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When is Budget 2026? Indian Union Budget Date and Speech Time: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present her ninth consecutive budget in Parliament on February 1. The upcoming budget is expected to announce several reforms to accelerate economic growth amidst geopolitical uncertainties. This time, major changes are expected in the customs duty regime, similar to how GST was simplified earlier. The government may also announce measures to reduce the debt-to-GDP ratio. After increasing the tax exemption limit to ₹12 lakh last year, salaried individuals are now hoping for relief in standard deduction and a reduction in GST rates.

Who has presented the most budgets?
With her ninth consecutive budget presentation, Nirmala Sitharaman will come close to the record of former Prime Minister Morarji Desai, who presented a total of 10 budgets in different tenures. Desai presented six budgets between 1959 and 1964 and four between 1967 and 1969. Former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram presented nine budgets, and Pranab Mukherjee presented eight.

However, the record for presenting the most consecutive budgets belongs to Nirmala Sitharaman. She was appointed India's first full-time female Finance Minister in 2019. So far, she has presented eight consecutive budgets, including the interim budget of February 2024.

When will the budget be presented?
Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget 2026 on February 1 (Sunday) at 11 AM. Since 2017, the budget presentation date has been fixed as February 1. Earlier, the budget was presented on the last day of February, but the date was changed to facilitate timely approval from Parliament and implementation from April 1. The time of budget presentation was also changed in 1999. Earlier, the budget was presented at 5 PM, a tradition from the British era. Now it is presented at 11 AM.

Where can you watch the budget?

The Union Budget 2026 will be telecast live on February 1st from 11:00 AM onwards on Sansad TV, DD News, and the official website indiabudget.gov.in. Live streaming will also be available on the YouTube channels of Sansad TV and PIB. In addition, TV9 Bharatvarsh news channel and its social media platforms will provide live coverage of the budget, along with expert analysis and the latest updates.

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