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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a Rs 2,000 crore allocation for incentive schemes promoting RuPay debit cards and low-value BHIM-UPI person-to-merchant transactions in the Union Budget 2026-27, matching what the government ultimately spent last year.The allocation represents a significant increase from the Rs 437 crore initially budgeted for UPI incentives last year, which was later raised to over Rs 2,000 crore following inputs from the Payments Council of India.The incentives have become crucial for digital payment companies as UPI and RuPay debit card transactions currently operate under a zero merchant discount rate regime, meaning merchants pay no fees for accepting these payments. The Merchant Discount Rate, typically a percentage of the transaction amount, covers costs related to payment infrastructure, fraud prevention, and settlement services.However, the digital payments promotion outlay did not impress the industry. “With zero MDR for UPI and the government allocating a mere Rs 2,000 crore for processing, 30 crore transactions every day for free will choke the entire ecosystem for funds for scaling and growth. We were expecting the government incentive to be above Rs 10,000 crore," Vishwas Patel, Chairman of industry body Payments Council of India, said in a statement."With increasing deployment and servicing costs as…  ​Read More​YourStory RSS Feed

Union Budget for 2026-27 places infrastructure at the heart of India’s journey towards Viksit Bharat2047, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Sunday.Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday presented the Union Budget 2026-27 in the Lok Sabha."With a clear focus on connectivity, manufacturing depth, and regional balance, the Budget outlines a decisive push to build world-class, future-ready infrastructure," Gadkari said in a social media post on X.He said initiatives announced in the Budget reflect a clear vision: infrastructure not just as physical assets, but as an enabler of resilience, opportunity, and global competitiveness.The minister also said the Budget for 2026-27 outlines a decisive roadmap centred on farmers, youth, and MSMEs, strengthening the foundations of inclusive growth, innovation, and capital investment as India progresses towards.Also ReadUnion Budget: FM proposes tax holiday for global cloud, data centre companies for 20 yearsFinance Minister Nirmala Sitahraman on Sunday proposed to set up an Infrastructure Risk Guarantee Fund to provide calibrated partial credit guarantees to lenders.Sitharaman in her Budget speech said during this past decade, the government has undertaken several initiatives for large-scale enhancement of public infrastructure, including through new financing instruments such as Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InVITs) and Real Estate Investment…  ​Read More​YourStory RSS Feed

Indian equity markets witnessed sharp volatility on Budget Day 2026, with benchmark indices tumbling as investors digested key announcements and policy signals. The Sensex plunged by over 2300 points intraday, while the Nifty 50 slipped below crucial psychological levels, reflecting widespread nervousness across Dalal Street. The sell-off unfolded during a special trading session held on the day of the Union Budget presentation, amplifying market sensitivity to fiscal cues. What Triggered the Sharp Market Fall? The steep decline was largely driven by concerns around higher transaction costs in the derivatives market. The Budget introduced an increase in Securities Transaction Tax (STT) on futures and options, a move that directly impacts high-volume traders, brokerages, and market intermediaries. As derivatives account for a significant portion of daily market turnover, even a marginal cost hike was enough to spook investors and trigger aggressive selling. Heavy Selling in Financial and Brokerage Stocks Stocks linked to market infrastructure and brokerage services bore the brunt of the sell-off. Shares of entities associated with the Bombay Stock Exchange and trading platforms fell sharply, with some counters correcting in double digits. The fear of reduced trading volumes and lower profitability led investors to exit these stocks swiftly, adding to…  ​Read MoreBusiness Archives - Trak.in - Indian Business of Tech, Mobile & Startups

The Centre will help states in setting up five regional medical hubs to promote the country as a hub for…

The government has proposed a tax holiday for data centres and cloud service providers for the next 20 years to boost investments from the Big Tech and data centre companies.  “Recognising the need to boost critical infrastructure and boost investment in data centres, I propose to provide tax holiday till 2047 to any foreign company that provides cloud services to customers globally by using data centres from India. It will, however, need to provide services to Indian customers through an Indian reseller entity,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Sunday.  During the Union Budget 2026 presentation, the Minister also proposed providing a safe harbour of 15% on cost, in case the company providing data centre services in India is a related entity.A tax holiday means exemption from a certain type of tax for a period of time, which may include corporate taxes, income taxes, or specific profit-sharing charges. While the details of the nature of relief will emerge in the coming days, the announcement has come close on the heels of the industry seeking clarity on tax and regulatory uncertainties.It is important to note that Big Tech firms Microsoft, Google, and Amazon have announced investments worth $70 billion in India in the last…  ​Read More​YourStory RSS Feed

