The finance ministry will kick-start the Budget-making exercise for 2026-27 from October 9 against the backdrop of global geopolitical uncertainties and the steep 50% US tariff on Indian shipments.The upcoming Budget will need to address the challenges of boosting demand, creating jobs and ensuring the economy moves towards a sustained growth path of over 8%. For the current year, the government has projected growth in the range of 6.3-6.8%.“Pre-budget meetings chaired by Secretary (Expenditure) shall commence from October 9, 2025,” the Department of Economic Affairs said in its Budget Circular for 2026-27, PTI reported.The circular directed financial advisers to submit complete data in the required formats by October 3. Hard copies of the information will also need to be provided for cross-verification. Budget Estimates for FY27 will be provisionally finalised after the meetings, while Revised Estimate (RE) discussions will continue till mid-November.It also asked all ministries and departments to submit details of autonomous bodies or implementing agencies with dedicated corpus funds, explaining the need for their continuation and the requirement of grant-in-aid support.The Union Budget for 2026-27 is expected to be presented on February 1 during the first half of Parliament’s Budget session. The current year’s Budget projected a 10.1% nominal growth rate and pegged the fiscal deficit at 4.4% of GDP.The Narendra Modi-led government ended the colonial-era practice of presenting the Budget at the end of February in 2017, when then finance minister Arun Jaitley moved it to February 1. The change ensures ministries get allocations from the start of the financial year in April, giving departments more room to spend and companies more time to adjust to taxation and policy changes.