Budget 2026 Live Updates: STT Hike Meant To Curb F&O Mania, Says Govt After Markets Tanks

Budget 2026 LIVE Updates: A Big Budget For Northeast? Indian Chamber of Commerce says”Budget to position NE as a multi-dimensional growth engine. Announcements in the Union Budget 2026-27 will spur overall development of the northeast, positioning it as a “multi-dimensional growth engine.” Budget 2026 LIVE Updates: Bharti Airtel’s View On Budget “Bharti remains highly committed to playing its part in enabling technology-led growth, expanding financial inclusion, and accelerating future-ready education. Bharti’s investments in science, innovation, and research are timely & will strengthen domestic capabilities, advancing import substitution in critical sectors.  Bolstering infrastructure and logistics with a focus on energy-efficiency & impetus to the data centre ecosystem will further reinforce confidence in our burgeoning digital economy. “Bharti remains highly committed to playing its part in enabling technology-led growth, expanding financial inclusion, and accelerating future-ready education through Bharti Airtel Foundation to secure India’s talent dividend.” Budget 2026 LIVE Updates: Bullion Body Flags Gap On Gold Duty, GST After Budget Changes SGB Tax Break The Union Budget 2026–27 left the bullion industry without the import duty cut and GST changes it had sought, even as the government moved to narrow a capital gains exemption linked to sovereign gold bonds, said Prithviraj Kothari, managing director at RiddiSiddhi Bullions Ltd. and president of the India Bullion and Jewellers Association Ltd.The sector had expected a lower import duty on gold, GST rationalisation, export incentives and extended credit support, Kothari told NDTV Profit, adding that the Budget instead announced a capital gains tax exemption on RBI sovereign gold bonds that will apply only to original subscribers, not to those who buy in the secondary market.Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s speech included a proposal that limits the capital gains exemption on sovereign gold bonds to bonds subscribed at original issue and held until redemption on maturity. Budget 2026 LIVE: STT Hike In Budget A Welcome Move To Curb F&O ‘Poison’, Says Shankar Sharma Market veteran Shankar Sharma said he welcomed the Budget mainly because the government raised the securities transaction tax (STT) on derivatives, a move he said could curb futures-and-options activity among retail traders.“I love this Budget for ONE major reason: hiking of STT on derivatives,” Sharma said in a reaction shared after the speech. He said derivatives trading had harmed young participants and said the effect would last for years. I love this Budget for ONE major reason: hiking of STT on derivatives. Derivatives are a poison x cocaine, eating away at the roots of our youth. Its destructive effect will be felt by generations. It’s a pure wealth transfer from the traders to F& O specialist brokers, who have… — Shankar Sharma (@1shankarsharma) February 1, 2026Read the full story here: Budget 2026 Live Updates: Finance Ministry Answers To NDTV Profit Questions On the rationale behind the buyback tax, Revenue Secretary Arvind Shrivastava said that the measure is intended as a relief and not as an additional tax burden. He explained that the earlier structure of the buyback tax had effectively treated the proceeds as dividend income, which created anomalies. This has now been corrected by reclassifying buyback gains as capital gains, thereby placing the taxation directly in the hands of shareholders. According to him, this correction ensures that shareholders receive relief rather than face higher tax liability.He further noted that for promoters, the change results in an additional buyback tax; however, this merely maintains the existing tax status quo. The effective tax rate remains at about 30 per cent for individual promoters and 22% for corporates. In contrast, for other shareholders, the revised framework acts as a clear relief, aligning buyback taxation more fairly with capital gains treatment. Budget 2026 Live Updates: Nifty, Sensex Log Worst Budget Day In Six Years India’s benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex logged their worst Budget Day session in six years as a move to raise STT on derivatives trading and lack of higher spending goals weighed on sentiment.  