Trade deals ease risks for Indian equities, but weak demand and stretched valuations raise questions over whether optimism -- especially in smallcaps -- can turn into a sustained bull run, points out Debashis Basu.
The reduction in the goods and services tax (GST) rates has increased the momentum in India's economic activity both on the supply and demand sides, while robust agricultural activity - reflected in the strong onset of rabi sowing and adequate reservoir levels - has reinforced the outlook for food supply and rural incomes, the finance ministry said on Thursday.
rediffGURUS Mihir Tanna, Vipul Bhavsar, T S Khurana, Vivek Lala and Anil Rego will answer your tax queries related to the Union Budget 2026-2o27.
Around 24 paise will come from borrowings and other liabilities, 10 paise from non-tax revenue like disinvestment, and 2 paise from non-debt capital receipts, the Budget documents showed.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's biggest challenge will be to find a new growth driver, particularly against the backdrop of a global economy ravaged by heightened uncertainty and fragmentation, financial markets on a precipice, and global commodity prices on a continued uptrend.
Festivals also contribute to the rise in overall automobile retail sales, says dealers association.
The government is finalising a major GST overhaul with automated refunds, pre-filled returns, and analytics-based scrutiny to simplify compliance and boost liquidity for MSMEs.
A pickup in freight rates, rising fleet utilisation and a long-awaited replacement cycle are breathing fresh life into India's commercial vehicle (CV) market, strengthening the investment case for Tata Motors' CV arm (TMCV). Despite a broadly steady December quarter (Q3) performance, brokerages remain divided on whether the upswing is strong enough to offset margin pressures.
Highlights of the Economic Survey 2025-26
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Data from used-car platforms suggest that buyer preferences have remained broadly stable post-GST, with SUVs retaining their dominance even as price adjustments played out across segments.
Wholesale price inflation (WPI) fell to (-) 1 .21 per cent in October, driven by a decline in prices of food articles like pulses and vegetables, as well as lower fuel and manufactured items' prices, government data showed on Friday.
After the last Budget's announcement of a major tax relief for those earning an annual salary of less than Rs 12 lakh, there is not much that individuals can look forward to in the forthcoming Budget, points out A K Bhattacharya.
Rising automobile exports are reflective of the increasing acceptance of India-manufactured vehicles across global markets, according to Economic Survey 2025-26.
After issuing notices to hotels across the country for allegedly underpaying goods and services tax (GST) on restaurant services, the revenue department has now widened its scrutiny by seeking information from online travel platforms.
'It must become faceless, just as the entire direct tax assessment system has already become fully online, without any human intervention in the normal course,' recommends A K Bhattacharya.
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.
Reliance Industries Ltd on Friday reported almost a flat net profit of Rs 18,645 crore for the third quarter, as weakness in its retail business offset gains in other segments, according to a company filing.
Maruti Suzuki sold more cars than ever before, earned more money, and saw many first-time buyers choosing small cars again.
'The trade deficit in some sectors is huge and that is an area of opportunity to localise.'
Business confidence in India Inc rose to a five-quarter high in December quarter of FY26, amid further reform expectations and steady domestic demand, a survey by industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) showed. The CII Business Confidence Index (BCI) rose for the third consecutive quarter to 66.5 in the December quarter from 66 in the preceding September quarter.
'This is not a case of tax evasion but the result of long-standing ambiguities in GST rules and unawareness.'
Driven by GST reforms, robust festive demand, and softening raw material prices, the FMCG industry expects volume-based growth, supported by a mid-single digit revenue rise and improved operating margins in the December quarter.
'In the last one year, we have added more than Rs 1.7 trillion, and we are on track.'
Leading automakers Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Hyundai Motor India posted higher sales in January riding on the growth momentum ushered in by the GST reforms in the festive period last year.
Cigarette-to-soap conglomerate ITC on Thursday reported a consolidated net profit (attributable to owners) of Rs 4,931.19 crore for the third quarter (October-December/Q3) of 2025-26 (FY26), affected by a one-time provision related to the new labour codes and a base effect from an exceptional item in Q3 of 2024-25. In the year-ago period, net profit had stood at Rs 4,934.8 crore.
Noting that recent uncertainties created by global tariffs have not impacted the Indian economy severely, Anuradha Thakur, secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, said the central government is hopeful that the recent goods and services tax (GST) rationalisation will ignite the much needed animal spirits in the financial sector.
Top carmakers led by Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Kia India on Saturday reported record sales in the domestic market riding on festive demand boosted by GST rate cut. Other manufacturers such as Skoda Auto India and Toyota Kirloskar Motor also posted impressive growth in sales in October.
Passenger vehicle dispatches from companies to dealers raced to the highest ever sales mark in a calendar year in 2025 as a reduction in prices due to GST reforms led to robust sales in the festive season, industry body SIAM said on Tuesday.
These changes certainly bring India's GST a lot closer to what an ideal GST would look like, points out Karan Bhasin.
The demand for passenger vehicles (PVs) is expected to sustain even beyond the ongoing festival season as a new set of customers, those who gained confidence to buy cars following the recent GST rate cuts, will begin to visit dealerships now, said Shailesh Chandra, president of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam), on Wednesday.
'We are seeing a lot of people with helmets visiting our showrooms.'
'We kept this Budget on a larger plank, rather than on one incident, however serious.'
The stock of automative major Eicher Motors hit its all-time high on Wednesday, capping the year with gains of about 52.7 per cent. It has comfortably outperformed its sector index, the Nifty Auto, which jumped 22.7 per cent, as well as the benchmark Nifty, which rose 10 per cent during this period.
The country's primary capital markets delivered a robust performance in FY26, emerging as a global leader in initial public offerings (IPOs) despite an uncertain environment, the Economic Survey said on Thursday.
Three laws passed in Parliament could boost central revenues, reshape GST cess flows, shift MGNREGA costs to states and create new budget headroom ahead of the 2026-2027 Union Budget, points out A K Bhattacharya.
'It will support our growth aspirations. It's very positive as it helps expand the market in a segment that really needs it.'
'High taxes have kept away art collectors who will now embrace the new GST.'
Retail sales of vehicles across categories in India in 2025 grew by 7.71 per cent at 2,81,61,228 units as compared to 2,61,45,445 in 2024, with GST 2.0 helping overcome a subdued start to the year, Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations said on Tuesday.
Amazon India unveiled a dedicated marketplace section highlighting products with reduced tax burdens as the goods and services tax (GST) restructuring took effect on September 22, positioning the ecommerce giant to capitalise on lower consumer prices across electronics, appliances, and other categories. Its rival Flipkart, too, has rolled out its own GST-focused storefront, the GST Bachat Utsav, aimed at helping shoppers maximise benefits from the new tax rates across multiple categories.
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