By Union Budget 2026 on February 1: Centre Clears Schedule, Sunday Market Opening Under Review
New Delhi: The Centre has put an end to speculation surrounding the Union Budget 2026 schedule, confirming that the Budget will be presented on Sunday, February 1, despite the date falling on a weekend. The announcement follows a key meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA), which cleared the proposed timeline for the upcoming Budget Session of Parliament.
Earlier, reports had suggested that the Union Budget presentation could be deferred to Monday, February 2, as February 1 falls on a Sunday this year. However, the latest proposal approved by the Centre has settled the uncertainty.
According to the schedule recommended by the CCPA, the President’s address to Parliament will take place on January 28, followed by the tabling of the Economic Survey on January 29. The Union Budget will then be presented on February 1, marking the first instance in recent history of the Budget being tabled on a Sunday.
As per reports, the first phase of Parliament’s Budget Session is expected to run from January 28 to February 13, while the second phase is scheduled between March 9 and April 2.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present her ninth consecutive Union Budget, which will also be the 88th Budget since India’s Independence. Since 2017, the government has followed the practice of presenting the Budget at 11 am on February 1, after advancing it from the earlier February 28 schedule. The change, introduced during the tenure of former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, was aimed at enabling faster implementation of budgetary measures from the beginning of the financial year.
Presenting the Budget on a weekend is not without precedent. Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2025 on a Saturday, while Arun Jaitley delivered the Budgets for 2015 and 2016 on February 28, both of which also fell on Saturdays.
The focus has now shifted to whether stock markets will operate on Budget Day. The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has indicated that it is evaluating the possibility of keeping equity markets open on Sunday, February 1, 2026, if the Union Budget is presented on that day.
The exchange clarified that no final decision has been taken so far and that any move would depend on the central government’s official notification of the Budget schedule. The proposal is currently under internal review.
Opening the markets on a Sunday would not be unprecedented, as stock exchanges have operated on non-trading days in the past when the Union Budget was presented on a weekend or public holiday. The NSE has also stated that it is assessing the operational feasibility of conducting trading activities on February 1. Meanwhile, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) is yet to make any announcement regarding the possible opening of equity markets on that day.