Budget 2026 Live Updates: Higher STT Aims To Curb Excessive Speculation “The volumes in F&O market is in the realm of heavy speculation when compared to the size of GDP or underlying securities market. This results in huge losses to retail investors. The government’s intention is to discourage speculation. The increase in STT is meant to handle the systemic risk in derivatives market. The rate is still modest compared to the volume,” said Arvind Shrivastava, Revenue Secretary in the Ministry of Finance. Budget 2026 Live Updates: Sitharaman Says Semiconductors Mission Will Advance India Stack “The announcements under Semiconductors Mission will improve the India Stack. There is major push for domestic electronics manufacturing. Rare earth corridors will help India meet its requirements and reduce import dependence,” said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.The government has identified Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu for critical mineral mining. Budget 2026 Live Updates: Bernstein on India Capital Markets & Insurance   STT hike another such measure that deters the pace of growth in derivatives speculation, while also augmenting government revenues. Expect sentiment around the derivatives trading value chain to be soft and some volume impact For Nuvama, the higher STT should hurt profitability of market-makers/high-frequency trading outfits. Insurance sector saw limited attention in the Budget speech. No big-ticket changes in sector dynamics, or in tax rates for savers. There was no discussion on insurance commissions, something that featured in the economic survey. Budget 2026 Live Updates: Anil Agarwal On Rare Earths Incentives “I welcome the Government’s keen attention to critical minerals and rare earths. The Rare Earths Corridors for mining, processing, R&D and manufacturing in Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Andhra and Kerala will boost growth, employment and mineral security. Import duty exemption on capital goods for critical minerals processing is very timely in the current global scenario. The announcement on flexibility in SEZs, which will permit some sales in domestic market is an excellent move,” said Anil Agarwal, Chairman of  Vedanta. Budget 2026 Live Updates: LoP Rahul Gandhi Issues First Statement Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said the Budget 2026 is “blind to India’s real crises”. Youth without jobs. Falling manufacturing. Investors pulling out capital. Household savings plummeting. Farmers in distress. Looming global shocks – all ignored. A Budget that refuses course correction, blind to India’s real crises. — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) February 1, 2026 Budget 2026 Live Updates: Market Veteran ‘Loves’ STT Hike On F&O Market veteran Shankar Sharma said on X:”I love this Budget for ONE major reason: hiking of STT on derivatives. Derivatives are a poison x cocaine, eating away at the roots of our youth. Its destructive effect will be felt by generations. It’s a pure wealth transfer from the traders to F& O specialist brokers, who have been massive winners of this drug gun trade. ( Not their fault). F&O adds zero value to India. It deducts inestimable value. It can’t be stopped but it can be taxed the hell out of. Kudos to the Finance Minister.” Budget 2026 Live Updates: Tax Holiday For Foreign Cloud Service Providers In one of the most striking announcements of the Union Budget 2026-27, the government has proposed a sweeping tax holiday for foreign companies providing cloud services to global customers using data centres located in India. The exemption — valid until 2047 — marks an unprecedented effort to attract large-scale digital infrastructure investment and position India as a long-term player in the global cloud ecosystem.Read full story. Budget 2026 Live Updates: Nilesh Shah Says STT Hike To Impact Sentiment “The hike on STT is going to impact the sentiment for the near term for sure. I think there will be concerns if that will lead to any volumes as well because liquidity is extremely important for the markets,” said Nilesh Shah of Kotak Mahindra AMC.”There are many other positives such as infrastructure, focus on textiles, semi-conductors, rare ear minerals. In the short term, it will impact market sentiment but lots of things in store doe medium to long term. One big positive –  focus on infrastructure, spending on infrastructure has been taken up to 12.2 lakh crore. The talk on more high speed rail corridor, focus on waterways, I think these are some of the big positive out there. To me the biggest positive here is the continued focus on infrastructure,” he added. Budget 2026 Live Updates: Rajnath Singh On Defence Allocation “This budget allocates Rs 7.85 lakh crore for the defence sector… This budget, following the historic success of Operation Sindoor, has reinforced our resolve to further strengthen the country’s defence system…. This year, a provision of Rs 2.19 lakh crore has been made for the overall capital expenditure of our armed forces, and the key focus of this budget is the modernisation of our three armed forces. For this, a provision of Rs 1.85 lakh crore has been made… In short, this budget strengthens the balance between security, development, and self-reliance,” said Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Budget 2026 Live Updates: Indian MSMEs Will Go Global, Says PM Modi “The support that MSMEs have received in this year’s budget will give them new strength to grow from local to global,” said PM Modi in post-Budget comments. Budget 2026 Live