The Budget’s emphasis on seven ‘strategic and frontier’ manufacturing areas is clearly not random. These are areas of high import dependence, strong employment, and rising geopolitical sensitivity.
Budget 2026 does not seek to redefine India’s growth model; rather, it reinforces the existing framework characterised by fiscal restraint, public investment, and manufacturing depth.
Corporate bonds are priced as a spread over the risk-free rate. In India, the reference risk-free rate is unreliable as large institutions are mandated to buy and hold government bonds.
A sound tax system is one based on the ability to pay or economic surplus. But the STT taxes the circulation of capital and not its returns, making it deeply distortionary.
Exporters said the Budget’s proposals to increase duty-free import limits on processing, create 500 reservoirs and support fisheries startups will boost the marine industry.
With recruitments under Agnipath set to rise, the Union Budget has significantly increased spending, with the Army taking nearly 87% of the total outlay.
The key to fighting a war successfully, or even launching it, is a clear objective. That’s an entirely political call. It isn’t emotional or purely military.
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