Budget 2026: When and why was budget presentation shifted to February 1? A look back at the history

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is likely to present the Union Budget 2026 on February 1, which falls on Sunday, marking a significant milestone as she delivers her ninth consecutive Budget. This will be the second full Budget of the Modi 3.0 government, following the first full Budget presented in 2025.

Notably, Budget used to presented on February 28 until 2017, when the modi government decided to shift the date to 1st of the month, to ensure quicker implementation.

The Budget is expected to focus on sustaining economic momentum while offering relief to the middle class, which continues to grapple with high taxes, elevated living costs, and tightening household finances.

With Budget 2026, Sitharaman moves closer to the all-time record of 10 Union Budgets presented by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai. Having already presented eight consecutive Budgets, including the interim Budget in February 2024, she will now become the only finance minister to have delivered nine consecutive Budgets under a single prime minister.

So, heres a breakdown of Indias history with regards to budget A look back at India’s Budget journey

First Budget of independent India India’s first Union Budget after Independence was presented on November 26, 1947, by the country’s first finance minister, R.K. Shanmukham Chetty.

Budget presentation timings

For decades, the Budget was presented at 5 pm on the last working day of February, a colonial-era practice that aligned announcements with UK working hours. India’s time zone, our hours and 30 minutes ahead of British Summer Time, ensured the Budget reached London during business hours.

Shift to 11 am In 1999, then finance minister Yashwant Sinha, under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led government, moved the Budget presentation to 11 am, a convention that continues today.

Budget date moved to February 1

In 2017, the government advanced the Budget date from February 28 to February 1 to enable faster Parliamentary approval and ensure implementation from the start of the financial year on April 1. Earlier, procedural delays often pushed implementation to May or June.

Most Union Budgets presented in Indian history

Morarji Desai – 10 Budgets (record holder): Morarji Desai presented the highest number of Union Budgets in India’s history—six between 1959 and 1964, and four more between 1967 and 1969, serving under Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Lal Bahadur Shastri.

P. Chidambaram – 9 Budgets: P Chidambaram presented nine Budgets, beginning in 1996 during the United Front government and later delivering multiple Budgets under the Congress-led UPA government between 2004 and 2009.

Pranab Mukherjee – 8 Budgets: Pranab Mukherjee delivered eight Budgets across multiple tenures, including five consecutive Budgets from 2009 to 2012 under the UPA government.

Other notable Budget milestones

Before becoming Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh served as finance minister under Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao and presented five consecutive Budgets between 1991 and 1995. His 1991 Budget remains historic for ushering in India’s economic liberalisation.

Records in Budget speeches

Longest Budget speech: Nirmala Sitharaman holds the record for the longest Budget speech. Her February 1, 2020 address lasted 2 hours and 40 minutes, before she concluded with two pages still unread.

Shortest Budget speech: The shortest Budget speech was delivered by Hirubhai Mulljibhai Patel in 1977, when his interim Budget speech ran to just 800 words.

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