Will FM Nirmala Sitharaman table the Union Budget on Sunday, February 1?

The Union Budget has been presented on February 1 since 2017, and 2026 will be the first occasion since then that it falls on a Sunday

Will the 80th Union Budget be a Sunday Budget? That’s a question yet to find an answer even as the countdown has begun to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s eighth Budget. Ever since February 1 became the Budget date in 2017, Sundays have never come in the way of the annual financial statement. But 2026 is going to be different and power corridors are as engaged with the date of the Budget as with its theme, perhaps. 

On top of February 1, 2026, being a Sunday, Guru Ravidas Jayanti (birth anniversary) —a government holiday in some of the north Indian states including Delhi— will also fall on the same day. 

 

Even so, officials indicated on Friday that the Union Budget could be presented on Sunday, February 1. When asked, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said, “These decisions are taken by the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs at an appropriate time.” 

Sources, however, pointed out that the Guru Ravidas Jayanti is neither a central government “public holiday” nor it is so in most of the country. It is a “public holiday” in some of the north Indian states, such as Delhi and Haryana. It is a “restricted holiday”, and not a public holiday, for the Central government. However, in 2025, Ravidas Jayanti fell on Wednesday, February 12, in the midst of the Budget session of Parliament, and the two Houses did not have a sitting on account of it. 

The Union Budget was tabled on February 1 in 2017, and 2026 will be the first occasion since then that it falls on a Sunday. 

Officials said the government is keen to conform to the convention of the Union Budget for 2026-27 being presented on February 1 despite it falling on a Sunday in 2026. 

In 2020 and 2025, Sitharaman presented the Budgets on February 1, which in these years fell on Saturdays. 

According to sources, the Budget will not be tabled on Saturday, January 31, while an optional day would be February 2, which is a Monday. 

There are precedents of Parliament having its sittings on Sunday under special circumstances, such as the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and on May 13, 2012, to mark the 60th anniversary of the first sitting of Parliament. 

Similarly, there have been instances when the two Houses sat on the occasion of a public holiday. 

On May 13, 1957, which was a holiday on account of Buddha Purnima, the President addressed both the Houses and separate sittings of the two Houses were held on that day. 

“In fixing the sittings, restricted holidays in the Government of India offices are, however, not taken into account and sittings may be fixed on those days,” according to the Rajya Sabha website. 

But, there are also certain other holidays which are observed by the House irrespective of the fact that any of them may not be a public holiday for the government offices, such as Raksha Bandhan. 

On February 18, 1981, when the Rajya Sabha met, a point was raised regarding observance of a holiday on account of the birthday of Guru Ravidas on that day. 

After some discussion, the House was adjourned at 11.06 am. A sitting of the Rajya Sabha was originally fixed for February 24, 1986 (birthday of Guru Ravidas), in the Provisional Calendar of sittings. In view of the precedent of 1981 and Chairman’s direction, the sitting fixed for that day was cancelled and members were informed through a parliamentary bulletin, according to the Rajya Sabha website. 

Prior to 2017, the Union Budget was presented on the last working day of February. 

The convention then was that if February 28 or 29 fell on a Sunday, the previous day (Saturday) would be chosen for presenting the Budget. 

The February 1 date was selected to ensure implementation of the Budget at the start of the new financial year on April 1. 

According to an analysis earlier published in this newspaper, there have been only two exceptions in the last 79 Union Budgets since 1947, when the last day of February fell on a Sunday, but the finance minister concerned decided to advance the presentation of the Budget to Friday. 

On all other occasions, when the last day of February fell on a Sunday, the Budget was presented on the previous day, Saturday. 

The Union Budget for 2026-27 will be the 80th since 1947, and eighth successive Budget that Sitharaman will be presenting, on a par with Morarji Desai, who till now holds the record of presenting as many full Budgets. 

Desai presented his eight Budgets in two different stints, one under Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the other under Indira Gandhi. Sitharaman will be presenting her eighth successive Budget under one Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, and under two consecutive governments. 

Winter session comes to end. Key Bills passed 

The Winter Session of Parliament was held from December 1 to 19, 2025, with both Houses functioning for 15 days 

* Number of bills introduced: 9 

* Number of Bills passed: 7 

These included Bills related to the revamp of the nuclear energy regulator, the Viksit Bharat-Guarantee For Rozgar And Ajeevika Mission (Gramin), or VB-G RAM G BILL, and insurance laws — all passed within a week of their respective introduction 

* Bills referred to House panel: 2 

Bills to revamp the higher education regulation, and integrate three securities laws into one Code 

- 11 of the 42 Bills introduced in the 18th Lok Sabha have been referred to committees. These include two Bills on simultaneous elections, and three on the removal of ministers on detention.

  - Only one Bill — Securities Markets Code — has been referred to Standing Committee. 

* No. of sittings: 15 

Lok Sabha (LS) worked for 103% of its scheduled time and Rajya Sabha for 104%. 

-  LS Secretariat said the House sat for 92.25 hours, including 28.17 hours where it sat beyond its scheduled time to complete listed business. 

-  LS Secretariat said almost 19 hours were lost due to interruptions and forced adjournments. 

  -  Each House spent over 40% of its time on debates, mainly due to special discussions on the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram and electoral reforms. 

-  LS spent 36%, and Rajya Sabha (RS) 30%, of their time on legislative business.

  -  During the session, 41 reports of department related parliamentary standing committees and 10 of other parliamentary committees were tabled.

  -  While three days were allocated for Private Members’ business, it was taken up in both Houses on two days. 

  -  137 Private Member Bills (PMBs) were introduced in the LS and 59 in the RS. In the Lok Sabha, this was the first introduction of PMBs since August 2024. 

-  Lok Sabha utilised 67% of the Question Hour and Rajya Sabha utilised 80%. 

-  23% of starred questions were answered orally in Lok Sabha, and 26% in Rajya Sabha.  Sources: PRS Legislative Research and LS Secretariat