New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday kicked off the pre-Budget consultations by meeting some of India’s leading economists who urged the government to prioritize manufacturing, job creation and productivity growth.
“Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. @nsitharaman is chairing the first pre-budget consultation with leading economists in New Delhi today in connection with the upcoming Union Budget 2026-27,” the finance ministry said in a post on X.
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Held in the presence of senior officials, including Economic Affairs Secretary Anuradha Thakur and Chief Economic Adviser V. Ananth Nageswaran, the meeting brought together macroeconomic and agricultural experts from across academia and industry.
Those present included Neelkanth Mishra, Part Time Member, EAC-PM (Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister) and Chief Economist, Axis Bank; Sajid Chinoy, Part Time Member, EAC-PM and Chief Economist India, JP Morgan; Ridham Desai, Managing Director, Morgan Stanley; Dharmakirti Joshi, Chief Economist, CRISIL; and Sonal Varma, Chief Economist, Nomura.
The beginning of the series
The meeting marks the start of a series of pre-budget consultations the finance minister will hold with stakeholders to shape the government’s fiscal strategy for FY27. The budget is usually presented on 1 February each year.
The Finance Minister’s schedule of preliminary budgets usually covers a wide range of stakeholders, farmers’ and agricultural economists’ associations, trade unions, the education and health sectors, employment and qualifications authorities, SMEs, trade and service groups, industry representatives, the financial sector and capital markets, infrastructure, energy and urban sector players.
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The Union Budget 2025-2026, presented in February, outlined a plan for inclusive and resilient growth in a world wracked by rising trade tariffs, supply chain realignments and geopolitical tensions.
It sought to balance welfare and reform, prioritizing agriculture, small and medium-sized enterprises, and rural prosperity, while reviving private enterprise through higher capital spending, innovation incentives, and selective tax breaks aimed at boosting consumption.
Demand expected
In its latest monthly economic survey released late last month, the finance ministry said recent cuts in goods and services tax (GST) rates should boost domestic demand by easing the tax burden on consumers and businesses, boosting consumption, investment and job creation across sectors.
The recent GST overhaul, which came into effect on September 22, reduced the number of slabs from four to two, a 5% rate on basic goods and an 18% standard rate on most others, while maintaining a 40% rate on luxury and “sinful” goods such as cigarettes.
The ministry noted that robust performances in industry and services, along with a stable labor market, are likely to sustain this momentum in the coming months. However, he warned that lingering global uncertainties could dampen exports and external demand, posing risks to a slowdown in overall growth.
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Other participants included Indira Rajaraman; C. Veeramani, Director, Center for Development Studies; Nikhil Gupta, Economist, CLSA; Lekha Chakraborty, Professor, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy; Ashwani Mahajan, National Convener, Swadeshi Jagran Manch; Laveesh Bhandari, president and chief executive of the Center for Social and Economic Progress; Tanvee Gupta Jain, Chief India Economist, UBS; Namrata Mittal, Economist, SBI Mutual Fund; Rohan Chinchwadkar, IIT Mumbai; Pranjul Bhandari, Chief Economist India, HSBC; Abhiroop Mukhopadhyay, ISI Delhi; Pradeep Apte, Gokhale Institute and ICSSR Council Member; Atul Joshi, Economist, Oyster Capital Management and Advisory LLP; and Vidhu Shekhar, Financial Economist, SP Jain Institute of Management & Research (SPJIMR), Mumbai.
