Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is all set to present Budget 2026 on Sunday, Feb 1. In a tongue-in-cheek remark on Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) that have been major forces in shaping the trajectory of the equity markets, Helios Capital founder Samir Arora said the Sunday’s Budget “will make them regret shorting,” while they will have to “cover their shorts” on Monday after the “market is already up a lot on Sunday.”
“If we really want to mess with FIIs and make them regret shorting and selling the Indian market it would be great to have the budget on a Sunday, open the equity market that day and have a super market friendly budget so that FIIs have to cover their shorts (on Monday when they come back to office) after the market is already up a lot on Sunday. Oh wait… the first 2 things are already happening,” Arora wrote on X.
If we really want to mess with FIIs and make them regret shorting and selling the Indian market it would be great to have the budget on a Sunday, open the equity market that day and have a super market friendly budget so that FIIs have to cover their shorts (on Monday when they…
— Samir Arora (@Iamsamirarora) January 30, 2026
Much like the domestic investors, FIIs also hold significant sway in Indian equities as their selling pressure could drag markets down. Since Budget 2026 is being presented on Sunday and stock markets are opening on the same day, the domestic investors would be able to react instantly, while FIIs — many of whom operate from global financial hubs — might be caught off guard.
This will be the second time in India’s fiscal history when the Union Budget will be presented on a Sunday. It was last presented on a Sunday about 27 years ago in 1999.
On Feb. 28, 1999, then-Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha tabled the Union Budget in Parliament during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government.
Also, that year marked the first time that the Union Budget was delivered at 11 AM in Lok Sabha. This replaced the long-standing tradition of tabling the Budget at 5 PM. This major shift drew significant market attention amid the unusual weekend sitting.
There have been earlier instances as well when the Budget got presented on a weekend, with the government seldom altering the date.
The Economic Survey was tabled in the Parliament on Jan. 29.
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