Page 3 - Budget 2026

Union Budget 2026-27 surprises that faded amid India-US trade deal noise

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

Govt's FY27 capex to focus on highways, rail, metros: Expenditure Secy

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

Union Budget reflects PM Modi's push to end 'policy ping-pong': FM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's emphasis on avoiding "policy ping-pong" has shaped the Union Budget 2026-27, which is anchored in policy stability while laying the pathways for the long-term vision of a 'Viksit Bharat' at its core, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. Framed as the first Budget of a new five-year fiscal cycle and the second quarter of the 21st century, it prioritises capital expenditure, infrastructure expansion and structural reforms over populist measures, while maintaining fiscal discipline. By emphasising predictable policymaking, sustained investment and multi-year planning extending to 2047 and beyond, the Budget seeks to strengthen economic resilience, crowd in private investment and position India for durable, export-led growth. "People want stability, and that is why they have elected Prime Minister Modi for the third time. Stability is inherent in that vote, and it is equally reflected in the way policies are executed through successive budgets," ...

Budget proposal on tax holiday likely to boost domestic data centres

Domestic data centre companies are likely to benefit significantly from the Budget proposal offering a tax holiday of 20 years, as it will enable them to provide services to global clients without the risk of their foreign earnings being taxed in India, sources said. The Budget proposal, which offers a tax holiday of 20 years up to 2047 to any foreign company that procures data centre services in India, allays fears of their global income being taxed by Indian authorities. Irrespective of whether a global company sets up its own data centre in India or procures services from an Indian data centre, the tax treatment will be the same, thereby ensuring complete level playing field, they said. The effective corporate tax rate in India is 25.17 per cent. Some of the major domestic data centres in India are Nxtra Data (Airtel subsidiary), CtrlS Datacenters, Yotta Infrastructure, and AdaniConneX. Corporate tax will be levied on profits made by domestic data centres on income earned from .

Component warehousing safe harbour to offer competitive tax outcome

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

Best of BS Opinion: America's about-turn poses a global dilemma

From prosperity and human flourishing to the decline of American dominance, shifting global blocs, Bangladesh ties and disability policy, today's Opinion page maps key faultlines

Datanomics: Gender budget likely to miss spending target in FY26

Gender Budget share hits 9.37% in FY27, but department-wise data shows persistent underspending, with four of five key ministries missing targets

Just ₹3.5 crore allocated to promote India as tourist destination in FY27

Tourism budget less than a tenth of FY26 spends; industry to seek FinMin intervention

Budget 2026 makes employment room for disabled, but not in public spaces

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

FM Sitharaman shows adequate caution in drawing up a conservative Budget

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

PFC approves in-principle merger proposal with REC after Budget 2026 push

PFC's board has approved an in-principle merger with REC after the Budget 2026 proposal to restructure the two public-sector NBFCs. The merger details are yet to be finalised

Fiscal policy planning: Why India needs a clearer medium-term plan

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

Budget 2026 land acquisition tax break: Experts decode gains and limits

Tax exemption on acquired land compensation gets legal clarity from April 2026; urban and non-farm plots also covered.

Why India is resetting GDP and CPI base years and what the change means

From shopping baskets to growth calculations, India is updating the base years for CPI inflation and GDP to reflect today's economy, a recalibration that will change headline numbers without altering

Defence, semi-conductors, rare earths : Where to invest after Budget 2026

Real sinals are embedded in the Budget document-policy continuity, withdrawal of customs duties on manufactured goods, and a clear shift towards strategic sectors like defence, semiconductors

India set to share cross-border crypto transaction data from April 2027

The data will be shared under the OECD-led Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework, enabling automatic exchange of crypto transaction details between tax authorities

We framed this Budget on a larger plank, not based on any one incident: FM

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

Headwinds may be turning into tailwinds for foreign inflows: FM Sitharaman

FM Nirmala Sitharaman says another round of Customs clean-up soon

A season for textiles, from Union Budget to biggest India Art Fair so far

As textiles return to the policy spotlight, India Art Fair reflects this moment, exploring fabric and fibre as living archives of labour, identity, and cultural memory

India's cities need mobility reform, not just infrastructure spending

The Budget puts cities at the heart of growth, but without fixing buses, walking and last-mile links, India's urban mobility crisis will keep choking productivity