Union Budget

'Carefully scripted, desperate PR exercise': Cong slams PM Modi's interview

The Congress on Sunday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's interview with PTI was "no interview" and claimed that it was a "carefully scripted" as well as "desperate PR exercise". Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh further alleged that, being "under siege and attack because of his surrender to the US on the trade deal", the prime minister is now resorting to his "favourite tactic" of headline management. "The PM knows that this year's Budget has been a damp squib and shows every sign of intellectual exhaustion. Markets have reacted negatively and investors have been unimpressed. Hence, he feels the need to give an interview a fortnight after the Budget was presented and a few days after it was taken apart by the Opposition in Parliament," Ramesh said. "As usual, there are Modi-style one-liners that mean little in reality," the Congress leader said. Ramesh claimed that Modi is trying to divert attention away from his "betrayal" of lakhs of farmers and

FM Sitharaman counters DMK; Oppn mulls notice for removal of Speaker

As Budget debate triggers sharp exchanges in Parliament, Sitharaman rebuts DMK charges while the Opposition considers a no-confidence motion against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla

Parliament session: Both Houses to begin discussion on Union Budget 2026-27

Both Houses of Parliament are scheduled to begin discussion on the Union Budget 2026-27 on Monday, which was presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1.FM Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2026-27 in Lok Sabha, for the ninth consecutive time. Asserting that the Budget is driven by "Yuvashakti" and based on "three kartavyas," she proposed seven high-speed rail corridors, new dedicated freight corridors, and the operationalisation of 20 national waterways over the next five years.The Centre also announced an increase in the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) on futures and options (F & O) to discourage speculative trading.While the NDA has welcomed the Budget, the Opposition alleged an exclusion of the marginalised communities. The Secular Progressive Alliance, led by the DMK in Tamil Nadu, has called a protest against the Budget on February 12.While the Houses are scheduled for general discussion on the Budget, the Opposition MPs are likely to demand a ...

India Semiconductor Mission 2.0 to boost domestic chip manufacturing

India has made steady progress in consolidating earlier investments into a full-stack value chain of its semiconductor ecosystem under ISM 1.0

Vishwakarma allocation cut in FY27 despite steady loan processing by banks

Budgetary support for PM Vishwakarma has been cut in FY27 even as banks process lakhs of artisan loan applications, raising questions on credit absorption and scheme scale-up

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

India is already seeing scale in AI: Oracle India's Shailender Kumar

Shailender Kumar, senior vice-president and regional managing director, Oracle India and NetSuite JAPAC talks about the recent Budget announcements and the India growth story

Wheels are in motion for small businesses, but global challenges remain

Credit reforms and Budget incentives aim to strengthen the MSME sector but persistent payment delays and global tariff uncertainties remain hurdles, reports Raghu Mohan

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

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

Tax certainty for foreign Cloud service providers to curb disputes: Experts

New tax certainty rules for foreign cloud firms aim to prevent disputes on permanent establishment and global income, boosting confidence in India's fast-growing data centre ecosystem

PFC board clears merger with REC to boost scale, efficiency of NBFCs

Power Finance Corporation's board has approved an in-principle merger with subsidiary REC Ltd, following the government's Budget push to restructure public sector NBFCs

Govt receives financial bids for IDBI Bank stake sale, says Dipam

The government has received financial bids for IDBI Bank's strategic disinvestment, a key transaction as it targets ₹80,000 crore from disinvestment and asset monetisation in FY27

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

FAST-DS: Pay fee and gain immunity from harsher Black Money Act

The scheme's key drawback is the low monetary thresholds of Rs 1 crore and Rs 5 crore, which limit participation

Unspent ₹43,636 cr lies in states' SNA accounts despite higher allocations

More than Rs 43,000 crore remains unutilised in states' SNA accounts under major centrally sponsored schemes, even as Budget sharply raises allocations for education, water and nutrition programmes

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

Centre must push prudent state spending to improve general-govt debt levels

Centre must encourage prudent spending by state governments to improve general-government debt levels

IDBI Bank extends rally, stock up 4%; analyst predicts further 18% upside

IDBI Bank stock has gained 13 per cent in February so far after the Union Budget rekindled hopes of disinvestment. Bonanza technical analyst expects the stock to target ₹125 - ₹130 in the near-term.