There is a minimum requirement of Rs 2.5 trillion capital expenditure every year and it is understood at the highest levels of the government.
'Long-term investors seeking sustainable gains from resilient, fundamentally strong companies may go for these funds.'
India should resist knee-jerk responses to tariff volatility in the US and instead use the current geopolitical churn to build manufacturing scale at home, former G20 Sherpa and former chief executive officer of NITI Aayog Amitabh Kant said on Wednesday.
Budget 2026 sticks to fiscal discipline, shuns populist measures despite five key state elections coming up, but ends up rattling stock markets with a higher transaction tax on derivatives trading.
Stocks of fast-moving consumer goods companies have taken it on the chin in calendar year 2026 (CY26) with the Nifty FMCG index falling over 6 per cent compared to the Nifty 50 dipping 0.8 per cent. Nifty FMCG is one of the worst-performing sectors on the NSE in CY26.
Eighteen new-age technology firms went public during the year, a near triple increase from the five firms that debuted in 2023 and 38 per cent more than 2024's tally of 13.
The quarterly manufacturing index by the industry body Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (Ficci) rose to an all-time high in the third quarter of financial year 2025-26 (Q3FY26), with 91 per cent of respondents reporting either higher or same production levels, against 87 per cent in the previous quarter.
'Credit growth in India remains in double digits, even though corporate borrowing is subdued.' 'Corporate credit is weak because companies are cash-rich and cautious amid global uncertainty.'
India's electric two-wheeler (e2W) manufacturers have urged the government to extend subsidies under the PM E-Drive (Electric Drive Revolution in Innovative Vehicle Enhancement) scheme beyond March 2026, cautioning that a withdrawal could slow near-term demand even as confidence in long-term electric mobility adoption remains intact.
When everyone has footage and no one can verify it, the loudest voice wins, notes Prem Panicker who begins a daily blog on the War in the Middle East.
'Only four or five original companies remain; the rest have been replaced every decade as sectors evolve or leadership shifts.' 'Companies that fail to adapt -- like many textile mills from the 1970s and shipping firms from the 1980s -- disappear.' 'Benchmark indices reward those who reinvent themselves in line with economic demands.'
What began as a mentor-protege relationship between UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has now evolved into a broader contest over influence, strategy, and leadership in the Middle East, points out Asif Ullah Khan.
Fight on toward goals that keep receding, or exit with most objectives unmet. Trump is agitated, his poll numbers falling below the Plimsoll line, his base fractured between those who back the war and those who remember that he campaigned on ending them.
Housing sales fell 1 per cent last year to over 3.48 lakh units across eight major cities, with demand stagnating amid an average price rise of up to 19 per cent, according to Knight Frank. In a virtual press conference on Wednesday, real estate consultant Knight Frank India noted that the decline in interest rates on home loans, strong economic growth and lower inflation were some of the key factors that helped in sustaining the housing demand during the 2025 calendar year despite fears of an impending correction.
Reiterating Sitharaman's statement that this is a youth power budget, Modi emphasised that the provisions made in the budget will prepare leaders, innovators and creators across different sectors.
Interestingly, with 83 per cent of entrepreneurs being first-generation founders, the list reflects India's growing spirit of entrepreneurship and leadership.
Budget 2026 is an intentional and ambitious one - From manufacturing growth to services supremacy, from technology consumption to AI-powered transformation. This is the blueprint for a $7 trillion economy built on intelligence, not just scale.
The key question is how much of the latest growth record represents recovery from the 2020-2021 downturn, and what is the sustainable growth rate now, asks T N Ninan.
The idea of back-loading the target of fiscal consolidation is perhaps guided by the government's desire to be prepared for any adverse developments in the coming year, points out A K Bhattacharya.
Two dedicated freight corridors -- Eastern and Western -- are in operation covering several states and districts.
The government's Budget announcements providing tax holiday for data centres, setting up of city economic regions (CERs) and funding to improve infrastructure in Tier-II and -III cities may give an indirect boost to India's realty sector, said industry executives.
'Within six months I expect petrol, diesel, and electric vehicles (EVs) to reach cost parity,' says Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari.
'Instant home services act as an on-demand household support system, bridging the gap between informal domestic help and structured service platforms,'
On the back of an aggressive asset monetisation push, the government will press the throttle on the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model - under which private developers fund highway construction - for future highway development, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said.
The Jammu and Kashmir Police have busted a 'white-collar' terror module, revealing that doctors arrested in the case had been radicalized since 2016 and formed a new terror organization named 'Ansar Interim' to carry out subversive activities.
'It is too early to conclude that there will be a bloodbath, that there will be no jobs, and that there will be civil unrest.' 'Let's calm down.' 'AI is a tool, it is not a weapon, it is not a virus.'
The Indian economy is growing at a robust pace, driven by strong domestic demand, low inflation, and the healthy balance sheets of banks, said a Reserve Bank report released on Wednesday.
India has managed high government debt-to-GDP, a slowing domestic revenue engine, lower household savings and a more hostile geopolitical environment separately in the past. But together, they threaten to undo the growth narrative on which today's optimism rests, warns Debashis Basu.
'Without ground troops the US will not be able to oust the Iranian Islamic regime. Political change does not happen just by using bombs or planes.'
United States President Donald Trump ignited controversy after making sharp and unprecedented remarks about Colombia during a brief exchange with reporters.
Thousands of people took to the streets in Iran's capital late Thursday after exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi called for a mass demonstration, marking a fresh escalation in nationwide protests driven by economic distress, witnesses said.
Three women from Arunachal Pradesh living in Delhi allege they were subjected to racial slurs and harassment by their neighbors following a minor dispute over dust from an AC installation.
'Global uncertainty is something which definitely occupies the minds of officials when we are preparing for the Budget.'
India is growing fast, but to keep growing strong, the government must make more things at home, create jobs, and spend money wisely, suggests Rajiv Memani, regional managing partner, Africa-India Region, EY.
The Union Budget backs skilling across animation, gaming and comics. But creators and studios confront a hard question: who owns what comes next?
India Inc on Sunday hailed the Union Budget 2026-27 as a 'structural shift' in the country's technology landscape, noting that the government is moving beyond fragmented pilots to build foundational layers where AI serves as a 'horizontal enabler' for the entire economy.
The Budget reflects a clear focus on strengthening India's long-term prospects by leaning on nation-building sectors such as infrastructure, manufacturing, and technology while maintaining fiscal responsibility.
The rupee recovered 55 paise from its all-time low level to close at 90.38 against the US dollar after a volatile trade on Wednesday, amid suspected aggressive central bank intervention.
The number of rights issues more than doubled and hit a 28-year high in 2025, even as qualified institutional placements (QIPs) shrank amid a broader market correction and the Securities and Exchange Board of India's (Sebi's) revised framework for rights issues.
Asia takes the lead, boasting four Indian cities on the list, according to the 2024 Savills Growth Hubs Index.
