As is widely understood, the annual Budget is a political document responding to short to medium-term economic challenges. Formally, it is an annual revenue and expenditure statement outlining the government’s priorities. As with any financial statement, the fine print matters the most, not obvious from the media headlines. Yet, it is useful to read the…
The government has proposed to establish a second National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (Nimhans) to help more people access therapists. “There are no national institutes for mental healthcare in North India. We will therefore set up a Nimhans-2 and also upgrade National Mental Health Institutes in Ranchi and Tezpur as Regional Apex…
Budget 2026-27 for the social sector is unusual, as it does not contain any new flagship schemes, which had become par for the course. Low allocations and spending However, the neglect of the sector in actual allocations continues. Schemes targeted at the most vulnerable sections of the population — children, pregnant women, the aged, single…
India’s 7.4 million micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) will soon be beneficiaries of a new ₹10,000 crore fund, a top-up of an existing fund for startups, and reforms to the government’s business invoice portal TReDS. In her ninth Union budget, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed a three-pronged approach towards MSMEs, which contribute to about…
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman delivered a mixed bag to capital market prioritising long-term capital instruments over short term one in Budget 2026-27. While raising tax on derivative transactions, the FM increased investment limits for NRIs, rationalised taxation on share buybacks, and proposed measures to deepen bond markets. Ms. Sitharman proposed to raise the STT on…
One interesting thing about the Budget is that people usually do not do a reality check vis-a-vis the previous Budget because the current one takes centre stage. Since Budget 2026-27 is quite run of the mill, it will not be out of place to start with the last Budget. If there is one thing you…
New Delhi: India’s Union budget for FY27 marks a clear shift in the Centre’s fiscal framework, with the government formally moving from a focus on annual fiscal deficit reduction to a debt-to-GDP regime of budget discipline that is designed to absorb external shocks without derailing medium-term consolidation. The new approach comes after the Centre sharply…
A woman plants rice saplings in a paddy field in Nagaon on February 1, 2026. | Photo Credit: ANI The direction of fiscal policy is influenced by the nature of fiscal policy rules. The present fiscal policy rule of the Union government is informed by what can be termed as sound finance rules, where the…
New Delhi: The Union government has allocated ₹18,000 crore in the budget for FY27 for the revamped distribution sector scheme (RDSS) amid a renewed push to reform the power distribution sector. This is an increase from the ₹16,000 crore allocated for FY26, which was later revised to ₹15,671 crore. Mint earlier reported that the budget…
Budget 2026-27 comes at a time when the economy is experiencing a rare goldilocks period of high economic growth and low inflation. The Indian economy has become the fourth largest, overtaking Japan, retaining its tag of being one of the fastest growing economies. Beneath the headline numbers lie some inherent challenges, which could be amplified…
