Page 21 - Budget 2026

India is indeed an oasis of macro stability: CEA V Anantha Nageswaran

CEA V Anantha Nageswaran says India can grow 6.8-7.2% in FY27 despite global uncertainty, citing domestic reforms, resilient consumption and strong fundamentals

ShipMin seeks PPP panel nod for Nicobar port project in private mode

PPP models need to reduce structural uncertainty, need more private investment in greenfield projects

Economic Survey 2025-26: A year of adjustment - on several fronts

Economic Survey 2025-26 signals an adjustment phase ahead, with moderate growth, stable inflation, fiscal consolidation and policy shifts shaping India's macro outlook

Eco Survey suggests synergy between I-T & customs on related-party imports

Experts welcomed the recommendation, saying it could lower transaction costs and litigation, making India more competitive against peer economies

The Budget cannot ignore demography: Labour-intensive growth is key

A Budget that does not explicitly link demographic trends to regional labour-intensive growth strategies risks missing the core challenge

The cost of delaying divestment: Why Budget must act to create fiscal space

Budget must prioritise divestment to create fiscal space to tackle unexpected shocks and support critical sectors including health and education

Budget 2026: Too many known unknowns amid push to revive private capex

Amid data and fiscal uncertainties, the govt faces the difficult task of creating conditions to boost private capex

7 key highlights of Economic Survey 2026 | Union Budget 2026 | Budget 2026 expectations

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has tabled the Economic Survey 2025–26 in Parliament, offering a snapshot of India’s economic health ahead of the Union Budget.

₹13,700 cr push lifts mobile output to ₹9.34 trillion: Eco Survey

An investment of Rs 13,759 crore under the incentive scheme to boost mobile phone manufacturing led to total production of Rs 9.34 lakh crore and exports of Rs 5.12 lakh crore until September 2025, the Economic Survey 2025-26 said on Thursday. The Survey tabled in Parliament said that India's electronics sector has undergone a structural transformation in recent years, ascending from the seventh-largest export category in the financial year 2022 to the third-largest and fastest-growing in FY'25. "Launched in April 2020, the scheme has generated a cumulative production of approximately Rs 9.34 lakh crore, exports of Rs 5.12 lakh crore and investment of Rs 13,759 crore, as of September 2025," the Survey said. In the financial year 2025, electronics production in the country grew by about 19 per cent to Rs 11.3 lakh crore, export grew by 37.5 per cent to Rs 3.3 lakh crore while imports grew 15 per cent to Rs 8.4 lakh crore on a year-over-year (YoY) basis. The Survey said that the gro

Eco Survey backs Maharashtra defence, aerospace fund as innovation model

Maharashtra's ₹330 crore Defence & Aerospace Venture Fund (MDAVF), launched in 2018, aims to catalyse manufacturing capabilities among MSMEs in strategic, high-growth sectors

Economic Survey pitches Orange Economy as emerging growth lever

As per estimates of the Ministry of Tourism, travel and tourism contributed 5.22% to GDP in FY24, close to pre-pandemic levels, while supporting an estimated 8.46 crore direct and indirect jobs

Economic Survey flags supply-side gaps hurting India's urban potential

The Economic Survey 2025-26 says India's cities drive growth but suffer from daily stress due to poor planning, overuse of private transport and fragmented governance

Eco Survey urges education reforms, global push to curb student exodus

India must reform higher education and promote international student programmes to curb brain drain and boost its global education presence

Eco Survey flags strain on grids, groundwater due to AI data centres

India's AI data centre boom risks power grid volatility and groundwater depletion, prompting calls for urgent policy on energy and water use

Stablecoins can disrupt capital flows to emerging markets: Eco Survey

The survey said that the outflow of capital, including with the advent of stablecoins, is a risk to watch out for

What is the Power Gap Index the Economic Survey cites for the first time?

The Economic Survey 2025-26 cites the Power Gap Index to show that India is operating below its full strategic potential despite strong economic, military and demographic fundamentals

Domestic climate finance alone won't suffice for India: Eco Survey

India faces global challenges in climate finance and relying solely on domestic resources will not be sufficient, the Economic Survey on Thursday warned, suggesting mobilising private sector finance. Critical areas, including adaptation, financing for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), urban infrastructure, and hard-to-abate industries, remain "underfunded". Currently, about 83 per cent of India's finance for mitigation and 98 per cent of finance for adaptation is sourced domestically. "However, the gaps in available finance and the needs persist, relying solely on domestic resources will not be sufficient," the Survey warned. Although the country has successfully reduced its emissions intensity by 36 per cent since 2005 and achieved 50 per cent non-fossil power capacity ahead of schedule, climate finance remains skewed towards mature sectors such as solar, wind energy and energy efficiency, it said. International public sector climate finance at an affordable cost, is,

India makes headway in building carbon market framework: Economic Survey

India has made substantial progress in establishing its carbon market framework, a crucial step towards developing its mitigation strategy, the Economic Survey released on Thursday said. The government adopted the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS) in June 2023, operating through a dual mechanism that incorporates mandatory compliance and voluntary offset approaches. The compliance mechanism targets energy-intensive industrial sectors through an emission intensity-based baseline-and-credit system, initially covering sectors such as cement, iron and steel, etc. Entities that exceed their emissions intensity targets earn Carbon Credit Certificates (CCCs), denominated in tonnes of CO equivalent (tCO2e), which they can trade on power exchanges. Those that fall short must buy and surrender equivalent credits. "This framework leverages the existing Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) scheme infrastructure, gradually transitioning it into a fully operational compliance carbon market," the .

Low R&D intensity, risk aversion hobble corporate competitiveness: Survey

Indian corporate investment is characterised by low R&D intensity and concentration in real estate-linked, regulated, or quasi-monopolistic sectors with a relative lack of willingness and appetite to invest towards long-term risk absorption and become globally competitive, according to the Economic Survey. In a society undergoing rapid structural change, the private sector's legitimacy will increasingly rest on its ability to marry commercial dynamism with a conscious contribution to nation-building, the pre-Budget tabled in Lok Sabha on Thursday said. Citing historical records of instances in different parts of the world where business leaders and firms acted not merely as profit-seeking entities but as institutional partners in broader national projects at various stages, it said the Indian private sector needs to recognise its role in shaping social trust and institutional credibility. The Survey said the Indian corporate sector operates "in a hybrid zone where rents are ...

SMC Bill may set benchmark for financial sector regulation: Eco Survey

Beyond the securities market, the proposed Securities Markets Code (SMC) Bill could set a model for regulatory governance across wider financial and administrative sectors, according to the Economic Survey 2025-26. "If implemented in both letter and spirit, it could restore and strengthen trust among regulators, market participants, and investors," the Survey, which was tabled in Parliament on Thursday, noted. The Code spans subjects such as board composition, independence, conflict management, transparency, regulatory sandboxing, investor protection, governance of market infrastructure institutions (MIIs), and ease of doing business. These reforms can be categorised into three main clusters -- mechanisms for the delivery of services, regulatory governance and Market Infrastructure Institutions. The SMC Bill, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha in December, seeks to consolidate, rationalise and replace three existing securities laws -- the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, .