PTC News Desk: The Union Budget is among the most keenly anticipated events in India, as it outlines the government’s plans for revenue generation and expenditure for the year ahead. While the finance minister now presents the Budget on February 1, this was not always the norm.
Until 2016, following a British-era convention, the Budget was presented on the last working day of February. This posed a practical challenge because the financial year begins on April 1, leaving ministries, businesses and taxpayers with limited time to adjust to new policies and tax changes. To address this, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Union Budget on February 1 for the first time in 2017. The earlier date was intended to provide stakeholders with additional time to prepare before the new fiscal year begins, and the practice has continued since.
The timing of the Budget presentation was also revised earlier. Up to 1999, the Budget was traditionally presented at 5 pm, another legacy of the colonial period. That year, then Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha shifted the timing to 11 am to ensure wider media coverage and greater public engagement.
The decision to advance the Budget date sparked controversy, with a petition filed in the Supreme Court challenging the move. The petitioner argued that an earlier Budget could allow the government to announce populist measures ahead of state elections to influence voters. However, the Supreme Court dismissed the plea, observing that the Union Budget concerns the entire country and cannot be constrained by the election schedules of individual states. The bench noted that the frequency of state elections should not impede the functioning of the central government.
Earlier, delays were common because by the time the Budget was passed and implemented, the new financial year had already begun, causing several government schemes and policy initiatives to miss their intended start dates.
