Economic Survey 2026: date, time, where to watch live and download PDF

The Economic Survey is something that the people in the Economic Division of the Department of Economic Affairs make every year. They are part of the Ministry of Finance. They do this work with the help of the Chief Economic Adviser. The Economic Survey looks at how the economy did in the year and talks about big things that are happening with the economy. It also tells us what the government thinks is important for the economy and how they plan to make decisions about the Union Budget. Usually the Economic Survey is given to the people, in Parliament just before they talk about the Union Budget. In the year 2026 the Budget was scheduled for 1 February 2026. This thing was put on the table before that. The Budget, for 2026 was the thing and this was done before the Budget.

2) They have given us the date and the timing and it is all confirmed now. The exact date and timing are very important. They are confirmed.

Date: 29 January 2026. I found out that the Economic Survey for 2025–26 was presented to Parliament on 29 January 2026. This is what several live coverage pages and government information pages are saying. They all confirm that the Economic Survey, for 2025–26 was indeed tabled in Parliament on 29 January 2026.

The timing for this is usually in the morning. Media outlets and budget coverage guides say it will happen then. Most live blogs show that something will happen around 11:00 AM IST. This is when the tabling and the Chief Economic Adviser press briefing will take place. The exact time might be a little different.. It will be, in the morning session.

After the tabling happens the Chief Economic Adviser will give a press briefing. The Chief Economic Adviser will explain the report to journalists during the press briefing.

Note: The timing of Indias Budget Session and the exact minute a Minister gets up to present a document can change a little because of the way Parliament works. To keep up with what’s happening minute by minute it is best to follow the live blogs, from the media and the official Parliament updates.

3) Where to watch the Economic Survey presentation live (and immediate coverage)

When the Economic Survey is presented people find out about it from lots of places. The Economic Survey is talked about on government television and radio in the Parliament meetings and, in newspapers and news channels. The main ways to find out about the Economic Survey are:

Sansad TV is where you can watch things live and it is also on YouTube. Sansad TV shows what is happening in Parliament live like when they talk about the Economic Survey. A lot of people watch Sansad TV on YouTube or on their television to see what is happening at that moment. They like to watch the Economic Survey, on Sansad TV when it is happening.

Doordarshan or DD News has a feed, from Parliament. This feed is very useful because Doordarshan shows coverage of important events that take place in Parliament. For example Doordarshan provides coverage of the Economic Survey presentation. People can watch these events on Doordarshan.

Official government channels & press bodies:

Ministry of Finance / Department of Economic Affairs posts updates on X (Twitter), Facebook and its official websites.

The Press Information Bureau often puts up the Chief Economic Adviser press conference highlights on their YouTube and X channels.

If you follow the Press Information Bureau or the Finance Ministry on media you will get the official clips and releases, from the Press Information Bureau and the Finance Ministry.

There are some news websites and live blogs that you can check out. Sites like Moneycontrol, LiveMint, India Today, Economic Times, Reuters and so on had blogs that gave updates every minute. These updates had text and important charts. Sometimes they even had the live video feed. This is really useful if you want to know what people think about what’s happening at the same time as the official proceedings. You get to see the live video feed and you also get to read what the news websites think about it. News websites, like Moneycontrol and LiveMint and India Today and Economic Times and Reuters are all places to look for this kind of thing.

To pick what is best for you: If you want to see the presentation without anything being left out then Sansad TV or Doordarshan or the Parliament live stream is the way to go.

If you also want someone to explain things to you and show you the parts and give you a quick idea of what is happening while you are watching Sansad TV or the Parliament live stream then you should also look at a live blog at the same time like the ones, on Moneycontrol or LiveMint or India Today.

4) So what typically happens during the coverage and how does it all flow. The live coverage usually has a standard order of events. What happens is that the live coverage starts and then it goes through a series of segments. The live coverage of events like this is really interesting to watch. When you are watching the coverage you will see that it has a certain flow, to it. The live coverage is very engaging. It is fun to see what happens next.

In the Parliament the Finance Minister gets up. Puts the Economic Survey on the table. The Finance Minister does this with a copy of the Economic Survey and the actual document. When the Finance Minister does this it is an action in the Parliament. At this point the Economic Survey is officially, on the table. The Economic Survey is now tabled in the Parliament.

When the government puts out the budget they make the PDF available on their website away. This usually happens within a minutes of them talking about it. You can find the PDF, on the Union Budget or Economic Survey page at indiabudget.gov.in and then you click on Economics Survey. The PDF is ready to use soon as it is posted on the government site so you can look at the Union Budget or Economic Survey right away.

The Chief Economic Adviser and other senior people usually have a meeting with the press to go over the points and answer questions. The Chief Economic Adviser will explain the things that they found out. This meeting may be shown on the internet by the Press Information Bureau. It may be shown live on the news channels by the Press Information Bureau. The Chief Economic Adviser and the other senior officials will be there to answer questions, about the findings.

People look at what the media’s saying about the Survey. Media outlets write down their thoughts and ideas as they hear about the Survey. They also share pictures and parts of the Survey while they are trying to understand it.

5) Step-by-step: how to download the official Economic Survey PDF (with exact steps)

Official source: the Union Budget / Economic Survey page on the Government of India’s budget website (indiabudget.gov.in/economicsurvey).

Steps

To start you need to open your browser. Then you have to go to the website indiabudget.gov.in. If you regularly follow budget documents it is an idea to bookmark indiabudget.gov.in so you can find it easily next time.

