Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman followed tradition by calling on President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan before presenting the Union Budget for 2026–27.
The FY27 Budget is expected to focus on sustaining growth, maintaining fiscal discipline and addressing global economic uncertainties while boosting domestic demand and jobs.
Budget 2026: Sitharaman Meets President Murmu Ahead of 9th Consecutive Union Budget
She posed with her Budget team at Kartavya Bhavan and continues the practice of carrying Budget documents in a ‘bahi-khata’, introduced in 2019.
Summary
Ahead of presenting her ninth consecutive Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday paid a customary call on President Droupadi Murmu.
In keeping with established tradition, the finance minister met the President at Rashtrapati Bhavan before proceeding to Parliament.
Earlier, Sitharaman posed for photographs with her Budget team outside her office at Kartavya Bhavan. Dressed in a magenta Kanchivaram saree from Tamil Nadu, she carried a tablet in a red pouch bearing the national emblem, and was accompanied by the Minister of State and the six secretaries of her ministry.
"Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt Nirmala Sitharaman, along with Minister of State for Finance Shri Pankaj Chaudhary and senior officials of the Ministry of Finance, called on President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan before presenting the Union Budget. The President extended her best wishes to the Union Finance Minister and her team for the presentation of Budget," the President of India’s office said in a post on X.
President Murmu also offered ‘dahi-chini’ (curd and sugar), considered auspicious, to Sitharaman before she departed for Parliament to present the Union Budget.
After the meeting, Sitharaman attended a Cabinet meeting to formally approve the Budget for 2026–27.
She has continued the practice she introduced in 2019 of carrying the Budget documents in a ‘bahi-khata’, replacing the earlier briefcase tradition.
The finance minister is set to present her ninth straight Budget, expected to outline steps to sustain economic growth, uphold fiscal discipline and announce reforms aimed at cushioning the economy from global trade frictions, including US tariffs.
The FY27 Budget is being presented amid a challenging environment. While domestic demand has remained resilient and inflation has eased from recent peaks, global uncertainties—ranging from geopolitical tensions and volatile commodity prices to uneven monetary easing by major central banks—continue to weigh on the outlook. Domestically, the government faces the twin challenge of boosting consumption, accelerating job creation and stepping up capital expenditure, while keeping the fiscal deficit on a downward trajectory.
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