss and approve the proposals before the new financial year starts on April 1.

However, this year, February 1 falls on a Sunday, prompting speculation that the government may shift the budget presentation to Monday, February 2.

February 1 is also Guru Ravidas Jayanti, a restricted holiday in some States. Being a holiday, government offices and the stock markets are closed on February 1.

The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs, which is scheduled to meet on Wednesday, is expected to take a decision on the date of budget presentation.

A practice since 2017

Prior to 2017, the general budget was presented on the last day of February, and Parliament would pass the vote on account to withdraw funds from the Consolidated Fund of India to meet the expenses for the first quarter of the new fiscal year. The budget for the rest of the financial year used to be sanctioned by Parliament at a later date, after the examination of the demands for grants of various departments by the respective parliamentary standing committees.

In 2017, then Finance Minister late Arun Jaitley started the practice of presenting the general budget on February 1 and getting it approved by Parliament by the end of March, well before the start of the new financial year.

Parliament sitting on Sundays

Parliament has had sittings on Sundays under special circumstances, such as the Monsoon session during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and on May 13, 2012, to mark the 60th anniversary of the first sitting of Parliament.