Updates: Infra In Top Focus Under FY27 Budget The Budget has focussed on measures like expanding high-speed rail corridors, and bringing reforms related to issuance of municipal bonds, in order to boost infrastructure, PM Modi said. Budget 2026 Live Updates: ‘Make In India’ Roadmap Of This Budget, Says Modi ‘Make in India’ has emerged as a roadmap of the FY27 Budget, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a televised address following the presentation of Union Budget.”This is one such unique budget which has focus on bringing down fiscal deficit, on bringing inflation under control and with this, Budget also has the combination of high CapEx and high growth.” Budget 2026 Live Updates: Benefits For EV-Makers “Continued exemption of Basic Customs Duty on Capital Goods used for manufacturing lithium-ion batteries, along with the extension of concessional duty benefits for lithium-ion cells and their parts used in manufacturing batteries for electric and hybrid vehicles for a further two years till March 2028, will enable creation of a robust EV ecosystem in the country,” said Shailesh Chandra, President, SIAM and MD & CEO, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles. Reforms, Macro Stability Key Takeaways, Says CII Chief The key takeaways from this Budget is the “focus on reforms, macroeconomic stability, and benefits across all sections of society”, CII President Rajiv Memani told news agency PTI. There has been a “clear prioritisation of sectors”, and simplification of taxes has also been in focus, she added. Budget 2026 Live Updates: Water Security In Agriculture “Overall, Budget 2026–27 positions agriculture as a strategic engine of growth by treating irrigation efficiency, technology adoption, and rural infrastructure as core investments rather than discretionary spending. By aligning fiscal prudence with farmer-centric initiatives, the government is creating the foundation for sustainable income growth, water security, and a resilient, future-ready agricultural sector in India,” said Vivek Gupta, Managing Director of Oswal Pumps. Budget 2026 Live Updates: Reaction On Motor Insurance Tax “Exempting motor accident payouts from tax reinforces the government’s intent to make insurance outcomes more humane and consumer-first. Simplified tax filing norms are another important step in making compliance more accessible and will add to ease of doing business,” said Yashish Dahiya, Chairman and Group CEO, PB Fintech. Budget 2026 Live Updates: Nilesh Shah On Capex “This budget has proposed a capital expenditure of Rs 12.10 lakh crore which is more than the net market borrowing of Rs 11.70 lakh crore. I pray that a path is laid where one day capital expenditure will be more than the total borrowing including small savings,” said Nilesh Shah, Managing Director, Kotak Mahindra AMC. Budget 2026 Live Updates: Higher STT On F&O Rocks BSE Budget 2026 Live Updates: What Gets Cheaper & What Gets Costlier? Check Full List Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled Modi 3.0’s third Union Budget 2025-26 on Sunday, Feb. 1, with its key focus areas on boost for India’s infrastructure growth and capex allocation. With today’s budget, the finance minister’s policy announcements have resulted in price reductions for several items.Read full story here. Budget 2026 Live Updates: Kiran Mazumdar Shaw Applauds Biopharma Shakti “By placing biopharma among the seven strategic frontier sectors and launching Biopharma Shakti with an outlay of Rs 10,000 crore over five years, the Union Budget makes a decisive investment in India’s health and innovation future. As India’s disease burden shifts toward cancer, diabetes and autoimmune disorders, biologics and biosimilars will be central to improving longevity and quality of life. This initiative—spanning manufacturing scale-up, global-grade regulation, new NIPER institutions and a nationwide clinical trials network—can firmly position India as a global biopharma manufacturing hub,” said Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Chairperson, Biocon Group. Budget 2026 Live Updates: Here’s What Changes For Salaried Taxpayer The Union Budget 2026 brings a wave of significant reforms for salaried taxpayers, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman emphasising simpler compliance, reduced litigation, and meaningful relief for individuals. A major highlight is the rollout of the Income Tax Act 2025, which will replace the 1961 law and come into force on April 1, 2026.Sitharaman noted that tax forms have been redesigned to ensure “ordinary citizens can comply without difficulty,” marking a major shift toward user-friendly processes.Read full story. Budget 2026 Live Updates: Key Highlights Unveiled on the twin occasions of Magh Purnima and Guru Ravidas Jayanti, the Union Budget 2026 was positioned by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman as a continuation of 12 years of economic stability and disciplined fiscal stewardship. The