Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 09:13am on 01 Feb 2026,Sunday India
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented Union Budget 2026 with a focus on investment, manufacturing, and health support. Capital expenditure for FY27 was increased to Rs 12.2 lakh crore, and the fiscal deficit target was fixed at 4.3 per cent of GDP. No changes were announced in personal income tax slabs under the new Income Tax Act starting April 1. A tax holiday till 2047 was offered to foreign companies setting up cloud and data centre infrastructure in India. The government removed basic customs duty on 17 essential cancer drugs and expanded exemptions for rare disease treatments. Defence modernisation spending was raised, semiconductor funding was expanded, and seven high-speed rail corridors were cleared to improve connectivity and growth. (PC: X)
