Budget expectations LIVE Updates: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to present the Union Budget 2026 on Sunday (1 February), as per reports, despite confusion over whether the government would opt for either Saturday or Monday instead.
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said that the decision will be taken by the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs “at an appropriate time”, while PTI cited sources saying: “We have a fixed day for the presentation of the general budget. The concept of Sunday was brought by the British.”
Notably, the Budget Session is scheduled to begin in Parliament from 28 January, Rijiju added. President Droupadi Murmu has approved summoning both Houses of Parliament for the 2026 budget session.
“The Session will commence on 28 January 2026 and continue till 2 April 2026. The first phase concludes on 13 February 2026, with Parliament reassembling on 9 March 2026, a vital step towards meaningful debate and people-centric governance,” Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said on 9 January, giving details of the timeline on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
