Page 2 - Finance Minister

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

Budget 2026 to incorporate recommendations of 16th Finance Commission

The forthcoming Budget would incorporate the recommendations of the 16th Finance Commission which has already submitted its report to President Droupadi Murmu. The Finance Commission, which has been set up under the Constitution, provides a formula for devolution of taxes between Centre and states. Cesses and surcharge levied by Centre are not part of the divisible pool. The Finance Commission is a constitutional body that gives suggestions on Centre-state financial relations and is set up periodically. The 16th Finance Commission, headed by former Vice Chairman of Niti Aayog Arvind Panagariya, was set up on December 31, 2023. Led by Panagariya, Finance Commission members - Retired bureaucrat Annie George Mathew, economist Manoj Panda, SBI Group Chief Economic Advisor Soumya Kanti Ghosh and RBI Deputy Governor T Rabi Sankar - and Secretary to the Commission Ritvik Pandey submitted its report to Murmu on November 17, 2025. The Commission also presented a copy of the report to Prime

Budget 2026: Exporters seek fix for inverted duty structure, lower taxes

Ahead of Budget FY27, exporters seek correction of inverted duties, lower taxes for MSME manufacturers and targeted support for shipping and R&D

Union Budget 2026-27 to be presented on Sunday, Feb 1: Lok Sabha Speaker

The Budget session will start on January 28 and continue until April 2 in two phases. The first phase ends on February 13, with Parliament reconvening on March 9

Punjab urges Centre for special economic package and fiscal support

Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Saturday urged the Centre to extend immediate fiscal assistance and announce a special economic package for Punjab, pointing out that the state endured a difficult 2025 marked by border tensions and the worst floods in decades. During a pre-Budget meeting with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman here, Cheema submitted a detailed memorandum laying out Punjab's key financial requirements and policy demands for the 2026-27 Union Budget. He said the state, being the country's first line of defence, suffered severe economic disruption due to prolonged security tensions along the international border, followed by a devastating monsoon disaster that was officially declared a calamity of severe nature by the home ministry. Explaining the scale of devastation, the Punjab finance minister said the floods impacted more than 2,300 villages and nearly 20,000 families across the state. Cheema informed Sitharaman that comprehensive ground-level

Securities laws set for reset as FM introduces Bill for unified code

The Code also attempts to decriminalise certain violations which are procedural or technical in nature into civil penalties

Sitharaman tables Securities Markets Code Bill: What it is, key features

According to the government, the existing laws are very old and do not fully match the current markets and technology

Bringing down debt-to-GDP ratio will be govt's core focus: Sitharaman

The finance minister stressed that fiscal management remains a priority and must be consistently upheld year after year

Will achieve 56.1% debt-to-GDP ratio in FY26: FM Nirmala Sitharaman

The finance minister also assured that there was no shortage of fertiliser in the country, whether imported or domestically produced, and there was enough buffer available for the upcoming rabi season

States should improve tax base, prevent revenue leakages: MoS finance

States have been provided financial assistance of Rs 4,24,227 crore since 2020-21 under the Scheme of Special Assistance to States for Capital Expenditure and Investment

Simplification of customs will be next big reform, says FM Sitharaman

Ahead of Budget 2026, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said the simplification of customs would be the next big reform agenda for the government. During the current financial year, the government undertook reforms such as rate rationalisation and simplification of the income tax and Goods and Services Tax (GST) in a bid to boost consumption by providing more cash in the hands of the common man. "We need a complete overhaul of customs... we need to have customs simplified for people to feel that it is not cumbersome to comply... need to make it more transparent," Sitharaman said while speaking at the HT Leadership Summit here. There is a need to bring the virtues of income tax to the customs side in terms of transparency, she said, adding that the proposed reforms will be comprehensive and entail customs duty rate rationalisation. The announcements to this effect can be made in the upcoming Budget, likely to be presented on February 1. "We have brought down customs d

States to get share of new health-security cess through schemes: Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the proposed Health and National Security Cess is expected to act as a deterrent to pan masala consumption and will not be levied on essential commodities

