Union Budget 2025: Date, Presentation Time, When and Where to Watch Live Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's Speech

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget for 2025 on February 1, 2025, at 11:00 AM IST. This is going to be her eighth budget presentation, comprising six annual budgets and two interim budgets. The new budget is of great importance since it will be the second full-fledged budget of the Modi government in its third term.

The tradition of presenting the Union Budget on February 1 was established by then Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in 2017. Earlier, budgets were usually presented on the last working day of February. It has been a usual practice since the move was announced to give parliamentary discussions more time and to take the budget from April 1 to March 31. As a result of this, present the budget at 11 AM for the markets to react before their closure for the day.

Live Coverage Details

Viewers can watch the live presentation of the Union Budget on various platforms:

• Television: The budget speech will be broadcast live on DD News and Sansad TV.
• YouTube: Both DD News and Sansad TV, the Ministry of Finance, and PIB will stream the presentation on their respective YouTube channels.

Stock Market Operations

Interestingly, whereas February 1 is a Saturday, Indian stock exchanges (NSE and BSE) will remain open on that day. General trading hours between 9 am and 3:30 pm for equities and 5 pm for commodities will be used. This system enables investors to react immediately after any announcement which may be taken during the Budget presentation.

Awaited Expectations from Budget 2025

As the Date Approaches Several sectors are hoping for announcements and are looking forward to receiving them:

Income Tax Relief: Expectations for revisions in income tax slabs with a focus on the middle-class taxpayer, and relief to taxpayers with an annual income of ₹15 lakh and below.

Sector-Specific Allocations: Enhanced allocations are likely to be provided to the health and education sectors, focusing on the strengthening of public health infrastructure.

Support for Electric Vehicles: Expectations of incentives that will drive domestic manufacturing, along with infrastructural support, for the electric vehicle industry.

Union Budget 2025 is all set to act as a strong determining factor in shaping India's economic map for the coming fiscal. High expectations have been built around sectors and prudent eyes on fiscal discipline, with the entire focus lying on Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as she explains the financial roadmap of the government for the future year.