Union Budget 2026 LIVE: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to present her ninth Budget today
The Hindu
Union Budget 2026 LIVE: Follow The Hindu’s updates on Nirmala Sitharaman’s budget speech across key sectors- defence, railways, healthcare, education, income tax.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present her ninth Budget in the Parliament today (February 1, 2026). This is the first time in the history of India that the Union Budget is being presented on a Sunday.
Also read: Key terms that will help you understand Budget 2026
The Budget 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 U.S. tariffs.
Also read: Economic Survey calls for fiscal flexibility for the Centre, cautions States against worsening finances
The Economic Survey 2025-26, authored by Chief Economic Advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran, was tabled in Parliament on Thursday (January 29, 2026) by Ms. Sitharaman. For the current financial year 2025-26, the Survey highlighted the government’s estimate of 7.4% growth, adding that its ‘nowcast’ estimate for growth in Q3 (October-December 2025) stood at 7%. For 2026-27, the Survey estimates a growth rate range of 6.8-7.2%.
Indian-flagged vessels in the Strait of Hormuz carry 2 lakh MT LNG and 16.7 lakh MT crude, amidst geopolitical tensions.
Stock markets continue to rise for the third day as Sensex and Nifty gain nearly 1%, fueled by IT stocks.
Rising oil prices and LPG shortages are driving India's shift to electric cooking, offering cost-effective and energy-efficient alternatives.
The rupee fell to a record low of 92.63 against the dollar, while equities surged with Sensex up 633.29 points.
Alibaba is sharpening its artificial intelligence strategy by focusing on agents that connect the many businesses under its sprawling corporate umbrella.
India's semiconductor market is set to reach $300 billion by 2035, driven by local production and growing technology demands.
Iran continues to export millions of barrels of oil amid war, with 90 ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz despite sanctions.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said during an internal all-hands meeting he expects artificial intelligence could help cloud computing unit Amazon Web Services achieve $600 billion in annual sales, double his own prior estimate.
Government mandates airlines to allocate 60% of seats free, enhancing passenger rights and convenience across Indian aviation.
Microsoft is weighing legal action against Amazon and OpenAI over a $50 billion deal, the Financial Times reported
Stock markets rally with Sensex and Nifty gaining, despite HDFC Bank and others lagging behind amid falling crude prices.
OpenAI has signed a new deal to sell access to its AI models to U.S. defence and government agencies through Amazon’s cloud unit for classified and unclassified work, the ChatGPT maker said
Samsung Electronics said on Wednesday that it expects to start volume production of Tesla’s chips