Budget 2026-27 LIVE: Operation Sindoor: Major hike in defence spending

Shares of brokerage-related companies tumbled nearly 12 per cent on Sunday (February 1) after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed an increase in the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) on derivatives.

In her Budget speech for 2026-27, Sitharaman said the STT on futures contracts would be raised to 0.05 per cent from 0.02 per cent, a move aimed at curbing excessive speculation in the futures and options (F&O) segment.

The 30-share BSE Sensex plummeted 1,546.84 points or 1.88 per cent, at 80,722.94, while the NSE Nifty dived 495.20 points, or 1.96 per cent, to end at 24,825.45.

Addressing a post-budget conference, FM Sitharaman said the Government is not against derivative trade, but wants small investors, who are facing huge losses, to stay away from the speculative F&O market.

The Union Budget 2026-27 presented on Sunday (February 1) offers limited direct relief for persons with disabilities. It relies on general welfare schemes, with no major new fiscal push aimed specifically at persons with disabilities.

Instead of carving out a distinct fiscal roadmap for persons with disabilities, support for the physically challenged is largely embedded within broader social welfare, healthcare and employment frameworks.

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Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman assured the country’s defence establishment while presenting the Budget 2026-27 document by stepping up spending in the defence sector. She allocated Rs 7.85 lakh crore to the defence sector, up from Rs 6.81 lakh crore allocated in FY26, emphasising a continued emphasis on military preparedness, modernisation and the welfare of the personnel.

As per the Budget documents, the overall allocation for the defence ministry in FY27 encompasses defence services (revenue), capital outlay, defence pensions, and civil establishments under the ministry.

The ministry also has major projects in the pipeline, such as contracts for Rafale fighter jets, submarines and unmanned aerial vehicles, agencies reported.

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Budget 2026-27 documents show how every rupee is raised and spent, with taxes forming the bulk of revenue and states, interest, and defence dominating expenditure.

For every rupee in the government’s coffers, the largest slice—64 paise—will come from direct and indirect taxes, according to the Union Budget 2026-27 documents.

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Experts, farm activists and farmer leaders have expressed disappointment over the Union Budget 2026–27, arguing that it reflects policy continuity without meaningful course correction and does little to address deep-rooted agrarian distress and stagnating farm incomes.

Presenting the Union Budget 2026–27, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a series of initiatives aimed at boosting high-value agriculture and allied sectors to diversify rural incomes beyond traditional farming.

The Union Budget 2026-27 drew mixed responses from trader organisations, with some calling it visionary and inclusive, while others flagged missed opportunities and concerns for key sectors.

BJP MP and Secretary General of Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), Praveen Khandelwal, described the budget as “an excellent blend of visionary thinking, pragmatic policies and economic empowerment”, which would push India firmly towards the goal of Viksit Bharat @2047.

He said linking budget provisions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swadeshi call would help boost exports and open new global markets.

Emphasising on the need to focus on MSMEs, he said, “MSMEs are the backbone of the Indian economy. The measures announced for the MSME sector in this budget will play a vital role in employment generation, promoting entrepreneurship and making Indian products globally competitive.”

However, the Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) called the budget a mixed bag. CTI chairman Brijesh Goyal said the budget is “mixture of happiness & sadness”, observing that “no announcement regarding income tax slab” was made.

Welcoming the proposed Rs 10,000 crore fund for MSMEs, Goyal said it was a good step but there was nothing special for the manufacturing sector to boost India’s trade and industries.

He expressed concern over higher Securities Transaction Tax, saying this was not a good step for 15 crore Indians investing in the stock market.

Goyal said Delhi’s business community is feeling overlooked as "not a single announcement has been made for the business and industries of Delhi while the traders of Delhi pay billions of rupees of GST and income tax.” On the agriculture front, the trader associations said that the announcements in the budget will help farmers and the MSME industries grow.

Manoj Goyal, National President Agriprenuer Ukranti federation said dedicated research programmes for farmers will likely result in increased income and reduced risk for them.

Ashish Grover, president Delhi Drug Traders Association said that much needed relief was provided in the budget for medicine prices. “Prices of high-end medicines, whether generic or patented for cancer patients, have been reduced, it will benefit all,” Grover said.

Puneet Singhal, president, Computer Mobile Dealers Association (CMDA) Delhi said the overall budget is positive and will lead to growth. “ There are a lot of growth potential for IT services, incentives provided for establishing cloud services is a welcome move and may result in job opportunities."

As Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented Union Budget 2026-27 in Parliament today (February 1), sharp criticism erupted from Tamil Nadu’s political circles, with Opposition leaders accusing the Centre of deliberately sidelining the state just weeks before the crucial Assembly elections.

In a strong reaction to the Union Budget 2026-27, DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi told The Federal that the Budget completely ignored Tamil Nadu. “There are no projects for Tamil Nadu in the budget, nor has any fund been allocated. Why was even Thirukkural not mentioned in this year’s budget speech? This is a budget that exploits Tamil Nadu’s natural resources and a budget that says nothing about farmers,” she said.

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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday (February 1) announced support to setting up content creator labs across 15,000 secondary schools and 500 colleges under the aegis of the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies, a flagship initiative of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.

"India's Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) sector is a growing industry, projected to require two million professionals by 2030," Sitharaman said in her budget speech.

"I propose to support the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies, Mumbai in setting up AVGC Content Creator Labs in 15,000 secondary schools and 500 colleges," the finance minister said.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has been allocated Rs 4551.94 crore in the Union Budget, with a substantial amount marked for Prasar Bharati, India's public broadcaster, besides funds for talent development in animation, visual effects and gaming and supporting the community radio movement.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday (February 1) proposed to club various inter-connected sub-segments of IT including software development services, IT-enabled services, knowledge process outsourcing services and others, under a single category with common safe harbour margin of just 15.5 per cent, a move aimed at boosting India's attractiveness to tech giants across Europe and the US.

The proposal, alongside other sweeteners, unveiled in the Union Budget - upping the threshold for IT services safe harbour to Rs 2,000 crore from Rs 300 crore, and dishing out tax holiday for cloud providers leveraging India's data centre services - seeks to woo global investments while ensuring tax certainty and alignment with international norms, positioning the country as a reliable destination for multinational operations.

India is a global leader in software development services, IT enabled services, knowledge process outsourcing services and contract R&D services relating to software development, Sitharaman said noting these business segments are quite inter-connected with each other.

"All these services are proposed to be clubbed under a single category of Information Technology Serviceswith a common safe harbour margin of 15.5 percent applicable to all. The threshold for availing safe harbour for IT services is being enhanced substantially from Rs 300 crore to Rs 2,000 crore," she said.

Safe harbour for IT services shall be approved by an automated rule-driven process without any need for tax officer to examine and accept the application. "Once applied by an IT Services company, the same safe harbour can be continued for a period of five years at a stretch at its choice," she said.