Union Budget to be Presented on 1st February 2026, on Sunday.

The Union Budget 2026 is scheduled to be presented on February 1, 2025, by the Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman. For the first time ever, the Budget is being presented on Sunday. The Budget Session of the Parliament will be held from 28th January 2026 to 2nd April 2026.

Here are some other key dates of the budget schedule announced by the Cabinet Committee on Parliament Affairs:

• First Phase of Budget Session: 13th February 2026
• Second Phase of Budget Session: 9th March 2026
• Economic Survey 2025-26: 29th January 2026
• Union Budget 2026-27: 1st Feb 2026

Nirmala Sitharaman’s Ninth Union Budget

The Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to achieve another milestone with the Union Budget 2026. Since 2019, she has presented a total of 8 budgets. This includes seven full union budgets in July 2019, February 2020, February 2021, February 2022, February 2023, July 2024 and February 2025 and one interim Budget in February 2024.

This will be her ninth budget presentation, which is near to the record made by Former Prime Minister Morarji Desai, who presented the Union Budgets ten times. As a single finance minister, Sitharaman has held the record for presenting the highest number of budgets in a row.

Key Expectations from Union Budget 2026

Budget 2025 had focused on the income tax slab revision. Even GST rates were revised later in the year. However, the Union Budget 2026 is expected to focus more on stability and new growth drivers.

One of the major areas of the government’s focus will be the new Income Tax Act 2025, which is set to take effect from April 1, 2026. Taxpayers are advised to understand how the new law will be applied and its implementation, and how the new system makes tax compliance simpler. This will help them to easily shift from the old law to the new law.

Another main focus of Budget 2026 will be on consumption and small businesses. Last year’s budget aimed to increase the disposable income by revising income tax rates. However, the Budget 2026 is expected to shift to the supply side. This may include easier access to credit for MSMEs and incentives for the manufacturing sector to meet growing consumer demand.