Union Budget
Constitutional and Legislative Framework
The Union Budget — formally the Annual Financial Statement — is a constitutional requirement under Article 112 of the Constitution. It presents estimated receipts and expenditure for the financial year (April 1 to March 31). The government requires Parliamentary authorisation for all expenditure through the Appropriation Act (Article 114). No money may be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund of India except under Appropriation Act authority.
Mid-year budget management — cutting or augmenting expenditure — requires either Supplementary Demands for Grants (for additional expenditure, Article 115) or administrative expenditure economy (for cuts). In practice, the DoE issues "cut memos" to ministries when revenue shortfalls emerge, but capex for priority infrastructure is protected.
- Article 112: Annual Financial Statement (Union Budget) — constitutional mandate.
- Article 113: Budget presentation procedure — Money Bill route.
- Article 114: Appropriation Act — grants Parliament-authorised spending authority.
- Article 115: Supplementary Demands for Grants — for additional expenditure mid-year.
- Consolidated Fund of India (Article 266): all revenues and loans of Government of India; expenditure requires Parliament's authorisation.
- Contingency Fund of India (Article 267): small fund (~₹500 crore) for unforeseen urgent expenditure pending Parliamentary approval.
- Financial year in India: April 1 to March 31.
● Tracked since February 01, 2026 · last seen May 01, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes