Cabinet approves Union Budget 2026 ahead of Parliament presentation

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday gave its formal approval to the Union Budget 2026 clearing the way for its presentation in Parliament later in the dayFollowing the Cabinetrsquos nod Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to table the Budget in the Lok Sabha marking her ninth consecutive Budget presentationmdasha record in itself The Budget is being presented at a time when the global economy is facing uncertainty with slowing exports and external headwinds posing challenges for growthThe Union Budget 2026 will be the third financial blueprint of the BJPled National Democratic Alliance NDA government in its third term in office Expectations are high that the government will continue to balance fiscal discipline with measures aimed at boosting domestic demand infrastructure spending and economic resilience amid volatile global conditionsSince assuming office as finance minister in 2019 Sitharaman has introduced several symbolic and procedural changes to the Budget presentation In her very first Budget she replaced the decadesold leather briefcase traditionally used to carry Budget papers with a red clothwrapped lsquobahikhatarsquo signalling a break from colonialera practicesContinuing with that shift the Union Budget 2026 will also be presented in a completely paperless format in line with the governmentrsquos push towards digitisation and sustainabilityThe approval by the Cabinet is the final step before the Budget is formally laid before Parliament where it will outline the governmentrsquos estimates of receipts and expenditure for the coming financial year along with its broader fiscal and economic prioritiesSitharaman creates history with 9th consecutive Budget longest serving FMFinance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday makes history as she presents a record ninth consecutive Budget that is expected to unveil measures to sustain growth momentum maintain fiscal discipline and contain reforms that could buffer the economy from global trade frictions including US tariffsThis will take Sitharaman closer to the record of 10 budgets that were presented by former Prime Minister Morarji Desai over different time periods Desai presented six budgets during his tenure as finance minister from 1959 to 1964 and four budgets between 1967 and 1969Former finance ministers P Chidambaram and Pranab Mukherjee had presented nine and eight budgets respectively under different prime ministersSitharaman however will continue to hold the record of presenting the maximum number of budgets on the trot nine straight budgets under Prime Minister Narendra ModiShe was in 2019 appointed as Indias first fulltime woman finance minister when Prime Minister Narendra Modi won a decisive second term After PM Modi came back to power in 2024 for the third time Sitharaman continued to retain her finance portfolioSitharaman took charge of the Finance Ministry on May 31 2019 and has steered the economy through the Covid19 pandemic and geopolitical turmoil making India the fastestgrowing major economy in the worldSitharaman completed six years and eight months in office on January 31 2026 On February 1 she will present a record ninth budget in a row