Summary of this article
Centre may present the Budget for 2026 on February 1, Sunday
Lear whether markets will be open on a Sunday
The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs (CCPA) has proposed dates for the upcoming Budget Session of Parliament, suggesting the Budget be presented on Sunday, February 1. This will be the first time the Union Budget is presented on a Sunday in recent history.
There had been a lot of buzz and speculation around the Union Budget Schedule as February 1, which is usually the date when the Budget is presented every year, falls on a Sunday. Several reports had suggested that the Budget might be pushed to Monday, February 2.
The meeting held by the CCPA proposed that the President’s address be delivered on January 28, and the Economic Survey be tabled in Parliament on January 29. Reports suggest that the first part of the Budget Session will be held between January 28 and February 13. Meanwhile, the second part of the session will be presented between March 9 and April 12.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present the 88th Union Budget since Independence, and her ninth Budget next month. The Centre has, since 2017, presented the Budget at 11 am on February 1, moving away from the earlier practice of presenting on February 28.
Budget presentations have been held earlier on weekends. Sitharaman had presented the 2025 Union Budget on a Saturday. Earlier, former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Budgets for 2015 and 2016 on Saturdays.
The primary question now is where markets will be open on a Sunday when the Budget is presented. The National Stock Exchange (NSE) earlier indicated that it is considering the possibility of keeping markets open on February 1, 2026, if the Union Budget is presented on that day, even if it falls on a Sunday. The exchange has not reached a final decision so far on the matter, and any move on it will depend on the official Budget Schedule to be released by the Centre.
There are precedents when the equity market was open on a non-trading day when the Union Budget was presented on a weekend or a public holiday. So, a decision to keep equity markets open on a Sunday would not be out of the blue.
The NSE has also said that it is evaluating the operational feasibility of keeping the markets open on February 1. Meanwhile, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) is yet to make any announcement regarding the matter.