To get started you need to go to the homepage or the section that says “Publications / Economics Survey”. Then you have to find the link that says “Economic Survey”. The government makes it easy to find the Survey page because they clearly label it. Usually it says something, like “Economic Survey 2025–26” or “Economic Survey 2026” so you know what you are looking for. The Economic Survey link is what you need to find.

When the Survey is ready the website will let you get the PDF. You can find the links that say “Download Economic Survey”. These links will open the PDF file. The PDF file is usually divided into two parts, Part A and Part B. It also has extra things, like annexures and separate PDFs for each chapter.

To get the file click on the PDF link. Then you can use the download button on your browser. Right click and choose “Save as” to save the file on your computer.

The Survey has a lot of PDFs. These include the parts, charts and tables and the beginning part. So you can. Download one big PDF file or you can download each part separately.

If you want to find the information else you can look at big news websites and educational sites. They often have a copy of the PDF that you can use for your convenience. However the Government of India website is the place to go if you want to make sure you have the real version and all the extra information that goes with it. The Government of India site is where you will find the version and all the annexed data, from the Government of India.

6) What is usually in the PDF package and how to find your way around it

The PDF package usually has a lot of things in it. The PDF package is like a container that holds all sorts of information. To navigate the PDF package you have to look at what’s inside the PDF package. The PDF package can be a little confusing, at first. Once you know what to look for in the PDF package it is pretty easy to use the PDF package.

The Economic Survey PDF package usually has these things in it:

Preface & overview — one-page summary/preface from the CEA/Finance Ministry.

Part A — macroeconomic assessment: GDP performance, inflation, fiscal indicators, monetary/financial sector status, external sector, investment, and outlook.

Part B is about looking at one or more important topics. For example it could be a chapter that focuses on something, like employment and labour reforms or manufacturing and exports or even green growth. The topic that is chosen can be different each year.

Annexures and Charts and Tables have a lot of high frequency data and sectoral tables and methodological notes. The Annexures and Charts and Tables are really useful if you are doing research or getting ready, for an exam.

Here is a tip for navigation. You can use the PDF bookmarks to find what you need. Most government PDFs have these bookmarks. They are like a table of contents that you can click on. You can also use the search function by pressing Ctrl and F at the time. Then you can type in terms, like GDP or inflation or labour codes or investment to jump to the sections that talk about these things, like GDP or labour codes or investment.

7) The main points, from the Economic Survey 2026 that the media talked about

Lots of known news places and services that send out news talked about the important points, from the Survey when it was made public. The main things people were saying, as seen in Reuters, Economic Times, Moneycontrol, India Today and LiveMint were:

The growth projection for the year 2026 to 2027 which is also called FY27 is something that people are talking about.

The Survey said that Indias real GDP growth for FY27 will be between 6.8 percent and 7.2 percent.

People wrote a lot about this. They said it was the Surveys idea of what will happen in the medium term and a big projection for the whole countrys economy specifically, for FY27.

The estimate for the years 2025 to 2026 is looking good. Many reports said that the growth estimate for these years was changed to around 7.4 percent in the First Advance Estimates. This is a result than what some people thought would happen earlier. The growth for the years 2025 to 2026 is actually stronger, than what was thought.

The labour and employment part of the Survey is really important. It looks at what’s happening in the labour market. This includes the fact that people are getting jobs at a pace. The Survey also talks about labour codes. It goes into a lot of detail about how many people’re working and how people move from one job to another in the workforce. The labour market and labour codes are a focus.

These are the points that people who follow markets and policies look at right away. If you want to know everything and see all the details you can download the report from indiabudget.gov.in/economicsurvey.

8) Where to find the CEA press briefing video / transcript

When the Survey is finished and made public the Chief Economic Adviser usually talks to the press. Places to find what the Chief Economic Adviser has to say:

The Ministry of Finance or the PIB can put the video. The transcript on their channels. They may post the video and the transcript, on the PIB or Ministry of Finance channels.

I watch videos on YouTube, which is also known as Sansad TV or PIB. The people in charge often put the video on the YouTube channel so everyone can see it. It is, on public record.

Media websites have updates. A lot of them show the live CEA briefing or put up summaries that look like transcripts and the best parts of the question and answer session. This is helpful if you want to read what was said of watching a video of the CEA briefing.

9) Practical tips for students, researchers and journalists

Students who are getting ready for the UPSC exam need to do a lot of preparation. When you are studying for the UPSC exam you should download the study material in PDF form. But that is not all. You should also get the pack that has charts and tables. This is because a lot of exams including the UPSC exam will ask you questions that need figures and definitions. You will also need to know about example policy frameworks.

To make it easy to study you can use the “Find” function in the PDF. This function helps you to quickly locate terms, in the study material. This way you can find what you are looking for and study for the UPSC exam in a way.

Researchers and data users need to look at the information that comes with the budget. This extra information often has tables that’re in Excel or PDF form. You can also find some of these tables on the Budget website as Excel files that you can download. To find them you should check the Data section and the Downloads section on the indiabudget.gov.in website. The indiabudget.gov.in website is a place, for researchers and data users to find the information they need.

Journalists / analysts: watch the CEA briefing and the Q&A that follows — the CEA often clarifies assumptions, methodological notes, and the policy rationale behind certain estimates. Combine that with the full PDF for accurate reporting.