'Tobacco levy neither a new tax nor a cess': FM Nirmala Sitharaman

While the minister said the Centre had surrendered its power to levy excise duty on tobacco in 2017, excise duty did continue after GST - though at a nominal level

FM flags global tax risks from digitisation, new financial products

At Global Forum, India urges stronger transparency, confidentiality systems to tackle evolving financial structures

Digitalisation, financial products call for global tax info exchange: FM

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said with the growing digitalisation of the economy and emergence of new financial products, countries globally will have to cooperate with timely exchange of information, while ensuring fairness and public trust in the tax system. Speaking at the 18th Global Forum Plenary meeting, Sitharaman said technological tools like artificial intelligence, along with judgement, should be used to ensure that tax information exchanged among jurisdictions leads to measurable outcomes. The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes is a multilateral framework comprising 170 jurisdictions. It monitors and peer reviews the implementation of international standards on transparency and information exchange. Stating that confidentiality and cybersecurity must be maintained with great care, the minister called for joint attention and cooperation to the new challenges arising from the digitalisation of the economy, emergence o

Govt seeks Lok Sabha nod for ₹41,455 crore extra expenditure in FY26

The government on Monday sought Parliament's nod for net additional spending of Rs 41,455 crore in the current fiscal, which includes over Rs 18,000 crore expenditure towards fertiliser subsidy. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the first batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2025-26 in the Lok Sabha. It seeks Parliament's approval for a gross additional expenditure of Rs 1.32 lakh crore. This includes proposals with a net cash outgo of Rs 41,455.39 crore and gross additional expenditure, matched by savings of the Ministries/Departments of Rs 90,812 crore. As per the Supplementary, approval of Parliament is being sought for spending Rs 18,525 crore on fertiliser and related subsidies, and about Rs 9,500 crore by the Petroleum Ministry to compensate oil marketing companies for under-recoveries.

Jul-Sep quarter GDP growth shows strength of Indian economy: FM Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said the September quarter GDP print of 8.2 per cent shows that reforms and fiscal consolidation drove the Indian economy's robust growth and momentum. "Various high-frequency indicators also point to continued economic momentum and broad-based consumption growth," she said in a social media post. The economy grew by a higher-than-expected 8.2 per cent, a six-quarter high, as increased factory production in anticipation of a consumption boost from the GST rate cut helped offset deceleration in farm output, according to official data. "The GDP estimates released today shows the robust economic growth and momentum of the Indian economy. With a Real GDP growth rate of 8.2 per cent for Q2 - FY 2025-26 (July-Sept), India is the world's fastest growing major economy," Sitharaman wrote on 'X'. In the current financial year, real GDP has registered an 8 per cent growth rate in the first half of fiscal 2025-26. "The growth has been driven by ..

MCA should strive to be futuristic to serve stakeholders: FM Sitharaman

FM asked the Corporate Affairs Ministry to modernise systems, enhance transparency and ensure time-bound services as she reviewed Regional Directorates and the Registrar of Companies

FinMin to meet PSB chiefs to review Q2 results, govt schemes' progress

The finance ministry has called a meeting of heads of public sector banks (PSBs) on Wednesday to review the second-quarter and half yearly financial performance. The meeting is scheduled to be chaired by Financial Services Secretary M Nagaraju. This is the first meeting after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman last week said the country needs big and world-class banks, and discussions are on with the Reserve Bank and lenders in this regard. "Government is looking at this and work has already commenced. We are discussing with the RBI. We are discussing with banks," she had said. The review meeting on November 12 with public sector banks will also deliberate on progress made on flagship schemes of the government besides their financial numbers, sources said. Public sector banks posted a record cumulative profit of Rs 49,456 crore in the second quarter of the current fiscal, reflecting a 9 per cent year-on-year growth despite two lenders reporting a decline. All 12 public sector ba

Pre-Budget meetings with govt: Economists urge FM to push capex pedal

Some experts flagged that state governments' debt has become unsustainable