Kamal Ghorui
Parliament on Friday approved the Finance Bill 2026, with the Rajya Sabha returning it to the Lok Sabha by a voice vote, completing the budgetary process for the financial year beginning April 1.The Lok Sabha had passed the Bill on March 25 along with 32 amendments. The Rajya Sabha cleared it after a brief discussion and finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s reply to queries raised by members.The Union Budget 2026-27 has pegged total expenditure at Rs 53.47 lakh crore, marking a 7.7% increase over the current fiscal ending March 31. Capital expenditure for the next financial year has been proposed at Rs 12.2 lakh crore.The government has estimated gross tax revenue at Rs 44.04 lakh crore and gross borrowing at Rs 17.2 lakh crore. The fiscal deficit for FY27 is projected at 4.3% of GDP, lower than 4.4% in the ongoing fiscal.A Finance Bill provides legal backing to tax and fiscal proposals announced in the Budget and, once enacted, will bring into force changes in income tax rates, duties and other levies, directly impacting individuals and businesses.Earlier in the Lok Sabha, Sitharaman said, “Finance Bill 2026-27 rests on five clear principles; trust- based tax administration is being improved; members mocking ease of living for common citizens and ease of doing business, we should continue on that process.”Referring to the West Asia crisis, she said the government would remain vigilant and manage its fiscal stance carefully.Among key proposals, the government did not announce any changes in the income tax system. The due date for filing income tax returns for non-audit businesses has been proposed to be extended by one month to August 31.In capital markets, the government proposed an increase in Securities Transaction Tax (STT) on futures to 0.05% from 0.02%, and on options premium to 0.15% from 0.10%. No changes were announced in short-term or long-term capital gains taxes.On infrastructure, the Budget proposed seven high-speed corridors — Mumbai-Pune, Pune-Hyderabad, Hyderabad-Bengaluru, Hyderabad-Chennai, Chennai-Bengaluru, Delhi-Varanasi, and Varanasi-Siliguri — along with one dedicated freight corridor. A new freight corridor has also been proposed in Dankuni, West Bengal.The government also announced deduction of TDS on the sale of immovable property by NRIs and introduced a foreign investment disclosure scheme, alongside allowing investments in equity instruments of listed Indian companies through the Portfolio Investment Scheme.In industrial policy, Rs 40,000 crore each has been earmarked for electronics manufacturing and semiconductor development under ISM 2.0, along with Rs 10,000 crore for the bio-pharma sector.For MSMEs, a Rs 10,000 crore SME Growth Fund has been proposed, along with a Rs 2,000 crore top-up to the Self-Reliant India Fund to improve access to credit and scale up enterprises.The defence sector has been allocated about Rs 5.95 lakh crore to boost military capabilities and domestic manufacturing. Healthcare spending is pegged at around Rs 1.05 lakh crore, with duty relief announced on critical medicines and pharma inputs.Under energy transition initiatives, the government has earmarked Rs 20,000 crore for carbon reduction programmes and support for clean energy supply chains and renewable energy.Additionally, the Coastal Cargo Promotion Scheme aims to double modal share by 2047, as part of efforts to strengthen logistics efficiency.
