Page 25 - Budget 2026

Budget 2026: Nasscom urges cloud tax clarity, ESOP deferment for startups

Industry body Nasscom hopes that the Union Budget will extend Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) tax deferment to more startups and bring suitable clarifications to address concerns around the tax treatment of foreign cloud use of Indian data centres. The association - whose members include IT companies and tech players across-the-spectrum, of varying size and scale - wants the Budget to clarify that procuring hosting or co-location services from an Indian data centre operator would not create a business connection or permanent establishment for the foreign cloud service provider, as the arm's length payments to the Indian player fully cover India-based functions. ESOP tax deferral for more start-ups is another proposal highlighted by Nasscom in its Budget push, as is the extension of the carry-forward and set-off of accumulated losses and unabsorbed depreciation benefits in case of amalgamation or merger to all companies (irrespective of their business nature). Other suggestions ...

Budget 2026: Doctors, hospitals lay out India's healthcare spending wishlist

As Union Budget 2026 approaches, healthcare leaders spell out priorities to curb preventable disease, cut out-of-pocket costs, and strengthen India's health system at scale

Real estate stocks face January chill as index sinks 10%; time to buy?

Nifty Realty index correction: The fall in real estate stocks comes after two years of rally that saw the Nifty Realty index climb 34.39 per cent in 2024 and 81.34 per cent in 2023

Budget 2026 expectations: Home buyers seek relief on EMIs and upfront costs

As Budget 2026 nears, home buyers want higher loan deductions, lower upfront costs and targeted help for first-time purchasers

88% of crypto investors know tax rules, 63% call them unfair: CoinSwitch

The survey, conducted ahead of the 2026 Union Budget, gathered insights from close to 5,000 respondents, highlighting widespread discontent over the current taxation framework

Will Budget 2026 lower your Mutual Fund tax bill? AMFI's pitch to FM

Association of Mutual Funds in India has urged the government to reinstate indexation benefits for debt funds, and allow mutual funds to offer pension-focused schemes with tax benefits similar to NPS

Budget 2026-27: Key challenges for retailers and consumer packaged goods

Retailers and CPG firms face weak consumption, rising compliance and real estate costs, GST working capital issues, and low innovation, seek FTAs, labour reforms, tourism push, Census, ONDC revival

Budget 2026-27: Insurance industry bats for income tax relief for premiums

Insurers also seek an increase in threshold for taxing maturity proceeds of high-value policies

Budget 2026: No big-bang cuts but some relief likely for salaried class

Tax experts say the Centre is expected to strengthen the new tax regime through slab rationalisation and higher rebates rather than expanding deductions

Budget 2026-27: Mutual fund industry seeks capital gains relief

Urges Centre to roll back recent tax changes on debt schemes

Budget 2026 likely to be a non-event for the markets: Jio BlackRock AMC CIO

There has been significant representation to the government on Securities Transaction Tax (STT), and that remains something markets are watching closely

Can the Union Budget 2026-27 unveil a low debt-deficit path to growth?

The forthcoming Budget could think of maintaining public capital expenditure at 3% so that domestic resources are available for private investments

Recycling industry seeks GST cut on scrap ahead of Budget 2026-27

Apex body MRAI warns current GST regime hurting formalisation; demands removal of aluminium scrap duty

Budget decoded: How the government's plan shapes your family finances

From taxes and loans to savings, here's how Budget numbers affect homes

Budget 2026: PSU bank's officers union seeks tax relief on leased housing

Bank of Maharashtra officers' union has urged Centre to amend Section 17 and Rule 3 to exclude leased accommodation and concessional staff loans from perquisite taxation or align valuation with norms

Kerala under financial pressure due to Centre's curtailments: Governor

The budget session of the Kerala assembly commenced on Tuesday with Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar reading out the Left government's policy which claimed that the state was under financial "pressures" due to the economic "curtailments" placed on it by the state. In his policy address marking the commencement of the 16th session of the 15th Kerala Legislative Assembly, Arlekar said due to the restrictions on the state's borrowing limits and adjustments to the Integrated Goods and Services Tax, led to it being denied Rs 17,000 crore in the 2025-26 financial year. Besides that, it suffered a further "loss" of Rs 4,250 crore due to the "Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) methodology "which deviates from the accepted recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission", he said. Arlekar said that it has raised these concerns before the central government. The concerns raised by Kerala also include the "excessive centralisation of powers" and the union government's "interventions" in t

Budget recap: What changed after Union Budget 2025 for Indian taxpayers? | Budget 2026

Budget 2025 not only tweaked tax slabs, it reset how India taxes personal income. From zero tax up to ₹12 lakh under the new regime to fewer deductions and simpler compliance,

Budget 2026: Why more medical seats alone can't fix India's healthcare

As medical seats expand, experts urge Budget 2026 to prioritise faculty hiring, better training and infrastructure to secure India's healthcare workforce

Commerce dept pushing for major tweaks in SEZ norms to counter US tariffs

An overhaul of the existing two-decade-old law governing SEZs has been under discussion for almost four years

Disinvestment revival will be useful in sustaining capital expenditure

It is encouraging that the government's dependence on disinvestment receipts in managing its finances has reduced, but the instrument should not be discarded