Page 19 - Budget 2026

Budget 2026: Key numbers to watch out for amid reform expectations

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present her record 9th straight Budget, and all eyes will be on the much-awaited customs reforms. Sitharaman had, in her first Budget in 2019, replaced the leather briefcase -- which had been in use for decades for carrying Budget documents -- with a traditional 'bahi-khata' wrapped in red cloth. This year's budget will be in paperless form, as done in the last four years. Here are the key numbers to watch out for in the Union Budget for 2026-27: * Fiscal Deficit: The budgeted fiscal deficit, which is the difference between the government expenditure and income, for the current fiscal (April 2025 to March 2026 or FY26), is estimated at 4.4 per cent of GDP. Having achieved a fiscal consolidation roadmap with a deficit below 4.5 per cent of GDP in FY26, markets will keenly watch for direction on debt-to-GDP reduction in the FY27 Budget, as well as whether the government will provide a specific fiscal deficit number for the next financial year.

FM Sitharaman meets President for customary pre-Budget presentation meeting

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday called on President Droupadi Murmu before presenting her record ninth Budget in the Lok Sabha. As per established tradition, the finance minister met the President at the Rashtrapati Bhavan before heading to Parliament. Before going to the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Sitharaman posed with her Budget team in front of her office at Kartavya Bhavan. Wearing a magenta silk saree, she was holding a tablet in a red pouch with the national emblem, along with the Minister of State and all six Secretaries in her ministry. Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Sitharaman, along with Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary and senior officials of the Ministry of Finance, called on the President at Rashtrapati Bhavan before presenting the Union Budget. Following the meeting, she headed for a Cabinet meeting that will formally approve the Budget for 2026-27. Sitharaman continues with the tradition she set in 2019, carrying the budget spee

Budget 2026 to focus on job growth, fiscal discipline amid global risks

This Budget is expected to outline higher spending on roads, ports and railways to maintain demand, create jobs and insulate the world's fastest growing major economy from external headwinds

Budget 2026: Is the Indian stock market open for trading on Sunday, Feb 1?

Despite it being a non-working day, trading will continue in the equity and commodity markets on account of presentation of Union Budget 2026

Budget, FASTag rules, tobacco prices: Key things to watch out for on Feb 1

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget in Parliament on the first day of the month

Budget 2026: What to expect on fiscal deficit, defence and infrastructure

The government is likely to aim for a fiscal deficit at 4.2 per cent of GDP for 2026-27, down from 4.4 per cent this fiscal year

Budget 2026 to focus on reforms as room for spending shrinks amid risks

To boost private investment and demand, govt has rolled out reforms in recent months, including income tax cuts, labour law overhauls and steps to open the tightly controlled nuclear power sector

Budget FY27: FM may unveil measures to steady growth, boost manufacturing

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will on February 1 present her ninth straight Budget, which is expected to unveil measures to sustain growth momentum, maintain fiscal discipline, and contain reforms that could buffer the economy from global trade frictions, including US tariffs. The presentation of the Budget for April 2026 to March 2027 fiscal (2026-27) will be on Sunday, a first in independent India's history. Sitharaman's sweeping income tax and GST cuts, together with spending on infrastructure and the RBI's interest rate reductions, have so far helped the Indian economy withstand the punitive 50 per cent tariff US President Donald Trump has imposed on Indian goods. But now, she has to come up with measures to sustain the momentum. The FY27 Budget comes against a complex backdrop. While domestic demand has held up and inflation has moderated from recent highs, global uncertainties - including geopolitical tensions, volatile commodity prices and uneven monetary easing by majo

Stock market to stay open on Sunday, February 1, for Union Budget 2026

The exchanges will conduct their pre-market operations between 9:00 AM and 9:08 AM, with the normal operations running from 9:15 AM to 3:30 PM

Poor coordination in policy making: Congress slams govt ahead of Budget

The Congress on Saturday questioned whether the Budget numbers would undergo revisions very soon after they are unveiled, as the new GDP and Consumer Price Index (CPI) series are to be released just days after the Budget, and said it reflects poorly on coordination in policy making. Congress general secretary in-charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, noted the Budget for 2026/27 will be presented on Sunday. "State governments will be anxiously awaiting what awaits them since the Finance Minister will be announcing the implementation of the recommendations of the 16th Finance Commission," he said in a post on X. The Finance Commission is a body set up under Article 280 of the Constitution every five years (or earlier) to recommend the share of the states in the tax revenues collected by the Centre, the distribution of this share among the states, and special grants for five years, he said, adding that the 16th Finance Commission deals with the period 2026/27-2030/31. "But there

Union Budget FY27: When and where to watch Sitharaman's speech live

Sitharaman's Budget speech can be watched live on television, online platforms, and on the Business Standard website

FY27 growth forecast not contingent on US trade deal, says CEA Nageswaran

CEA V Anantha Nageswaran says industry cannot be protected forever, backs reforms for sustained 7% growth, and stresses innovation and exports as key to India's economic future

Markets mostly rebound after pre-Budget corrections: SBI Securities

One- and three-month performance strong on three occasions when markets fell 3% or more ahead of the Budget

As US, UK tighten student visas, India eyes inbound education opportunity

With US, UK, Canada and Australia tightening rules, policymakers see a chance to position India as a credible study destination for foreign students

Budget 2026: What is the primary deficit and why it tells the Budget’s real story

In this episode of Budget Basics, we break down one of the most important, but least understood, budget terms: Primary Deficit. What does it really say about a government’s finances?

Capex promises vs actual spending - how much of the Budget gets delivered

How much of India’s Budgeted capital expenditure is actually spent? In this video, we break down capex promises vs actual spending with a clear chart-based explanation.

Budget must give tax relief in household medical costs: Insurance industry

'Biggest health care burden is not hospitalisation but diagnostics and medicines,' they say

Budget 2026 may focus on managing debt-to-GDP ratio over fiscal deficit

The upcoming Budget is going to put emphasis on easing the debt-to-GDP ratio, which is around 56 per cent, instead of targetting a specific fiscal deficit number as the country has almost reached the end of the glide path envisaged in the FRBM legislation. A fiscal deficit of 3-4 per cent is considered comfortable and a desirable target for a growing, developing economy like India, aiming to balance economic expansion with financial stability. Under the revised Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, the fiscal deficit target was below 4.5 per cent of GDP for 2025-26. Therefore, the union government announced a new glide path with the debt-to-GDP ratio as the fiscal anchor. So, the roadmap for the next six years was announced in the FRBM statement released on February 1, 2025. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her Budget speech in July 2024, had said, "The fiscal consolidation path announced by me in 2021 has served our economy very well, and we aim to reach

Indian households add Rs 53 trillion to equity wealth in five years

Economic Survey data show rising retail ownership and a steady shift towards equity-linked savings