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Below Quote on Budget  by Mr. Vaiibhavv Chugh – Chief Executive Officer – Mutual Fund, Abakkus Investment Managers Private Limited

The union budget is a perfect example of getting future ready rather than just immediate reliefs. The fiscal math seems to be excellent. The budget is not aggressive however the critical chords were touched upon like focus on manufacturing, skilling, job creation and so on. Though the sentiments are down because of STT raise on F&O, however, in a way it is going to nudge investors towards more long-term investing. The introduction of a tax holiday until 2047 for companies utilizing Indian data center services is a visionary move. It signals India’s intent to be a foundational player in the global AI race, capturing value through infrastructure as a second derivative of the tech boom. Increasing limits for overseas NRIs and aggressively promoting both medical and leisure tourism, the government is tapping into high-employment sectors that double as significant foreign exchange earners. The fiscal prudence is also being proposed to be maintained with a target of debt to GDP at 50% with a deviation of 1%. A reduced debt to GDP makes a country more resilient in times of global uncertainty. The strategic reduction in customs duties, shifting from an average of 12% towards a leaner 5-10% across key sectors, is a proactive hedge against a volatile global tariff situation. Another major structural reform announced in the Budget is the introduction of a formal market-making framework for corporate bonds. The Finance Minister acknowledged that while India’s corporate bond market has grown, secondary market liquidity remains shallow and fragmented.

To me, the push on Tier- 2,3 cities infrastructure along with emphasis on Atma-Nirbhar by the introduction of dedicated rare-earth corridors in mineral-rich states like Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu are quite encouraging. These corridors are designed to build an end-to-end domestic value chain, from mining and processing to research, aiming to reduce import dependency for critical minerals essential to EVs, defense, and green energy. Announcements like National Fiber scheme, Mahatma Gandhi Gram swaraj are crucial for rural upliftment and such frontier bets are underpinned by a massive central capital expenditure hike to ?12.2 lakh crore, ensuring that the government continues to do the heavy lifting in infrastructure

By combining fiscal discipline (4.3% deficit target) with high-conviction bets on AI, nuclear energy, and MSME liquidity, the budget moves away from traditional subsidy-heavy economics towards a capacity-building model. Ultimately, Budget 2026 reflects a transition toward a more mature, transparent economy, marked by the announcement of a completely rewritten Income Tax Act aimed at reducing litigation and simplifying compliance. By balancing these hard fiscal targets with soft social investments in MSME growth funds and AI-based agricultural tools like Bharat-VISTAAR, the budget successfully trades immediate populist optics for long-term industrial and economic depth.

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