The Union Budget 2026 needs to focus on widening the direct tax base, incentivising private sector investment and freezing peak direct tax rates to further accelerate growth and generate employment opportunities, a report said.
Recent reforms under GST 2.0 have demonstrated that simplification and tax moderation can coexist with strong revenue growth, challenging the long-held belief that higher tax rates are necessary to boost collections, a report titled 'Shaping India's New Taxation Ideology: Simplification, Moderation and Growth' said.
"As India approaches the Union Budget, the choices made will determine whether taxation becomes a catalyst for long-term economic expansion or a constraint on ambition," the report released by a think tank Think Change Forum (TCF) on Wednesday said.
The report outlines a six-point advisory for policymakers, urging them to extend the principles of GST reform to direct taxes, enforcement and investment policy
At the core of the advisory is a push f

The report outlines a six-point advisory for policymakers, urging them to extend the principles of GST reform to direct taxes, enforcement and investment policy

Press Trust of India

Three laws passed in Parliament could boost central revenues, reshape GST cess flows, shift MGNREGA costs to states and create new budget headroom ahead of the 2026-27 Union Budget

ILLUSTRATION: BINAY SINHA

Business Standard

EY's Economy Watch report said the FY27 Union Budget may focus on boosting domestic demand to sustain growth, complement RBI rate cuts, and offset the negative contribution from net exports

Nirmala Sitharaman, Nirmala, Union Budget, Budget. Union Budget 2025

According to Fisme, the Indian banking system operates under conditions of monopolistic competition, with high switching costs giving banks significant market power over borrowers, particularly MSMEs

Representative Picture

The Confederation of Indian Industry expects the FY27 Budget to focus strongly on boosting investments to sustain India's high growth momentum

Indian Railways

Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

The amendments include one that abolishes a 6 per cent digital tax, popularly known as the 'Google Tax,' on online advertisements

Rekha Gupta, Delhi CM

Delhi Budget 2025-26: In the Assembly, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said the Budget has 10 focus areas including infra development, electricity, roads, water

Telangana Budget

Telangana Budget 2025 proposes ₹2,26,982 crore for revenue expenditure and ₹36,504 crore for capital expenditure

Nirmala Sitharaman, Nirmala, Finance Minister

FM Nirmala Sitharaman said that production-linked incentive schemes attracted investments worth Rs 1.5 trillion so far, created 950,000 jobs

Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, Sukhwinder Singh

The Chief Minister also announced to give arrears of pensioners in the age bracket of 70-75 years in the first phase in May

Nayab Singh Saini

CM Saini made various announcements in the budget, including earmarking Rs 5,000 crore for 'Lado Lakshmi Yojana' under which Rs 2,100 will be given to the state's women

The USFDA conducted an inspection at the company's Baska facility from 8 September 2025 to 19 September 2025 and has subsequently classified the inspection outcome as Official Action Indicated (OAI)

Sun Pharma

India's private equity leaders say unutilised capital isn't a sign of slowdown but a marker of maturity, as deal quality, domestic funding, and exits grow stronger.

private equity funds

India's private equity leaders at the Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit said that unutilised capital reflects a maturing sector, as deal quality, domestic funding, and exits gain strength

GPT Infraprojects shares rose 13 per cent on ₹195-crore contract from Terminal Industriel Polyvalent de San Pedro, Ivory Coast

GPT Infra shares in focus today

On the bourses, the Nifty IT index is the worst-performing sector so far this year. The index is down 16 per cent in 2025

H1-B Visa impact on IT firms

One Mobikwik said it has reported a fraud incident in which registered merchants in Haryana colluded to claim unauthorised settlements

Mobikwik shares in focus

Healthcare industry body NATHEALTH has asked the government to increase public spending on healthcare to over 2.5 per cent of GDP with urgent action to tackle non-communicable diseases, including tax deductions of up to Rs 10,000 on individuals for preventive health check-ups.
In its pre-Budget recommendations to the government, NATHEALTH said it outlined a roadmap to strengthen healthcare delivery, foster innovation, and expand insurance and preventive coverage.
The recommendations call for a balanced mix of fiscal support, structural reforms, and public-private collaboration to build a robust, future-ready health system, it said in a statement.
In its recommendations, NATHEALTH asked the sector to be declared 'core infrastructure' and create a healthcare infrastructure fund of Rs 50,000 crore, saying currently there is limited access to long-term, lower-cost capital for hospitals and diagnostic networks.
New projects have long gestational periods requiring flexible mid-term ...

