Downplaying the stock market slide on 1 February after the FY27 budget presentation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that the Union budget is a policy roadmap, not a short-term trading document. Speaking at a post-budget webinar, Modi said budget reforms and allocations must be seen as a part of a long journey. “Often,…
Budget 2026 has proposed accelerating the ‘recycling’ of real estate assets owned by central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) by creating dedicated Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). In her Budget speech on 1 February, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that REITs have emerged as a successful tool for asset monetisation and that the government plans to…
Ashwini Vaishnaw, India’s IT minister, said India could attract over $200 billion in data-centre investments over the years. Addressing a press conference at a 3DExperience World event in Houston, Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang said data centres could generate huge upstream and downstream employment in India, just the way the internet did. However, execution is…
As an individual taxpayer, if you were looking forward to Budget 2026 with the expectation of changes in income tax slabs, rates, exemptions, deductions, etc., you will be disappointed. There were hardly any noteworthy changes announced in these. However, the Budget has proposed a slew of changes, including immunity from penalty or prosecution for under-reporting…
At first glance, that sounds like a big win. Some of this money does come from real payments, such as licence fees and spectrum auctions, paid by private telecom companies. But a large chunk comes from state-owned BSNL, which is dependent on the government for its survival. Only this “income” isn’t real cash changing hands,…
The government is targeting the skilling of workforce in tier-II and tier-III cities, with a focus on labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, small-scale enterprises, tourism and medical tourism, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her budget speech on Sunday. A high-level committee will be set up to examine skill gaps across industries, assess the impact…
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the bond market regulators in India, and the government have been taking various steps to strengthen the country’s bond market. In continuation of these steps, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced new measures in the Union Budget 2026 to strengthen the…
Amid a fragile global environment marked by geopolitical tensions, trade fragmentation and financial vulnerabilities, India’s path to progress in FY26 has been commendable. The Economic Survey 2025–26 reaffirms India’s position as the fastest-growing major economy, projecting real GDP growth at 7.4% in FY26 and 6.8–7.2% in FY27. This strong performance is driven, inter alia, by…
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman delivered her ninth consecutive Union Budget on 1 February 2026. Dubbed as ‘Yuva Shakti-Driven Budget’, the Union Budget focused on comprehensive economic reforms towards creating employment, boosting productivity and accelerating growth. FM Sitharaman unveiled a wide-ranging set of proposals in the Union Budget 2026, covering everything from direct tax reforms to…
The government laid out a fresh set of initiatives in the budget aimed at deepening India’s corporate bond market, with finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposing the introduction of total return swaps (TRS) on the bonds and an incentive for municipalities to help them raise funds. The plan marks a significant shift in how investors can…
