This time the budget may be presented on Sunday: Ravidas Jayanti is also a holiday on 1st February, Finance Minister Sitharaman will present the 8th consecutive budget.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reached Parliament for the first time on 5 July 2019 with the budget covered in red cloth.

Preparations for the country’s 80th Union Budget have started, but this time there is suspense regarding the date of the budget. Because, in the year 2026, 1st February is Sunday and Guru Ravidas Jayanti is also on the same day.

If the budget is presented on February 1, it will be the first time since the budget date was changed in 2017 that the budget will be presented on a Sunday. At the same time, this will be the eighth budget of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. She will become the first Finance Minister of the country to present 8 consecutive budgets.

There is less hope for the budget coming on Saturday The budget for the years 2020 and 2025 was also presented on Saturday (February 1). According to media reports, this time the budget will not be presented on January 31 (Saturday). If the budget does not come on Sunday, the other option will be on February 2 (Monday). Before 2017, the budget used to come on the last working day of February, which was changed to 1 February so that the new financial year could start smoothly from 1 April.

The government wants to maintain the tradition. According to media reports, officials say that the government wants to maintain its tradition of February 1. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said that the decision on the budget date will be taken by the Cabinet Committee when the time comes. However, sources say that Guru Ravidas Jayanti does not come in the ‘Public Holiday’ list of the Central Government but in the ‘Restricted Holiday’ list. In such a situation, despite it being Sunday, the budget can be presented by calling a special meeting of the Parliament.

Nirmala Sitharaman will make a new record Budget 2026-27 will be Nirmala Sitharaman’s eighth consecutive budget. With this she will equal the record of former Prime Minister Morarji Desai. Morarji Desai also presented 8 full budgets, but he did so during the tenure of two different Prime Ministers. At the same time, Sitharaman will become the first Finance Minister to achieve this feat in two consecutive governments led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Old examples of Parliament functioning on Sunday: There have been many such occasions in the history of Parliament when the proceedings of the House have been conducted even on Sundays or holidays. The meeting was held on Sunday during the Corona pandemic in 2020 and on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Parliament in 2012. Similarly, in 1957, despite Buddha Purnima being a holiday, the President addressed both the Houses. Experts say that the budget is a constitutional process, hence under special circumstances the House can function on Sunday.