Daijiworld Media Network- New Delhi

New Delhi, Aug 29: The Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) on Friday announced that the Union Government will begin pre-budget consultations for the upcoming Union Budget 2026-27 from October 9, 2025. The meetings are scheduled to continue till mid-November.

Issuing the Budget Circular 2026-27, the DEA directed all ministries and departments to submit their provisional Statement of Budget Estimates (SBE) through the Union Budget Information System (UBIS) by October 3, 2025.

“Pre-budget meetings shall commence from October 9, 2025 (Thursday) and continue till mid-November. The Budget Estimates for 2026-27 as well as the Revised Estimates for 2025-26 will be provisionally finalised after completion of these meetings,” the circular stated.

The provisional SBEs submitted will form the basis for discussions during the consultations, which will cover:

Fund requirements under various expenditure categories.

Receipts of departmentally run commercial undertakings, netted against gross expenditure.

Non-tax revenues, including user charges and arrears.

Expenditure estimates on a net basis, i.e. gross expenditure net of recoveries/receipts.

The circular also emphasised that data pertaining to budget preparation will now be mandatorily routed through UBIS for efficiency and transparency.

The Union Budget 2026-27 will be the first full budget to be presented after the enactment of the new National Sports Governance Act and is expected to carry significant policy directions as the government enters the second half of its tenure.