pharma medicine drugs

In its pre-Budget recommendations to the government, NATHEALTH said it outlined a roadmap to strengthen healthcare delivery, foster innovation, and expand insurance and preventive coverage

With the Union Budget 2026 around the corner, here is a status check on Budget 2025 promises, from tax reforms and insurance FDI to manufacturing, gig workers and innovation funding

Union Budget, Nirmala Sitharaman, Fiscal consolidation

Industry lobby CII has proposed a comprehensive set of reforms for the forthcoming Union Budget 2026-27 to drive sustained investment growth spanning public, private, and foreign investments and maintain India's momentum as one of the world's fastest-growing major economies.
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) suggested increasing central capital expenditure by 12 per cent and capex support to states by 10 per cent in FY27; launching a Rs 150 lakh crore National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) 2.0 for 2026-32; offering incremental tax credits or compliance relaxations for firms achieving significant new investment, production, or tax contribution milestones; and establishing an NRI Investment Promotion Fund.
It also called for reinstating accelerated depreciation benefits to further incentivise fresh capital expenditure and technology upgrades, particularly for MSMEs and manufacturing industries, provided the measure is structured to stimulate modernisation without triggering ..

CII logo

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) suggested increasing central capital expenditure by 12% and capex support to states by 10% in FY27

The rupee strengthened to 89.88 per dollar on exporter dollar sales and foreign inflows, leading Asian peers on Tuesday, though analysts said structural demand-supply pressures persist

Rupee

The phasing out of the import of Russian oil might increase the cost of importing crude oil and escalate Budget expenditure

India Budget

Among the states analysed, Telangana emerged as the frontrunner with the highest utilisation at 60.8 per cent, followed by Kerala at 43.6 per cent, and Madhya Pradesh at 39.9 per cent

Capex, Budget, Capital expenditure

Revive PPPs, enable group taxation for infra SPVs, fund high-speed rail separately, and prioritise urban projects to reignite growth, argues infra expert

NFRA said that the development and document of audit strategy has to be commensurate with the risk profile of the auditee entity

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The projects of the central and state governments fell more than those from the private sector amid the global spike in uncertainty

Industry

While most of the cities in India had been fairly well planned, rapid growth, especially post-1991, has outpaced existing infrastructure systems, policies, and regulations, said Shah

(From left) Kuljit Singh, investment banking partner and leader (infrastructure), EY;  Rahul Mithal, chairman & MD, Rites; and Jagan Shah, CEO, The Infravision Foundation,  at the Business Standard Infrastructure Summit in New Delhi on Thursday

At the BS Infrastructure Summit, Sarbananda Sonowal said India aims to scale port capacity to 10,000 MMT by 2047, raise private participation to 85% and invest Rs 80 lakh crore

Sarbananda Sonowal

Sanjay Raut

Election is due in Bihar - Modi government's every budget is an election package, Raut added

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

Union budget 2025-26 Live Updates: Modi govt has made some big announcements including changes in the new tax regime with taxpayers not having to pay any income tax on earnings up to Rs 12 lpa

Union Budget 2026: Read Union Budget 2026 Live Announcements from FM Nirmala Sitharaman. Get the latest news updates on Income Tax Slab Rate, Railway Budget, Budget Key Highlights, Budget Expectations, and more on Business Standard.

Union Budget 2026, Budget Live News, Nirmala Sitharaman Announcements, India Budget 2026-27 Highlights

Check out the Live Union Budget 2026 announcements made by FM Nirmala Sitharaman here. Get the latest news headlines on the Railway Budget, Income Tax Slab Rate, Budget Expectations, and more Key Highlights on Business Standard.

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