With the Union Budget 2026, India's 74th, fast approaching, all eyes are once again on New Delhi's North Block as Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is preparing to table it on February 1, 2026, marking her ninth Budget presentation in a row.
With the Iran war escalating sharply and crisis deepening in the global energy market, India on Monday unveiled a coordinated plan to support exporters and shippers caught in the fallout.
Sitharaman continues with the tradition she set in 2019, carrying the budget speech in a 'bahi-khata', which she used after dropping the briefcase tradition.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday proposed a six-month foreign asset disclosure scheme for small taxpayers like students, tech professionals and relocated NRIs as she presented the Union Budget 2026-27.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday participated in a traditional 'halwa' ceremony, marking the final stage for the preparation of the Union Budget 2026-27, to be unveiled on February 1 in the Lok Sabha.
The FM also said the government has proposed a joint panel of Corporate Affairs Ministry and CBDT for incorporation of income computation and disclosure standards.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday makes history as she presents a record ninth consecutive Budget that is expected to unveil measures to sustain growth momentum, maintain fiscal discipline, and contain reforms that could buffer the economy from global trade frictions, including US tariffs.
What we are watching is something different: A fog manufactured and maintained by the people who started the war, so that the question of why it was started never has to be answered, observes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the war in the Middle East.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her ninth consecutive Union Budget, focusing on investments and growth. The speech was marked by its business-like approach and lack of cultural references, while opposition members raised concerns about regional representation.
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) has reviewed the evolving situation in West Asia, directing departments to assist Indian nationals affected by recent developments and emphasizing the need for dialogue and diplomacy.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched a strong attack on Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party, accusing them of compromising India's interests on the world stage and selling out farmers and the poor during their time in power.
With inflation comfortably below the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) 4 per cent median target and likely to undershoot its 3.7 per cent projection for 2025-26 (FY26), there is room for the monetary policy easing cycle to be sustained, the Finance Ministry said on Monday. The comments, featured in the ministry's Monthly Economic Review for June 2025, assume significance ahead of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) scheduled to begin from August 5.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday proposed Rs 10,000 crore investment in the biopharma sector over the next five years, a move which would give a boost to the country's pharmaceuticals industry.
In a region increasingly shaped by competition and coercion, such collaboration strengthens security without confrontation, builds capacity without dependency and promotes order without domination, points out Dr Kumar.
'This Budget has a one-year agenda, which you can call the sprint, and the marathon is towards Viksit Bharat.'
Capex, infrastructure development, and prudent fiscal management are the key focus areas in the Budget, says Nilesh Shah.
India's economy experienced a growth of 7.8 per cent during the October-December quarter of 2025-26, according to the new series of national accounts with 2022-23 as the base year.
The government has extended the tenure of the 16th Finance Commission by one month till November 30. The 16th Finance Commission was constituted by the government on December 31, 2023, with former Niti Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya as its Chairman.
The Budget allocation includes the construction of new lines and the purchase of locomotives, wagons, and coaches, among other works.
'That journey across India has changed me forever.'
The government's flagship Khelo India programme received an allocation of Rs 924.35 crore.
'When a technology is this fundamental, a country should have its own version of it, rather than relying on whether someone else chooses to build it for you.'
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is well-known for donning saris that speak as powerfully as her budget speech. Each Budget Day, she selects a drape that pays tribute to India's amazing textile heritage and the mastery of its artisans.
Customs regimes can lead to labyrinthine legal disputes. Budget 2026 must recognise that an excessively defensive Customs posture can itself become a trade barrier, point out Mukesh Butani and Shankey Agrawal.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Israel for two days to discuss bilateral and regional issues, marking his second visit to the Jewish state and highlighting the growing strategic partnership between India and Israel.
Enforcement agencies have highlighted risks related to money laundering and terror financing, prompting closer scrutiny of crypto platforms operating in India.
The Union Budget 2025-26 had allocated Rs 2,33,210.68 crore (BE) to the ministry helmed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
A UN Security Council report indicates that Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) was reportedly linked to a terror attack on the Red Fort in New Delhi. The report also highlights JeM's activities, including the establishment of a women-only wing and its presence in the region.
The government on Sunday gave a strong push to upgradation and expansion of healthcare infrastructure, medical education and pharma sector with the Union Budget 2026-27 announcing a slew of steps, including those aimed at making India a global hub for allied healthcare professionals and biopharma manufacturing.
This is the first Budget in my memory of Budgets over the last half a century which has embraced upfront, enthusiastically and emphatically, technology, modernity and fiscal sobriety, notes Shreekant Sambrani.
'We kept this Budget on a larger plank, rather than on one incident, however serious.'
The first leg of the Budget session concluded with debates over the India-US trade deal and a former army chief's memoir, and will reassemble on March 9.
Delhi Police inform court that a BMW driver involved in a fatal accident last September is charged with culpable homicide for allegedly delaying medical assistance to the victim.
The government on Friday received financial bids for the strategic disinvestment of IDBI Bank, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (Dipam) said in an official statement on X.
The government on Wednesday put out the draft of a new policy that projects the country's power sector will need Rs 50 trillion in investments by 2032 and Rs 200 trillion by 2047, proposing ambitious reforms in generation, transmission and distribution.
'If you go by the capital expenditure, this is a good defence budget. But we will have to see if the government can keep defence spending at 2 per cent or higher in 2027-2028.'
Nirmala Sitharaman moved into her Kartavya Bhavan office on October 2, in time to get the work on the Budget 2026-2027 going.
The ministries of Road Transport & Highways and Railways have exceeded the national average capital expenditure (capex) by spending 63 per cent and 57 per cent of Budget estimates (BE), respectively, in the first half of 2025-26 (FY26). The total capital expenditure for April-September of FY26 stood at 52 per cent of the BE, according to the latest data by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA).
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.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri attended the swearing-in ceremony.
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