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Indian shares held on to their early gains in a special session for the union budget on Saturday, with investors watching for consumption-boosting measures amid an economic slowdown due to high inflation and anemic wage growth.

The Nifty 50 was 0.22% higher at 23,561.35 points, as of 11:05 a.m. IST, while the BSE Sensex gained 0.23% to 77,677.35.

India's debt and forex markets remain closed on the day.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman began presenting the budget in parliament at 11 a.m. IST, with the budget promising transformative reforms in taxation and the power and mining sectors, among others.

Ten of the 13 major sectors advanced, while the more domestically focussed mid-cap and small-cap indexes rose 0.7% and 0.3%, respectively.