Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget for the financial year 2026–27 in the Lok Sabha during the ongoing Budget Session of Parliament.
This will mark her ninth consecutive budget presentation. This is the first time in Independent India’s history that the Union Budget is being presented on a Sunday.
Sitharaman is expected to outline the government of India’s estimated receipts and expenditures for 2026–27.
As mandated under Section 3(1) of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, 2003, the finance minister will table two key documents: the Medium-Term Fiscal Policy-cum-Fiscal Policy Strategy Statement and the Macro-Economic Framework Statement.
Sitharaman will also introduce the Finance Bill, 2026, which seeks parliamentary approval to give legal backing to the government’s financial proposals.
The budget is expected to introduce measures aimed at sustaining growth momentum, preserving fiscal discipline, and advancing reforms that could help shield the economy from global trade frictions, including US tariffs.
The budget is being presented against a backdrop of global uncertainty, with geopolitical tensions, volatile commodity prices, and uneven monetary easing by major central banks continuing to cloud the economic outlook.
However, with the tax cut having eaten into government revenues, Sitharaman will need to identify a new driver of growth.
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Restoring investor confidence in the near term will also be a challenge for the finance minister, with foreign investors continuing to sell Indian equities and pushing the rupee to record lows.
Some experts expect an increase in excise duty on petrol and diesel as Sitharaman looks to bolster revenues. The hike is unlikely to be passed on to consumers and may instead be adjusted against the retail price cuts that were warranted when global oil prices fell last year, PTI reported.
The budget may also include new measures for the poll-bound states—West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Assam.