Shares of Groww plunged during the intraday trading today after finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced raising the Securities Transaction Tax…

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced significant increases to securities transaction tax (STT) rates in the Union Budget 2026 on Sunday—a move that comes as the brokerage industry grapples with a sharp decline in retail participation.The government will raise STT on futures to 0.05% from 0.02%, while STT on options premiums will increase to 0.15% from 0.1%. The levy on exercise of options will rise to 0.15% from 0.125%.The move comes against the backdrop of slowing retail participation in markets after a period of intense activity. Data from the National Stock Exchange (NSE) show that active client accounts across brokerages declined sharply in 2025, reversing the strong growth seen a year earlier as tighter regulations and weaker market conditions weighed on trading volumes.Brokerage executives had cautioned ahead of the Union Budget that repeated increases in transaction taxes risk dampening further activities. In January, Nithin Kamath, Founder of discount broker Zerodha, had said that while a hike in futures and options STT in 2024 did not immediately hit volumes during a bull run, its impact became visible as markets cooled.Industry leader Groww saw its shares plunge moments after the announcement by the Finance Minister. The stockbroking platform's shares were down over 11%…  ​Read More​YourStory RSS Feed

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday announced a series of targeted measures aimed at increasing farmer income and expanding rural entrepreneurship, with a sharp focus on productivity, value chain development, and export-oriented agriculture.Sitharaman said the Union Budget 2026-27 would prioritise income growth for farmers through productivity enhancement and diversification into high-value crops, fisheries, and animal husbandry—sectors seen as key drivers of rural employment.The Minister proposed strengthening the fisheries value chain in coastal regions, with specific emphasis on building and scaling fish farmer producer organisations (FPOs), which will improve market access, reduce intermediaries, and enable better price realisation for fishers.The government also outlined plans to enhance infrastructure and processing capabilities in coastal areas to support exports and reduce post-harvest losses.Recognising animal husbandry as a major source of rural employment, the government announced support for the sector through a credit-linked subsidy programme. The focus will be on modernising livestock practices, improving productivity, and building integrated value chains that connect farmers to markets more efficiently.In a bid to boost farmer incomes in coastal and agro-climatic regions, the Finance Minister announced targeted support for high-value crops, such as coconut, cashew, and sandalwood. The government also proposed programmes for Indian cashew and coconut production and…  ​Read More​YourStory RSS Feed

The government announced a major expansion of creative technology infrastructure in the Union Budget 2026-27, pledging support for 15,000 secondary schools and 500 colleges to establish animation, visual effects, gaming and comic (AVGC) content creator labs in partnership with the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies Mumbai.Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the AVGC sector is projected to require 2 million professionals by 2030, representing a significant skills gap in the rapidly expanding orange economy.The budget also proposes establishing a new National Institute of Design through a challenge route to address shortages in the design sector, where domestic talent hasn't kept pace with industry growth.The announcements come as the gaming industry undergoes fundamental restructuring following the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill passed in August 2025. That legislation prohibited real money gaming while formally recognising esports as a competitive sport, effectively reshaping an industry that had grown to serve 80-100 million annual users.The gaming ban's immediate impact has been severe. Real money gaming, which had been projected to grow at 12-15% annually, ceased operations. Adjacent sectors, including digital advertising, sponsorships and payment infrastructure, also faced disruption.However, the regulatory shift has opened new growth channels. The esports market, currently valued at approximately…  ​Read More​YourStory RSS Feed

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday proposed that the Indian government will set up rare earth corridors to bridge the country’s dependence on imports from other countries, such as China. The Finance Minister noted that the government intends to support mineral-rich states like Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu to help set up dedicated rare earth corridors to promote mining processing, research, and manufacturing to enhance domestic chemical production and reduce import dependency. The government will also launch a scheme to support states in establishing three chemical parks through a challenge route on a cluster-based plug-and-play model. This means that states must submit bids to demonstrate why they are the best fit through a competitive funding model. A cluster-based approach means small and medium units could share expensive facilities.Also ReadUnion Budget 2026: FM Nirmala Sitharaman presents her ninth Budget in Lok SabhaThe proposal, part of the Union Budget 2026-27's target to encourage economic growth through advanced manufacturing, comes as a huge sigh of relief for sectors, including automotive, defence, aerospace, and electric vehicles (EVs). Many EV original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) had sounded the alarm in 2025 after China imposed export restrictions on permanent heavy rare earth magnets. For context, India…  ​Read More​YourStory RSS Feed