By Rootsalert News Desk|January 31, 2026
It is almost 11:00 AM on 1 st February and India will make history with a historic financial milestone. The first budget in almost 25 years to be introduced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will be the Union Budget 2026- 27 and will be presented on a Sunday.
Breaking a tradition, the BSE and NSE have verified that they will be open to a full trading day tomorrow so that the investors can respond immediately to the fiscal roadmap of the fastest-growing major economy globally.
The Sunday Exception: What Is Going on?
The stock exchange normally closes on weekends. The government however has chosen to go ahead with the February 1 date although it is a Sunday which has led to a special live trading session by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the exchanges.
Times: Pre-open 9:00 AM; Normal trading between 9:15 AM and 3.30 PM.
Precedent: The markets will only be traded on a Sunday during a Budget presentation the second time in the history of Independent India (the last being in 1999).
Budget 2026 Key Pillars: What to Expect.
It is expected that economists and leaders in the industry will lead a Productivity-led Growth model. The Budget is set to emphasize on:
Employment & Skilling (VB-GRAM G): The Viksit Bharat -Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) is a new scheme that is expected to be launched with a cost-sharing ratio of 60:40 of Centre and State to address the rural unemployment.
Infrastructure & Capex: There will be a 15% increase in defense capital spending and a 150,000 crore interest-free state capital loan to improve the local infrastructure.
Customs Duty Revamp: To curb international aggression of tariffs and to favor the Make in India program, the FM can harmonize the existing eight tariff levels to four. The major industries such as electronics, semiconductors and gold/ silver are considering a reduction of duty to reduce the costs of inputs.
Tweak in taxation: Although no significant changes are expected in the major income tax, there is much hype about doubling senior citizen tax deduction limit (currently 50,000 to 1 Lakh) and introduction of new joint taxation scheme among married couples to make compliance easier.
The Political Context
This will mark the ninth budget of Nirmala Sitharaman who will have only one short of the all-time record of former PM Morarji Desai. The presentation is delivered when the Indian markets are on the verge of undergoing a cooling valuation premium, and such fiscal deficit target of the FM (which is estimated to be less than 4.5% of GDP) would be an important indicator to foreign institutional investors (FIIs).
The market is looking for policy stability. A predictable budget without populist shocks will likely trigger a post-event rally as the uncertainty of global trade tensions looms,” says a lead analyst at Tata Asset Management.
