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India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled her ninth budget on February 1, a fiscal blueprint designed to sustain the world's fastest-growing major economy at 6.5% even as Donald Trump's tariff threats and global economic malaise force policymakers worldwide into a defensive crouch. The response from Western financial centers was decidedly mixed.

The Union Budget’s political messaging has been read as carefully as its fiscal arithmetic, particularly in states heading into elections where expectations of targeted concessions were unusually high. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman arrived in Parliament draped in a Kancheepuram silk saree, a gesture that appeared designed to signal a cultural and political bridge to Tamil Nadu. Symbolism, however, proved to be the most tangible nod. Beyond allocations that Tamil Nadu accessed only because it happened to be part of broader, pan-India or multi-state schemes, there was no bespoke fiscal attention that could be construed as an electoral olive branch to the state. In a political climate where budgets are often used to underline federal sensitivity and electoral intent, that absence has become the most discussed feature of the exercise.

The Union Budget 2026-27 clearly ignores core labour concerns of the country, though it speaks of the language of jobs, skill, and future readiness. The most worrisome aspect of the budget is that despite over a decade of contrary experience, especially since 2014 under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it again assumes growth will automatically translate into creation of decent jobs. Neither the concerns of the organized workforce, nor of the informal workers have been addressed properly. The only right to employment available to rural workers in the country under MGNREGA has been abolished. Without protection for majority of the Indian workforce, they are expected to adjust silently.

When the Finance Minister announced ₹7.85 lakh crore for defence in Budget 2026-27, many of us probably thought—okay, that sounds like huge money. But let me tell you something interesting: spending more rupees doesn't always mean we're getting stronger. This is exactly what's happening with India's defence spending, and it's worth understanding.

As the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections approach, the main political parties feature two coalitions: the ruling DMK-led alliance with Congress and left parties, and the AIADMK coalition with the BJP and smaller parties. Chief Minister M.K. Stalin continues to lead the DMK, highlighting the importance of these alliances in shaping the election outcome.

When it comes to flagrantly violating the law and getting away with it, some Indian politicians seem to be in a class of their own!

India’s Union Budget for 2026–27 presents itself as a document of calm control. Fiscal deficits decline, debt ratios edge downwards, capital expenditure continues to expand, and the rhetoric of prudence is carefully maintained. There is no dramatic retrenchment, no populist surge, and no overt fiscal gamble. Yet this surface stability conceals a deeper vulnerability. The Budget is not anchored in new fiscal capacity or structural reform; it is anchored in an assumption—quiet, unspoken, and yet decisive—that nominal GDP growth will remain strong enough to carry the entire fiscal framework on its back.

Union Finance minster Nirmala Sitharaman, presented a budget in Parliament on February 1 which is more a multi-year development blueprint for the country than a statement of government’s incomes and expenditures and how the finances are to be managed.

By the time Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman rose in Parliament to present her ninth Union Budget, there was little suspense about the broad direction. This was not meant to be a vote-catching spectacle, despite five assembly elections looming. Nor was it an exercise in fiscal bravado.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has come as a big disappointment for Kerala. The Finance Minister has not conceded even a single demand of the State’s 29-strong wish list.