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Why the Indian Union Budget is presented on February 1
01 Feb 2026

The Indian Union Budget is presented on February 1 every year, a practice that began in 2017.

Before that, the budget was presented on the last working day of February.

The change was made to give more time for implementation of new policies and tax rules before the start of the financial year on April 1.

Issues with previous budget date
Implementation issues

This change was deemed necessary, as the delay in presenting the budget until the end of February meant that ministries, businesses, and taxpayers had little time to implement new policies and tax rules when the new financial year starts on April 1.

By the time a budget was approved and implemented, the new financial year would have already started.

This often resulted in delays in launching government schemes and policies on time.

Who was 1st minister to present budget on February 1
Change catalyst

The first minister to present the budget on February 1 was Arun Jaitley in 2017. The decision was taken to give more time for preparation before the new fiscal year began.

Before that, the timing of the budget presentation had also been changed from the colonial-era practice of presenting it at 5:00pm to 11:00am a move made by then Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha in 1999 for better media coverage and public engagement.

Budget presentation date change challenged in SC
Legal challenge

The change in budget presentation date was challenged in the Supreme Court by a petitioner who argued that an early budget could allow the government to make populist promises ahead of state elections.

However, the Supreme Court rejected this petition, ruling that "the Union Budget had nothing to do with states, and frequency of state elections could not hinder functioning of Centre."