CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI ■ ■ TIRUCHY l monday l february 02, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION Infrastructure environment Agriculture MSMEs Healthcare Manufacturing education 7 high-speed rail corridors Backing clean energy Promotes highvalue crops `10K cr MSME growth fund Medical tourism `40K-cr for semiconductors Future readiness Mumbai-Pune, HydB’luru, Pune-Hyd, Chennai-B’luru, HydChennai, B’luruVaranasi, Varanasi-Siliguri Customs relief for lithium-ion battery inputs, solar and nuclear exemptions, carbon capture funding Emphasis on coconut, cashew, cocoa, sandalwood, Sets aside `350cr for this push, aimed at raising farm incomes Big push to small businesses by capital support, faster payments, enhanced credit guarantees Destination mapping to boost medical tourism, district trauma care and allied health professional training Focus on renewable technology, battery supply chains and local value addition in advanced goods University townships near industrial zones, creative tech labs in schools, committees tying education to jobs Budget will empower the poor, farmers, youth, and women. It will boost ‘Make in India’ 20-yr tax holiday for foreign firms using Indian data centres boost for tech and sunrise sectors no change in tax slabs big on small , Small on big D ipa k M o nd a l @ New Delhi B udget 2026, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on Sunday, has turned out to be a story of unrealised expectations rather than bold reforms. There were no bigbang announcements or path-breaking policy pushes. Instead, the government appeared keen not to disturb the current ‘Goldilocks phase’ of moderate growth and low inflation. Expectations were not particularly high, given that the Budget followed two major tax overhauls—Direct Tax Code and GST rate rationalisation— yet, there was hope for a fresh reform impulse. In the end, the finance minister held back more than she unveiled. There were numerous small measures in the Budget, but none large enough to excite the markets. Instead, a few unexpected moves unsettled the equity market which was already under pressure from persistent foreign institutional investment outflows. Contrary to expectations of a reduction in securities transaction tax, the government proposed higher levies on futures and options to curb speculative trading, which has led to significant investor losses. The move did not go down well with the markets, which fell over 2% after the announcement. As anticipated, there were no changes in individual tax slabs following last year’s increase in the minimum tax threshold to `12 lakh. At the same time, the Budget rolled back the controversial buyback tax rule under which buyback proceeds were treated as deemed dividend income without allowing deduction of acquisition cost. These proceeds will now be taxed as capital gains for all shareholders. Other relief measures included a limited overseas tax amnesty scheme for small taxpayers and a reduction in TCS (tax collected at source) on overseas spending. Sitharaman’s `53 lakh crore Budget adopted a cautious rather than ambitious approach. It adhered to the fiscal glide path by pegging fiscal deficit at 4.3%, against FY26’s 4.4% target. The FM also formally announced a shift in fiscal management focus from fiscal deficit to a debt-to-GDP ratio target of 50±1% by 2030–31. “In line with this, the debt-to-GDP ratio is estimated at 55.6% of GDP in BE 2026–27, compared to 56.1% in 2025– 26. A declining debt-to-GDP ratio will gradually free up resources for priority sector expenditure by reducing interest outgo,” she said. The minister told the media that the government has consistently delivered on its fiscal commitments without compromising on social sector needs. The modest fiscal targeting comes amid muted revenue growth, with the government missing its FY26 tax collection target of `42.7 lakh crore by nearly `2 lakh crore. Despite revenue constraints, the FM raised capital expenditure from `11.2 lakh crore to `12.2 lakh crore after two years of relatively subdued growth. “We have announced `12.2 lakh crore in public expenditure this time. It is 4.4% of GDP, the highest in at least the last 10 years. Such sustained increases in capital expenditure have not happened before,” she said. The government also accepted the 16th Finance Commission’s recommendation to retain the vertical devolution share to states at 41%. To support exporters amid global trade uncertainties, the Budget introduced a series of customs duty changes aimed at lowering input costs for manufacturing and exports, while tightening tax rules in selected areas. Technology and sunrise sectors received incentives, while the Budget announced a tax holiday until 2047 for foreign companies providing services to customers outside India using data centres located in India. In addition, the government proposed a safe harbour margin of 15% on costs where the data centre service provider in India is a related entity . The Budget also had a provision for exempting income tax for 5 years to non-residents providing capital goods, equipment or tooling, to any toll manufacturer in a bonded zone. Contrary to expectations of a cut in Securities Transaction Tax (STT), the government proposed higher levies on the futures and options (F&O) segment to curb speculative trading, which has led to significant investor losses We have announced `12.2 lakh crore in public expenditure this time. It is 4.4% of GDP, the highest in at least the last 10 years. Such sustained increases have not happened before — Nirmala Sitharaman TN’s interests ignored, budget a letdown: CM E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Chennai Describing the Union Budget for 2026-27 as a big disappointment as far as Tamil Nadu is concerned, Chief Minister MK Stalin on Sunday said the meagre 4.097% tax devolution to the state for the next five years will result in an annual revenue loss of approximately `5,000 crore compared to other states. In a detailed statement, the CM said the interests of TN have been completely ignored in the budget. The continued neglect of TN in financial devolution over the past several years has not been corrected even by the 16th Finance Commission, which is a matter of grave concern, he said. Stalin also condemned the reduction in TN’s share of union taxes to around `1,200 crore this year (in the Revised Estimates of 2025-26 compared to the Budget Estimates of 2025-26 presented last year) at a time when states’ revenues have already been adversely affected by changes in the GST regime.  P5 82,000 Previous Close 81,500 THE Pakistan government has said that its team will not take the field for the upcoming T20 World Cup game against India in Colombo on February 15. Ending weeks of speculation, their government confirmed that they would travel to Sri Lanka to take part their place in Group A but they will skip the India clash. “The Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan grants approval to the Pakistan Cricket Ream to participate in the ICC World T20 2026,” their official handle posted. “However, the Pakistan Cricket Team shall not take Budget is progressive. Centre has taken steps to accelerate pace of the development. It will turn Viksit Bharat vision into reality Surprises 82,269.78 Today’s Closing 81,000 80,500 80,722.94 79,899.42 Pakistan govt says team won’t play India express news service @ Chennai Rahul Gandhi, LoP Tax holiday until 2047 for foreign companies that provide services to customers outside India using data centres in India 82,500 Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at the Parliament premises before the presentation of the Union Budget | Shekhar yadav A Budget that’s blind to India’s real crises. Household savings down. Farmers in distress. global shocks —all ignored How it fared Sensex dives by 1,547 points Show time Narendra Modi, PM the field in the match scheduled on 15th Feb against India.” There have been partial boycotts in World Cups before so Pakistan may argue that they are doing what other teams have done before. But the International Cricket Council may be opening informal two-way communications to ensure they can convince them to honour an agreement. Nitish Kumar, Bihar CM Government has run out of ideas. Budget doesn’t provide solution to political and socio-economic challenges Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress president Illustration: Sourav Roy Budget is directionless, visionless, actionless and anti-people. It is also anti-women, anti-farmer, antieducation. Mamata Banerjee, West Bengal CM