Union Budget

As Budget debate triggers sharp exchanges in Parliament, Sitharaman rebuts DMK charges while the Opposition considers a no-confidence motion against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla

Both Houses of Parliament are scheduled to begin discussion on the Union Budget 2026-27 on Monday, which was presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1.FM Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2026-27 in Lok Sabha, for the ninth consecutive time. Asserting that the Budget is driven by "Yuvashakti" and based on "three kartavyas," she proposed seven high-speed rail corridors, new dedicated freight corridors, and the operationalisation of 20 national waterways over the next five years.The Centre also announced an increase in the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) on futures and options (F & O) to discourage speculative trading.While the NDA has welcomed the Budget, the Opposition alleged an exclusion of the marginalised communities. The Secular Progressive Alliance, led by the DMK in Tamil Nadu, has called a protest against the Budget on February 12.While the Houses are scheduled for general discussion on the Budget, the Opposition MPs are likely to demand a ...

India has made steady progress in consolidating earlier investments into a full-stack value chain of its semiconductor ecosystem under ISM 1.0

Budgetary support for PM Vishwakarma has been cut in FY27 even as banks process lakhs of artisan loan applications, raising questions on credit absorption and scheme scale-up

The most visible reform that affects all international travellers arriving in India and a pleasant surprise is the introduction of the Baggage Rules, 2026

Shailender Kumar, senior vice-president and regional managing director, Oracle India and NetSuite JAPAC talks about the recent Budget announcements and the India growth story

Credit reforms and Budget incentives aim to strengthen the MSME sector but persistent payment delays and global tariff uncertainties remain hurdles, reports Raghu Mohan

The key focus of the government's Rs 12.2 lakh crore capex for the next fiscal will be mainly on sectors like shipbuilding, national highways, railways, and metro train projects, Expenditure Secretary V Vualnam said. The government has budgeted total expenditure in 2026-27 at over Rs 53.47 lakh crore, of which about Rs 12.22 lakh crore is projected to be the capital expenditure, meaning it would be spent on building physical infrastructure. In a post-Budget interview to PTI, Vualnam said the sectors, which have huge ongoing and new projects, like the national highways, railways, and the urban sector, to the extent of metro train projects, will continue to dominate the government public capex spending in the next fiscal. "Shipbuilding has become an infrastructure sector, and will also now be a big player. We are very keen to improve our share in shipbuilding (globally). Of India's import-export cargo, just about 5 per cent goes on India-owned ships. About Rs 6 lakh crore (annually) i

The proposed safe harbour regime for component warehousing linked to manufacturing may offer multinationals a globally competitive tax outcome and greater certainty on transfer pricing

New tax certainty rules for foreign cloud firms aim to prevent disputes on permanent establishment and global income, boosting confidence in India's fast-growing data centre ecosystem

Power Finance Corporation's board has approved an in-principle merger with subsidiary REC Ltd, following the government's Budget push to restructure public sector NBFCs

The government has received financial bids for IDBI Bank's strategic disinvestment, a key transaction as it targets ₹80,000 crore from disinvestment and asset monetisation in FY27

The Budget gives us a clear image of inclusion at work. What it does not yet show is whether inclusion is meant to extend beyond the desk

It is useful to remember that the miracle economies to our East, the so-called Asian Tigers, sustained high growth for decades by following prudent fiscal policies

The scheme's key drawback is the low monetary thresholds of Rs 1 crore and Rs 5 crore, which limit participation

More than Rs 43,000 crore remains unutilised in states' SNA accounts under major centrally sponsored schemes, even as Budget sharply raises allocations for education, water and nutrition programmes

India's fiscal discipline has improved, but high debt, future spending pressures and bond-market constraints make deeper consolidation increasingly difficult

Centre must encourage prudent spending by state governments to improve general-government debt levels

IDBI Bank stock has gained 13 per cent in February so far after the Union Budget rekindled hopes of disinvestment. Bonanza technical analyst expects the stock to target ₹125 - ₹130 in the near-term.

The India-US trade deal, had it come a little earlier, would not have made the Union Budget any different, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said