The Government of India has declared scanned images being circulated on messaging platform Telegram as leaked copies of the Union Budget 2026 as 'fake', as per a PIB fact-check post on X. "Some images are being shared on social media claiming that a scanned copy of the Union Budget 2026–27 has been leaked on Telegram. These images are #FAKE," the post stated.
It added that one of the images being circulated is NOT from the Union Budget 2026–27. It is from the Union Budget 2025–26, and the front page has been digitally edited to change the year, while the other one "is completely digitally created and does not belong to any Union Budget document."
The government cautioned against believing or forwarding unverified images or claims related to the Union Budget.
"Such misinformation can mislead the public and spread unnecessary panic," it said.
The Budget Session of Parliament started on Jan. 28 and will continue till April 2. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget 2026-27 on an unorthodox day of the week - Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026. The Union Budget is set to be presented on a Sunday for the first time in decades. The Economic Survey was tabled yesterday on Jan. 29, 2026.
The Budget 2026 presentation will be Sitharaman's ninth in-a-row, marking the most number of consecutive Budget speeches by any finance minister. In 2025, she became the first finance minister to deliver eight consecutive Union Budgets.
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