Test investor demand before stake sale in state-owned firms, CII tells govt

New Delhi: Government should test market’s appetite for investing in state-owned enterprises before these entities are picked up for disinvestment, industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said in its budget recommendations. The government should make a three-year rolling list of state-owned entities to be privatized, which will encourage deeper investor engagement and more realistic…

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Budget expectations LIVE updates: Budget Session to start from 28 January, will presentation be on Sunday or Monday?

Budget expectations LIVE updates: The Union Budget 2026 Session is set to start in Parliament from 28 January. President Droupadi Murmu has approved summoning both Houses of Parliament for the 2026 budget session. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met with Finance Ministers of States and Union Territories in New Delhi, during the Pre-Budget meeting on…

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A place to stay near college: Centre’s plan to keep girls in higher education

Arun Kumar, former professor at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru University, also said the government should focus on introducing new-age reforms in higher education to equip students, including girls, with contemporary skills and place greater emphasis on research and development, so that women also benefit and India’s overall outcomes improve.

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Budget 2026: To ease infra funding crunch, govt mulls ₹25,000 crore risk guarantee fund

Bond market angle “Infrastructure financing in India is largely driven by banks and specialised NBFCs. But banks rely on short-term CASA and deposits, creating asset–liability mismatches that make them ill-suited for long-duration infrastructure financing,” said Manish Aggarwal, partner, strategy, risk & transactions, and national leader—Infrastructure, Capital Projects & Public Asset Management, Deloitte India.

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After labour codes rollout, Centre to double down on job-intensive sectors in FY27 budget

New scheme announcements and expansions of existing ones are likely for small and medium industries in general and for sectors like textiles, leather and footwear, gems and jewellery, and handicraft, among others, when finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman presents the budget on 1 February, the persons cited above said on condition of anonymity. Policy makers feel…

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