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…
At present, units in SEZs are allowed to sell their products in the Domestic Tariff Area (DTA or domestic market) on payment of duties on an output basis (finished goods). Image used for representative purpose only. | Photo Credit: Bijoy Ghosh Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday (February 1, 2026) proposed a special one-time measure…
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…
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presents the Union Budget 2026 in Lok Sabha during the Budget Session, in New Delhi on Sunday. Photo: Sansad TV via ANI. Union Budget 2026-27 The Government will set up five university townships in the vicinity of major industrial logistics centres, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced on Sunday (February…
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…
In her previous Budget in February 2025, Ms. Sitharaman had also outlined an alternate path to fiscal consolidation by focussing on the Centre’s debt-to-GDP ratio and reducing it to 50% (with leeway of 1% above and below) by March 2031. | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto The Centre’s fiscal deficit, which is broadly the amount 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…
Budget 2026-27 signals a transition away from pandemic-era crisis management to what is now a borrowing-heavy doctrine for financing growth and capital expenditure (capex) spending. By guiding fiscal deficit to 4.3% of GDP and scaling public capital expenditure to ₹12.2 lakh crore, the government aims to project a broader infra-capex enabled vision of a ‘Viksit…
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…
File photo of U.S. President Donald Trump with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. | Photo Credit: Reuters Indicating a positive turn in a bilateral relationship that had been under strain because of multiple issues, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that “Made in India” products will “now” attract a “reduced tariff of 18%” in the U.S., after…
