India Budget 2026-27 LIVE: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present her ninth consecutive Union Budget for the financial year 2026-27 on Sunday, 1 February 2026. All eyes await the upcoming announcement, which is set to be tabled at the Union parliament at 11 a.m. (IST) during Sunday’s Budget session.
Ahead of the Budget announcement, the Ministry of Finance’s Department of Economic Affairs released its Economic Survey 2025-26 on Thursday, 29 January. The key financial survey offers a detailed insight and analysis into how the Indian economy has performed over the current financial year so far and outlines the outlook for the upcoming fiscal year.
What did Economic Survey highlight?
The Economic Survey 2025-26 predicts that the Indian economy is expected to grow 6.8-7.2% in real GDP terms in the financial year 2026-27, backed by the country’s strong macroeconomic fundamentals and policy reforms, as per the official release.
Although the survey flagged that India’s core and headline inflation rates are likely to be higher in the upcoming fiscal year compared to what they are in the current financial year 2025-26, the survey also said that it is unlikely to be a concern for the economy.
On the backdrop of global uncertainty and raging Trump tariffs concerns, India’s total exports hit a record high of $825.3 billion in FY2025-26, with merchandise exports rising 2.4%, and services exports increasing 6.5% in the April-December period of the financial year, according to the survey.
Sector to watch out for
Mint reported earlier that key sectors like Railways, Defence, Infrastructure, Urban development, Manufacturing, MSMEs, Electronics, Renewable energy, Healthcare, Agriculture, and Artificial intelligence (AI) will be in focus of the Union Budget 2026-27.
What was the key focus last year?
In the Union Budget 2025, Sitharaman‘s biggest announcement was a major tax relief of cutting the income tax of taxpayers who earn an income of up to ₹12 lakh per year in an effort to boost the nation’s middle class.
For people with a salaried income, the non-taxable income segment under the new tax regime increased to ₹12.75 lakh after the standard deduction exemption.
The finance minister also announced a New Income Tax (I-T) Act 2025 during her last year’s budget speech, which is now set to come into effect from the turn of the financial year, replacing the previous I-T Act 1961 from 1 April 2026.
Budget 2026 Date & time
Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget speech on Sunday, 1 January 2026, at the parliament, addressing the joint session of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha for the biggest financial announcement of the year!
The Union Budget will be presented at 11 am (IST) on Sunday before the houses of the Union Parliament.
As the nation awaits the announcement, people who are looking to watch the live video of the Union Budget 2026-27, you can stay tuned with Mint on our official website, LiveMint or on our YouTube channel.
People can also track the central government’s broadcasts via the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha LIVE feeds on the “Sansad TV” YouTube channel or through state-run Doordarshan (DD) television channels.
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