Union Budget to be presented on Feb 1; Economic Survey on Jan 29

New Delhi (TIP)-The Union Budget for the financial year 2026–27 will be presented in the Lok Sabha on February 1, while the Economic Survey will be tabled on January 29. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget for a record ninth time.
The Budget Session of Parliament will kick off on January 28 with President Droupadi Murmu’s address to a joint sitting of both Houses in the Central Hall. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, all the other top ministers, and Members of Parliament are set to attend the presidential address.
This will be only the second time the Union Budget will be presented on a Sunday. The previous occasion was on February 28, 1999, when then Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha presented the Budget for 1999–2000.
As Union Budget 2026 approaches, those income tax changes continue to shape how individuals assess relief, choose between tax regimes, and plan their finances.
Investor and entrepreneur Amit Baid commented, “Budget 2025 marked an inflection point in India’s personal tax framework. It reshaped the new tax regime through revised slabs and a higher rebate, effectively exempting income up to Rs 12 lakh and up to Rs 12.75 lakh for salaried taxpayers after the standard deduction”.
Budget 2025 delivered meaningful relief to a large section of salaried taxpayers, sharply narrowed the gap between the old and new tax regimes, and set the direction for how personal taxation would evolve going forward.
Expectations from Budget 2026, however, are more measured.
“With substantial relief already extended in the previous Budget and recent GST reductions easing consumer costs, the government is unlikely to introduce additional cuts to income tax slabs this year,” Baid said. He added that only limited tweaks may be possible.
“Some incremental adjustments such as a modest increase in the standard deduction under the new regime remain possible, particularly to offset inflation,” he said.
Santhosh Sivaraj, Partner – Global Mobility Services, Tax and Regulatory Advisory at BDO India, said certain old-regime deductions may come up for review.