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Consumer-oriented stocks seem to be the focus of traders after the budget on Saturday. A look at stock futures contracts that have seen strong rollovers to the February series, and their near-term outlook. Maruti Suzuki India

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. New Delhi: The tax cut announced in the budget was driven primarily by the intent to honour the honest taxpayer, said finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman. In a wide-ranging interview to Mint and HT, she explained the philosophy behind the new Income Tax bill expected to be tabled in Parliament this week, what the government is doing to ensure regulators don’t operate in silos, how the government is trying to diversify export markets and the plan to reach 8% GDP growth to become a developed country by 2047.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The Union Budget for 2025-26 will be known for several path breaking measures, and in a true sense, it's a people's budget. The budget has announced significant measures for manufacturing, MSMEs, employment, regulatory reforms, strategic areas like ship-building, nuclear and many more, thereby accelerating our journey towards Viksit Bharat.

Union Budget for 2025-26, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman appears to have pulled off the rare feat of offering substantial relief to taxpayers while maintaining fiscal discipline. This has been achieved by exercising restraint in capital expenditure and banking on robust growth in personal incomes, particularly at the higher end of the income spectrum.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has committed to developing at least 100 GW of nuclear energy by 2047. In her Union budget for 2025-26, she also proposed setting up a Nuclear Energy Mission with an outlay of ₹20,000 crore.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Two weeks into his second term, US president Donald Trump kept his word and slapped tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico and China on 1 February. Mint looks at the fallout from this move on the affected nations and rest of the world.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Visualize this scene. A and B are both driving cars, facing each other.

QI Research CEO and chief strategist Danielle DiMartino Booth reacts to the Federal Reserve leaving interest rates unchanged on ‘Making Money.’

The U.S. military has conducted airstrikes against Islamic State operatives in Somalia, the first attacks in the African nation during President Donald Trump’s second term.

The emphasis was on the adoption of sustainable mobility solutions, signaling the broader industry transition toward electrification and alternative fuels.

electric vehicle batteries, motors and controllers, electrolyzers, wind turbines, very high-voltage transmission equipment and grid-scale batteries.

fiscal consolidation road map to bring down its debt to 50% (plus-minus 1%) of gross domestic product (GDP) by March 2031 from an estimated 57.1% now. This means it wants to cut its debt faster between FY27 and FY31 than in the previous five years.

budget comes at a time of heightened global uncertainty and geo-economic fragmentation. In this backdrop, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman chose to deliver a growth-oriented and reform-focused budget that kept the economy on a fiscally prudent path.

fiscal discipline and much-needed growth support through targeted measures. The major highlights of this year's budget were direct tax cuts and rationalisation of tax slabs, measures that would benefit middle class households. This year's budget aligns closely with previous budget themes, presenting no major surprises in fiscal calculations. The themes of conservatism and consolidation remain prominent. As anticipated, the government is targeting a fiscal deficit of 4.4% of GDP in FY26. This move is seen as essential for consolidating the fiscal health while avoiding excessive borrowing that could lead to inflationary pressures. This reflects the government's intent to reduce its reliance on debt, which will have a positive effect on long-term economic stability. A key question was whether consolidation would come from revenue or capital expenditure. The budget indicates that the government plans to primarily restrain non-capital expenditure, which is a very positive development.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The Economic Survey called agriculture the “sector of the future" and the FM echoed this sentiment in her budget speech, emphasizing garib, youth, annadata and nari. Despite this focus, key gaps remain.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The stock market closed largely unchanged as the Union budget disappointed on the capex front, even though the tax cuts proposed are expected to give a boost to consumption. Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) gave a thumbs-down to the budget at Saturday's special session, selling a provisional ₹1327.09 crore worth of shares, even as domestic institutional investors net purchased equities worth ₹824.38 crore.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The markets somersaulted. India Inc cheered.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The first full budget of Modi 3.0 government’s arrived at a precarious time. India, the world’s fastest-growing major economy, is now grappling with a seven-quarter-low GDP growth rate in Q2 FY25.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. There is a spring in the step of Indian consumer-related companies after the budget 2025’s proposal to make income up to ₹12 lakh tax-free under the new tax regime. With more disposable income in the hands of millions of taxpayers, the expectation is that consumers would be encouraged to spend more on items like staples, electronics, clothes, footwear, restaurants and travel.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Budget 2025-26 has placed emphasis on the backward integration of India’s electronic goods value chain and other capital-goods industries with a reduction in basic customs duty on components. Among the proposals are a reduction in the duty on open cells for television panels from 10%-15% to 5% and parts of open cells to from 2.5% to 0%.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Ever since India’s government set the goal of a Viksit Bharat by 2047, Union budgets have been bifocal. Massive outlays for an infrastructure build-up have been emblematic of this approach, designed to spur demand and multiply incomes during the year on one hand, while also acting as a long-term enabler of GDP expansion on the other.