government framed the document around three guiding ‘Kartavya’ pillars—productivity‑led growth, national capacity creation and universal opportunity access—signalling a push toward a more competitive, future‑ready economy.With a historic capital expenditure outlay of Rs 12.2 lakh crore, a renewed manufacturing push across strategic sectors, stronger support systems for MSMEs and rural enterprises, large-scale tourism and heritage initiatives, and a sweeping regulatory refresh, the Budget attempts to fire the economy on multiple engines.Read Budget 2026 Key Highlights. Budget 2026 Live Updates: Defence Stocks Lead Rout On D-Street Defence stocks tank.Capital outlay for defence at Rs 2.2 lakh crore vs Rs 1.8 lakh crore for FY26, representing a jump of 22%. Budget 2026 Live Updates: Markets Hit Multi-Month Lows India’s stock markets plunged to multi-month lows on Sunday after the Budget failed to deliver on expectations.Key reasons for the crash: 1.Increase in STT for F&O  2.No major announcement on defense  3.PSU Banks tumble-expectation was to increase FII limit/value unlocking  4.Capex for FY27 lower than analyst estimates  5.Volatility in metals, global sentiment at play  6.No major surprise in Jan GST numbers  7.Rupee still weak   8.Overhang of US-India Trade completion remains Read full story. Budget 2026 Live Updates: Sitharaman Introduces Finance Bill Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has introduced the Finance Bill 2026 in the Lok Sabha.Speaker Om Birla has adjourned the House. The next sitting will be on Monday. Budget 2026 Live Updates: Sitharaman Ends Speech Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has concluded her Budget 2026 speech. The address lasted 1.25 hours. Budget 2026 Live Updates: Tariff Changes To increase limit for duty-free imports of specified inputs for processing seafood for export to 3% from 1% of FOB value To allow duty free imports of specified inputs available for exports of leather To extend basic customs duty exemption for capital goods used to manufacture BESS To exempt customs duty on sodium antimonate for use in manufacture of solar glass To exempt customs duty on imports of goods for nuclear power projects till 2035 Proposed to exempt customs duty on raw materials for manufacture of parts for aviation To exempt basic customs duty on specified parts for microwave ovens. Budget 2026 Live Updates: Buyback Taxation Changes Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has proposed that buyback proceeds for all categories of shareholders will now be taxed as capital gains, moving away from earlier mechanisms that treated different shareholders differently.Announcing a major change in the taxation of share buybacks in her Budget speech, she explained that under the new structure, corporate promoters will face an effective tax rate of 22%, while non‑corporate promoters will be taxed at 30% on buyback transactions.Read more. Budget 2026 Live Updates: Sitharaman Raises STT On F&O Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed to hike Securities Transaction Tax (STT) on derivatives trades. Aimed at curbing speculative trading in the high-volume futures and options (F&O) segment, STT on futures will be raised from 0.02% to 0.05%. The impact on options is even more pronounced, with tax on option premiums set to increase from 0.1% to 0.15% while the STT on the exercise of options will rise from 0.125% to 0.15%.Investors were quick to react to the news, sending shares of BSE on a downward spiral. Read full story. Budget 2026 Live Updates: Big Announcements In IT Sector All IT services to be clubbed under a single category with a common safe harbour margin of 15.5% Threshold for availing safe harbour for IT services to be enhanced to `2000 cr from `300 cr Safe harbour for IT services to be approved by an automatic rule-driven model To provide a tax holiday till 2047 to any foreign company that provides cloud services by setting up data centres in India To provide a safe harbour of 15% on cost in case co providing data services from India is a related entity Budget 2026 Live Updates: First Reaction From Textile Industry ICC National Textile Chair Sanjay K Jain says National Fibre Mission to achieve self-reliance in natural fibres like silk, man-made, and special-use fibres. Launch of the Mahatma Gandhi Gram Swaraj Initiative to promote khadi, handloom, and handicrafts. Samarth 2.0 to strengthen the textile skill ecosystem and promote modernisation. Expansion of the textile industry and employment generation scheme to modernise traditional textile clusters. National Handloom and Handicrafts Programme for the integration and scaling up of existing schemes. Textile Eco Initiative for world-class and sustainable textiles and garments. Establishment of Mega Textile Parks in mission mode. Budget 2026 Live Updates: Dividend Income From Cooperatives The Budget proposes to allow inter-cooperative society dividend income as deduction under New Tax Regime.  » Read More