Budget 2026-27: Five things to know before announcement by Nirmala Sitharaman

The Union Budget 2026-27 is set to be presented on Sunday (February 1, 2026) by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. This will be the minister’s ninth Budget speech and is being keenly watched by citizens and experts to gauge the economic health of the country and its future. 

But the annual financial statement has had a colourful past, from briefcases to ‘bahi khatas’ to ‘blue sheets,’ here are some interesting things to know about it.

Also Read | Key terms that will help you understand Budget 2026

Change from London to Indian timing

The Budget was historically presented at 5 p.m. on the last day of February, to align with the working hours of the British officials in London. This was changed in 1999 by Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha, who announced the Budget at 11 a.m to make it easier for Indian officials to work on it, on the same business day. The new tradition has continued ever since.

The tradition of announcing the Budget on the last day of February was also changed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in 2017, who delivered it on February 1, to give time to officials to approve the Budget before the start of the new fiscal year on April 1. 

Briefcase to ‘Bahi Khata’ 

For over 70 years, a red briefcase was used to carry the Budget documents in a nod to the British tradition of doing the same.

But in 2019, Ms. Sitharaman broke tradition by carrying the Budget in a ‘bahi-khata’, a traditional ledger used by accountants across the country. In 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Budget went paperless. But the tradition of carrying the digital tablet in a ‘bahi-khata’ like red case continued, thus blending modernity and tradition.

Longest to shortest speeches

The record for the longest Budget speech (by duration) goes to Ms. Sitharaman, who spoke for 2 hours and 42 minutes in 2020, before having to stop due to exhaustion.

The record for the longest speech(by words) goes to former Finance Minister Manmohan Singh, whose 1991 speech had 18,650 words. 

The quickest one was by Morarji Desai in 1977, with just 800 words. 

‘Halwa’ ceremony 

The ‘halwa’ or a traditional north Indian dessert is made in the Budget Press, located in the North Block in New Delhi, just before the Budget is scheduled to be presented.

The Finance Minister traditionally stirs the sweet dish and then serves it to the officials, as a sign of appreciation for their hard work. But also triggering a ‘lock in’ period in which the Budget is complete and rarely edited and all officials involved in the process are completely cut off from the outside world, until the Minister delivers the Budget in the parliament.

The ‘Blue Sheet’ 

The elusive ‘blue sheet’ is the master sheet to the Budget and is one of the heavily guarded secrets of the North Block. The ‘sheet’ traditionally coded in blue is a distilled blueprint of all the calculations in the Budget and helps the reader understand the lengthy financial document in one glance.

It is so secret that not even the Finance Minister is allowed to take the ‘blue sheet’ outside North Block and the finalising of the blue sheet triggers the ‘lock in’ period in which no outside contact of the officials is allowed.

The Budget 2026-27 will be announced on February 1 in the Parliament, sparking days of intense calculations and predictions about the coming fiscal year.