Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 16 (ANI): The National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) on Friday announced that it will conduct a live trading session on February 1, 2026 (Sunday) on account of the presentation of the Union Budget.

In a circular issued by the Futures & Options Department, NSE said the live trading session will be held in accordance with standard market timings.

As per the schedule, the normal market session will run from 09:15 hrs to 15:30 hrs. The exchange also informed that the trade modification end time will be 16:15 hrs.

According to a pre-Budget survey recently conducted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), a majority of industry stakeholders have identified boosting domestic manufacturing and strengthening the 'Make in India' initiative as the top priority for the Union Budget 2026-27, citing high compliance burden, logistics and energy costs, and limited access to long-term capital as key constraints to scaling up manufacturing in the country,

The survey, conducted among professionals across manufacturing, services, infrastructure, IT/ITeS, start-ups and allied sectors, found that 55 per cent of respondents remain optimistic about the business outlook over the next 12 months, while 32 per cent maintain a neutral stance and only 13 per cent expressed a pessimistic outlook.

Boosting domestic manufacturing emerged as the single most important Budget priority to advance the vision of an Aatmanirbhar and Viksit Bharat, followed by strengthening MSMEs and simplifying tax and compliance systems.

Last week, Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the meeting on Pre-Budget Consultation with States and Union Territories (with Legislature) for the forthcoming Union Budget 2026-27 in New Delhi.

Notably, as of now, Finance Minister held 10 rounds of Pre-Budget Consultations as part of the preparations for the forthcoming Union Budget 2026-27.

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also chaired a pre-Budget meeting with leading economists.

The Budget for 2026-27 will be presented on February 1, as is the convention. (ANI)