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 ■ ■ HYDERABAD l monday l february 02, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 14 l late city EDITION Infrastructure environment Agriculture MSMEs Healthcare Manufacturing education 7 high-speed rail corridors Backing clean energy High-value crops `10K cr MSME growth fund Medical tourism `40K-cr for semiconductors Future readiness Mumbai-Pune, HydB’luru, Pune-Hyd, Chennai-B’luru, Hyd-Chennai, Delhi-Varanasi, 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 via 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 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 i pa k M o n d a l @ New Delhi Budget will empower the poor, farmers, youth, and women. It will boost ‘Make in India’ Narendra Modi, PM A Budget that’s blind to India’s real crises. Household savings down. Farmers in distress. global shocks —all ignored Rahul Gandhi, Cong Budget is progressive. Centre has taken steps to accelerate pace of the development. It will turn Viksit Bharat vision into reality 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 UNION Budget 2026-27, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on Sunday, turned out to be a story of unrealised expectations rather than bold reforms. There were no big-bang 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 (STT), the Budget proposed higher levies on futures and options. The move did not go down well with the markets, which fell over 2%. The FM clarified that the increase in STT was aimed at curbing highrisk speculative trade and to protect gullible retail investors who were losing money . As expected, 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 tax collected at source (TCS) on overseas spending. Sitharaman’s `53 lakh crore Budg- Record capex allocation at `12.2 lakh cr in FY27 With a sustained focus on public expenditure, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman raised the capex target to `12.2 lakh crore for FY27 from the revised estimate of `10.95 lakh crore in FY26. Public capex has increased manifold from `2 lakh crore in FY15 to the record levels now et adopted a cautious rather than ambitious approach. It adhered to the fiscal glide path by pegging the fiscal deficit at 4.3%, just 10 basis points lower than the current year’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 increased 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. This came as part of the strategy to help exporters hit by US trade policies and cut dependence on China for raw materials. 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 five years to non-residents providing capital goods or equipment to any toll manufacturer in a bonded zone. A r s h a d Kh a n @ New Delhi INSIDE F&O STT hike a conscious decision: Nirmala I P5 Relief as govt U-turn for buyback tax I P8 Mamata Banerjee, West Bengal CM Fresh focus on AI, jobs; tax relief for IT services I P9 Mental health, affordable cancer care top focus I P10 Over `95K cr allocation for G RAM G scheme I P10 high-speed railway corridors from hyd In the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, three high-speed rail corridors from Hyderabad were announced. They are: n  Hyderabad-Bengaluru n  Hyderabad-Chennai n  Hyderabad-Pune Funding and other details are expected to be announced later | P4 Gross injustice done to TG: Bhatti e n s @ Hyderabad Illustration: Sourav Roy How it fared 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 `12 lakh No change in individual tax slabs following last year’s increase in the minimum tax threshold to `12 lakh Surprises Controversial buyback tax rule rolled back. Under that rule, buyback proceeds were treated as deemed dividend income without allowing deduction of acquisition cost Govt accepts 16th Finance Commission’s recommendation to retain the vertical devolution share to states at 41% 41% Seven manufacturing sectors including bio-pharma and semiconductors get a push to ensure long-term stability and security Tax holiday until 2047 for foreign companies that provide services to customers outside India using data centres in India Shifting focus to longignored sectors like mining, textiles, engineering goods, chemicals, and renewables 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 — Nirmala Sitharaman hike in securities transaction tax sends markets into tailspin No handouts for poll-bound states I P7 Budget is directionless, visionless, actionless and anti-people. It is also anti-women, antifarmer, anti-education. 3 Show time Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at the Parliament premises before the presentation of the Union Budget | Shekhar yadav India’s equity market crashed by a whopping 2.88% intraday on Sunday as the government’s proposal to raise the securities transaction tax (STT) on derivatives trading triggered widespread sell-off. The Sensex plummeted 2,370 points, diving below the 80,000 to hit an intraday low 79,899. Similarly the NSE Nifty tanked , 749 points, or 2.95%, to 24,572. They pared some losses and at close, the Sensex was down 1,547 points (1.88%) at 80,723 while Nifty50 settled at 24,825.45, down 495 points (1.95%). This marks the sharpest Budget day drop in years, barring the 2.5% Covid-induced crash in 2020. In the Nifty50 pack, more than a dozen stocks fell over 4% each with Adani Ports, BEL, Hindalco, SBI, ONGC, Jio Finance and Coal Sensex dives 82,500 82,000 Previous Close 81,500 82,269.78 Today’s Closing 81,000 80,500 80,722.94 79,899.42 India taking the biggest hits. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed to raise STT on futures to 0.05% from 0.02%. STT on options premium and exercise of options will also be raised to 0.15% from the present rate of 0.1% and 0.125%, respectively . She later explained that the STT hike in F&O was to deter small investors who ended up losing money in speculative derivative trades. However, market experts warned that the increase in STT could dampen high-frequency trading and foreign inflows as it increases upfront trading costs. T20 WC takes another political twist, Pak govt disallows team to play India e x p r e s s n e w s s e r v i c e @ Chennai THE Pakistan government has said that its cricket 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 Lanka to take part their place in Group A but will skip the India clash. “The Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan grants approval to the Pakistan Cricket Team to participate in the ICC World T20,” their official handle posted. “However, the Pakistan Cricket Team shall not take the field in the match against India.” There have been partial boycotts in World Cups before (West Indies and Australia in 1996 and New Zealand and England in 2003), so Pakistan may argue that they are doing what other teams have done before. But the ICC may be opening informal two-way communications to ensure they can convince them to honour an agreement. With both countries deciding on a hybrid model to face each other in ICC and ACC events after a dramat- ic fall in diplomatic relations, there was no threat to this match. But the issue snowballed after the BCCI directed Kolkata Knight Riders to drop Mustafizur Rahman. As a consequence, Bangladesh wanted their World Cup matches to be moved out of India. When that was denied, Pakistan were the only ones to vote in favour of Bangladesh during the ICC board meeting. Responding to the decision, the ICC said it “hopes that the PCB will consider the significant and long-term implications for cricket in its own country as this is likely to impact the global cricket ecosystem”. Gross injustice has been done to the state in the Union Budget, alleged Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka. Speaking to reporters here on Sunday Bhatti said that peo, ple hoped that there would be something for Telangana in the Union Budget. He recalled that Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, along with ministers, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union ministers several times in the past and submitted representations. “We expected projects like the Musi River rejuvenation project, Regional Ring Road (RRR) and Metro Rail Phase-II to be included in the Union Budget. But we drew a blank,” he said. “The Centre said it is focusing on bio-pharma. At least in that, Telangana should have been considered. But there is nothing for Telangana in biophar ma either,” Bhatti said. Noting that Hyderabad is already a pharmaceutical hub with dedicated chemical parks, the deputy chief minister pointed out that the city was not included even in the announcement of chemical parks. Referring to the Union Budget’s focus on affordable sports goods, Bhatti said Telangana has been prominently highlighted in the state’s Vision Document and has already established a Sports University. However, he noted that the state found no mention in the Budget even in this sector. “Hyderabad is the centre for the “orange economy but that ,” too has been shifted to Mumbai. What mistake has Telang ana committed?” Bhatti wondered. The Union Budget mentioned a regional medical hub, but the state found no place in it either, he lamented. CONTINUED ON P3 express read SIT quizzes KCR for over 4 hrs in Tapgate Hyderabad: The Special Investigation Team (SIT), which is probing the phonetapping case, examined former chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao for close to four and a half hours at his Nandinagar residence here on Sunday | P2