IPA Staff
16492 stories by IPA Staff
2026-27 Budget Has Deviated From The Standard Model Pursued So Far
By Anjan Roy 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. At the same time, while the finance minister’s...
Nirmala Sitharaman’s Ninth Quiet Budget Pitches For Stability In An Era Of Global Turmoil
By T N Ashok 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...
2026-27 Budget Once Again Lets Kerala Down
By P. Sreekumaran 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. The only saving grace – if it can be called one –...
Economists Have Mixed Take On Macro Numbers, But Red Flags Lower Focus On Fiscal Consolidation
MUMBAI: Analysts and economists have said the budget 2026 targets are unambitious and unrealistic given the external pressures facing the economy. However, the meagre 10 bps to 4.3 per cent reduction in the fiscal deficit target, coupled with the higher market borrowing and the 10 per cent increase in...
Centre Pegs Fiscal Deficit At 4.3 Per Cent Of GDP For FY27
NEW DELHI: Continuing on the path of fiscal consolidation, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday pegged fiscal deficit at 4.3 per cent of GDP for the next fiscal as against 4.4 per cent for the financial year ending March 2026. “Government has been delivering on our fiscal commitments consistently...
Record Rs 2.93 Lakh Crore Capex Anchors Railways’ Budget FY27
NEW DELHI: Indian Railways is on the cusp of a revolutionary growth phase with the allocation of its highest-ever capital expenditure in the Union Budget 2026-27, with a target of Rs 2.93 lakh crore. This historic allocation reflects the government’s aggressive move towards providing high-speed connectivity services, increasing freight...
Budget 2026: Services Sector Put In The Front Seat Of Growth Strategy
NEW DELHI: With the aim of capturing a 10 per cent share of global services exports by 2047, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman put a renewed emphasis on the services sector, pushing it to the forefront of the growth strategy. In her Budget speech, Sitharaman announced a high-powered standing committee...
Public Capex Takes Centre Stage As Budget 2026 Sharpens Growth Push
NEW DELHI: Taking a cue from the public investment-led growth model of recent years, the Union Budget for 2026-27 (FY27) has sought to push the government’s capital expenditure (capex) further, with a sharp focus on infrastructure asset creation. The Budget pegs effective capex for FY27 at ₹12.21 trillion, accounting...
India-EU Free Trade Deal Redraws Balance Of Economic Power
By K Raveendran The sharp note of disappointment sounded by Scott Bessent over the India–European Union free trade agreement says less about a single deal and more about a changing geometry of power in the global economy. At one level, Washington’s frustration reflects a familiar concern that sanctions and...
Economic Survey Lavishes Praise On Kerala’s Programmes
By P. Sreekumaran THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Economic Survey tabled by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on Thursday has praised Kerala’s Extreme Poverty Eradication Programme (EPEP) and the Kochi Water Metro as models worth replicating. The survey’s praise represents a ringing rebuff to the opposition which has been unleashing...
Economic Survey 2025-26 Sets India’s New Expectations And Priorities
By Dr. Gyan Pathak Though Economic Surveys do not dictate exact budget numbers, it strongly influences the Union Budgets of India. If it is the case, the Economic Survey 2025-26 indicates the four keys priorities that we may see in the Union Budget 2026-27: A growth-supported fiscal stance anchored...
Trump’s Deliberate Harassment Of US Fed Chairman Invites Backlash From Eminent Economists
By Anjan Roy President Donald Trump has nominated Kevin Warsh, as the next chairman of the US Federal Reserve, the country’s centre bank, from May when the term of the present chair, Jerome Powell, ends. In the run-up to that nomination there was the nasty fight against Powell that...
The Great Paradox Of U.S. President Suing His Own Tax Collector Internal Revenue Service
By T N Ashok WASHINGTON: There’s a delicious irony in watching a sitting president sue the Internal Revenue Service for $10 billion while his own Treasury Secretary simultaneously runs the agency. Welcome to the Trump administration’s latest exercise in what might be called “government as performance art”—or perhaps more...
Can Law And Policy Manage The Environmental Costs Of Digital Growth?
By Harsh Gour Digital infrastructure is the spine of modern innovation – from the clouds that fuel e-commerce and artificial intelligence (AI), to the everyday apps. Yet, beneath the gleaming facades of hyperscale server parks lies a fast-unfolding crisis. Data centres have become the new “gold” of investment, attracting...
Growth Forecast Of 6.8-7.2 Per Cent Neither Conservative Nor Overly Optimistic: CEA
NEW DELHI: Growth projection made in the Economic Survey 2025-2026 of 6.8-7.2 per cent range for FY27 is neither conservative nor overly optimistic, Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran said on Friday. At this projected rate, India would still retain the fastest growing major economy in the world. However,...
Govt Preparing To Launch AI Mission 2.0 After $70 Billion Investment In Computing Infrastructure
NEW DELHI: India is preparing to launch “AI Mission 2.0” following a massive $70 billion investment in computing infrastructure in the first phase, said minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday. The new phase will focus on democratising access to artificial intelligence across the country. Vaishnaw...
FTA With EU To Help India Diversify Trade Relations; Provide Greater Market To Exporters: Moody Ratings
NEW DELHI: The trade agreement with the European Union (EU) will help India diversify its trade relationships and provide greater market access to its exporters amid growing uncertainty due to high US tariffs, Moody’s Ratings has said.The free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the EU was announced on...
Budget 2026-27 May Put Stress On Debt-To-GDP Ratio Management Rather Than Fiscal Deficit
NEW DELHI: The upcoming Budget is going to put emphasis on easing the debt-to-GDP ratio, which is around 56 per cent, instead of targetting a specific fiscal deficit number as the country has almost reached the end of the glide path envisaged in the FRBM legislation. A fiscal deficit...
