Parliament’s Budget Session to start January 28, run till April 2 with mid-session recess
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the Budget Session 2026 will begin on January 28 and continue till April 2, with a recess from February 13 to March 9. The session will open with President Droupadi Murmu’s address to a joint sitting.
Session dates and structure
India’s Parliament will begin its Budget Session for 2026 on January 28, 2026, and the sitting is scheduled to continue until April 2, 2026, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said. A recess is planned from February 13 to March 9, after which the Houses will reconvene for the remaining part of the session.
The Budget Session is typically the most consequential sitting in the parliamentary calendar because it includes major fiscal announcements and associated legislative business. The timing this year places the opening immediately after Republic Day, compressing political and administrative focus into a high-intensity period.
President’s address and key Budget milestones
According to the schedule shared by Rijiju, President Droupadi Murmu is set to address a joint sitting of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on January 28. The government also expects the Finance Minister to table the Economic Survey and present the Union Budget during the session’s early phase.
A notable calendar wrinkle is that February 1, the date commonly fixed as Budget Day in recent years, falls on a Sunday in 2026. This has prompted questions about how the presentation and parliamentary procedures will be managed in practice, even as the broader session timeline has been announced.
What to watch in a stormy session
The session is expected to be politically charged, with the Opposition preparing to press the government on multiple issues while the Treasury benches seek to project policy continuity and fiscal priorities. Beyond the Budget itself, a Budget Session often becomes the venue for high-stakes debates on governance, jobs, prices, welfare and federal concerns.
For markets and industry, the parliamentary calendar also matters because it provides a window for passage of enabling legislation and regulatory tweaks that can influence investment sentiment. With the recess built in, legislative momentum will likely be concentrated in the opening weeks and the post-recess sprint.