Budget focusses on investment as tool for growth; deficit target outlines government’s priority, says Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman connected Monday (February 2, 2026) said the Union Budget for FY27 has focussed connected concern arsenic a precedence instrumentality for boosting consumption, and the trajectory of fiscal shortage shows that the government's precedence is growth.

Interacting with the media aft the 2026-27 Budget presentation, Ms. Sitharaman besides the volatility successful golden prices is owed to planetary uncertainty, and galore cardinal banks are investing successful gold.

"It besides shows that investors bash not person assurance successful immoderate 1 peculiar currency. and hence the unreserved to bargain gold," Ms. Sitharaman said.

Talking astir hike successful securities transaction taxation (STT) connected F&O trades, the curate said it is simply a "sort of deterrence truthful that radical bash not spell headlong successful speculative" derivative trading.

The Budget has projected an summation successful STT connected futures contracts to 0.05% from 0.02%. STT connected options premium and workout of options are projected to beryllium raised to 0.15% from the contiguous complaint of 0.1% and 0.125%, respectively.

According to studies by SEBI, implicit 90% of retail investors' trades successful the F&O conception pb to losses, and the superior markets regulator has besides taken steps to trim volumes successful the past.

"We person lone touched the F&O commercialized which is highly speculative. I person received calls from galore parents saying their children are severely losing money, and besides seeking authorities intervention. The STT hike successful F&O volition enactment arsenic a deterrence truthful that radical bash not spell headlong with that," Ms. Sitharaman said.

Continuing connected the way of fiscal consolidation, the Budget has pegged fiscal shortage astatine 4.3% of GDP for the adjacent fiscal year, arsenic against 4.4% for the fiscal twelvemonth ending March 2026.

Ms. Sitharaman said the fiscal shortage people has to beryllium connected each year's economical concern and successful the past the authorities has pegged fiscal shortage a mates of ground points little than the erstwhile fiscal year.

This fiscal with the "government's precedence being growth, I americium comfy with 4.3% shortage target. We volition spot however it goes," Ms. Sitharaman said.

She besides said the gait of disinvestment and plus monetisation volition continue. The authorities volition promote much disinvestment of nationalist assemblage companies. IDBI Bank strategical disinvestment connected track, gait of PSU involvement merchantability to acceptable absorption of non-tax revenues, Ms. Sitharaman said.

In October 2022, the government, unneurotic with LIC, had invited EoI (Expression of Interest) from investors for privatising IDBI Bank by selling a full of 60.72% stake. This includes a 30.48% involvement of Government of India and 30.24% of LIC.

DIPAM, successful January 2023, received aggregate EoIs for IDBI Bank. The prospective buyers of IDBI Bank person already been granted information clearance by the Ministry of Home Affairs and cleared acceptable and due aft valuation by the Reserve Bank of India.

Ms. Sitharaman besides expressed assurance that the caller higher backstage consumption, which was driven by GST complaint chopped and hike successful Income Tax exemption bounds successful FY26 Budget, volition prolong successful coming months.