As per established tradition, the finance minister met the President at the Rashtrapati Bhavan before heading to Parliament.
This Budget positions India's taxation ideology as not merely a revenue source but as a strategic catalyst for growth, inclusion and long-term confidence.
Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was the first and only women till now to have presented the Union Budget.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with students on a cruise ship on the Brahmaputra River during a 'Pariksha Pe Charcha' programme on the second day of his Assam visit.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is often known for making statements with her sarees on Budget Day. Each year, she wears a saree that represents India's rich textile heritage and traditional craftsmanship, and this year was no different. This year, Sitharaman chose to wear a beautiful off white saree with intricate golden work, paired with a red blouse and a shawl while carrying her trademark 'bahi-khata', a tablet wrapped in a red-coloured cloth with a golden-coloured national emblem embossed on it.
Chairman C P Radhakrishnan said he will take it up with the government and asked a junior minister to request the presence of a Cabinet minister in the House.
Ambareesh Baliga's quick take on the markets after the increase in STT on futures and options trading...
The Union Budget for 2026-27, presented by Finance Minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday, which was a first, had an excellent domestic macro backdrop. According to the first advance estimates, gross domestic product (GDP) in constant prices is projected to grow 7.4 per cent in the current financial year, against 6.5 per cent in 2024-25.
The 2026-27 Budget, seeking to harmonise the government's imperative to grant certainty while ensuring a rational tax policy, had several notable announcements to usher in halcyon days, says Mukesh Butani.
Though the party has made no announcement, former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, the deputy chief minister in the outgoing government, is being seen as the frontrunner for the key position.
Taking lessons from that, I would think seamless digital payments is something you have to clearly have a roadmap for, the FM said.
Given that a sizeable part of this money is part of the coveted current accounts and savings accounts, it is surprising that banks are not in a hurry to revive these accounts, notes Tamal Bandyopdhyay.
The Union Budget on Sunday proposed a tax holiday till 2047 for foreign companies that provide cloud services to customers globally using data centres located in India, signalling the government's push to make the country a major hub for AI and digital infrastructure.
The Union Budget on Sunday proposed a tax holiday till 2047 for foreign companies that provide cloud services to customers globally using data centres located in India, signalling the government's push to make the country a major hub for AI and digital infrastructure.
Total pending Customs arrears, including amounts under litigation, court stays and cases where the appeal period has not expired, stood at about Rs 1.36 trillion at the end of December 2024.
Nearly 96 per cent of new applicants will benefit from this simplified approval route.
The Indian Rice Exporter's Federation (IREF) on Tuesday urged the government to provide tax incentives, interest subvention and freight support in the upcoming 2026 Budget to strengthen the sector's competitiveness while addressing sustainability concerns.
The next generation GST reforms would 'absolutely' set an economy open and transparent with further reduction in compliance burden and benefiting small businesses, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday.
Sometimes, the most powerful Budgets whisper and the wisest investors listen, notes Ramalingam Kalirajan.
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.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said the Union Budget 2025-26 continues efforts to accelerate growth and provide inclusive development.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday asked fintech firms to focus on risk management at a time when criminals are using AI to mimic voices, clone identities and create lifelike videos to manipulate people.
Stock market is gearing up for an eventful week ahead where key triggers such as quarterly earnings from corporates, the US Fed interest rate decision and the upcoming Union Budget for 2026-27 would grab the limelight, analysts said.
Officials said the government is keen to conform to the convention of the Union Budget for 2026-2027 being presented on February 1 despite it falling on a Sunday in 2026.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said the government cannot restrain retailers from trading in Futures and Options (F&O) but will definitely create awareness regarding the risks involved in putting money in such instruments.
'The trade deficit in some sectors is huge and that is an area of opportunity to localise.'
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.
On Saturday, February 1, 2025, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented a record Budget in the 8th Lok Sabha.
This will be the first full-year Budget of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government since it came to power for a third consecutive term in July last year.
Victory wrested from regime that only listens when forced, the TMC said on GST exemption on insurance.
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.
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.
In 2025-26, the government allocated Rs 6,81,210 crore for defence budget.
To ensure a glitch-free rollout of the next-generation GST with reduced rates and lesser slabs, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chaired three separate meetings to assess GSTN's preparedness and the time it would take to implement technological changes required in the software systems.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman paid homage at the Rezang La War Memorial at Chushul in Ladakh on Tuesday, June 17, 2025.
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.
The best course for the government at this time would be to tighten the seat belt a little more, without compromising on its investments in creating better infrastructure and giving a push to privatisation, points out A K Bhattacharya.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is cutting short her official visit to the US and Peru and will depart for India at the earliest, following the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir. Sitharaman arrived in the US on Sunday for a six-day visit, after which she was scheduled to travel to Peru for a five-day trip. The decision comes after 26 people were killed in a terror attack near Kashmir's Pahalgam town on Tuesday.
While 28,141 applicants accepted internship in round one, in the second phase this was down to 24,638.
India's first maritime lender, state-owned Sagarmala Finance Corporation Ltd (SMFCL) hit the ground running with a Rs 4,300 crore disbursement announcement last Tuesday, within months of being registered as a non-banking financial company (NBFC) in June 2025.
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