MONDAY 02 FEBRUARY, 2026 epaper.morningstandard.in facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard EPSTEIN FILES RELEASE SPARKS RESIGNATION New files have prompted the resignation of a top official in Slovakia and revived calls in Britain for an ex-prince to share what he knows about Epstein. A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS PAGE 12 NEW DELHI   J8.00  PAGES 14 INFRASTRUCTURE ENVIRONMENT AGRICULTURE MSMES HEALTHCARE MANUFACTURING EDUCATION 7 high-speed rail corridors Backing clean energy High-value crops `10K cr MSME growth fund Medical tourism `40K cr for semiconductors Future readiness Mumbai-Pune, Hyd-B’luru, PuneHyd, Chennai-B’luru, Hyd-Chennai, Delhi-Varanasi, Varanasi-Siliguri Customs relief for lithium-ion battery inputs, solar and nuclear exemptions, carbon capture funding Emphasis on coconut, cashew, cocoa, sandalwood, sets aside `350cr for this push, aimed at raising farm incomes Big push to small businesses via capital support, faster payments, enhanced credit guarantees Destination mapping to boost medical tourism, district trauma care and allied health professional training Focus on renewable technology, battery supply chains and local value addition in advanced goods University townships near industrial zones, creative tech labs in schools, committees tying education to jobs 20-YR TAX HOLIDAY FOR FOREIGN FIRMS USING INDIAN DATA CENTRES BOOST FOR TECH AND SUNRISE SECTORS BIG ON SMALL , SMALL ON BIG D I PA K M O N D A L @ New Delhi Budget will empower the poor, farmers, youth, and women. It will boost ‘Make in India’ Narendra Modi, PM A Budget that’s blind to India’s real crises. Household savings down. Farmers in distress. Global shocks —all ignored Rahul Gandhi, Cong Budget is progressive. Centre has taken steps to accelerate pace of the development. It will turn Viksit Bharat vision into reality Nitish Kumar, Bihar CM Budget is directionless, visionless, actionless and anti-people. It is also anti-women, antifarmer, anti-education. Mamata Banerjee, West Bengal CM U NION Budget 2026-27, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on Sunday, turned out to be a story of unrealised expectations rather than bold reforms. There were no big-bang announcements or path-breaking policy pushes. Instead, the government appeared keen not to disturb the current ‘Goldilocks phase’ of moderate growth and low inflation. Expectations were not particularly high, given that the Budget followed two major tax overhauls— Direct Tax Code and GST rate rationalisation—yet, there was hope for a fresh reform impulse. In the end, the finance minister held back more than she unveiled. There were numerous small measures in the Budget, but none large enough to excite the markets. Instead, a few unexpected moves unsettled the equity market which was already under pressure from persistent foreign institutional investment outflows. Contrary to expectations of a reduction in securities transaction tax (STT), the Budget proposed higher levies on futures and options. The move did not go down well with the markets, which fell over 2%. The FM clarified that the increase in STT was aimed at curbing high-risk speculative trade and to protect gullible retail investors who were losing money . As expected, there were no changes in individual tax slabs following last year’s increase in the minimum tax threshold to `12 lakh. At the same time, the Budget rolled back the controversial buyback tax rule under which buyback proceeds were treated as deemed dividend income without allowing deduction of acquisition cost. These proceeds will now be taxed as capital gains for all shareholders. Other relief measures included a limited overseas tax amnesty scheme for small taxpayers and a reduction in tax collected at source (TCS) on overseas spending. Sitharaman’s `53 lakh crore Budget adopted a cautious rather than ambitious approach. It adhered to the fiscal glide path by pegging the fiscal deficit at 4.3%, SHOW TIME Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at the Parliament premises before the presentation of the Union Budget | SHEKHAR YADAV Record capex allocation at `12.2 lakh cr in FY27 With a sustained focus on public expenditure, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman raised the capex target to `12.2 lakh crore for FY27 from the revised estimate of `10.95 lakh crore in FY26. Public capex has increased manifold from `2 lakh crore in FY15 to the record levels now just 10 basis points lower than the current year’s 4.4% target. The FM also formally announced a shift in fiscal management focus from fiscal deficit to a debt-to-GDP ratio target of 50±1% by 2030–31. “In line with this, the debt-toGDP ratio is estimated at 55.6% of GDP in BE 2026–27, compared to 56.1% in 2025–26. A declining debt-to-GDP ratio will gradually free up resources for priority sector expenditure by reducing interest outgo,” she said. The minister told the media that the government has consistently delivered on its fiscal commitments without compromising on social sector needs. The modest fiscal targeting comes amid muted revenue growth, with the government missing its FY26 tax collection target of `42.7 lakh crore by nearly `2 lakh crore. Despite revenue constraints, the FM increased capital expenditure from `11.2 lakh crore to `12.2 lakh crore after two years of relatively subdued growth. “We have announced `12.2 lakh crore in public expenditure this time. It is 4.4% of GDP, the highest in at least the last 10 years. Such sustained increases in capital expenditure have not happened before,” she said. The government also accepted the 16th Finance Commission’s recommendation to retain the vertical devolution share to states at 41%. In order to support exporters amid global trade uncertainties, the Budget introduced a series of customs duty changes aimed at lowering input costs for manufacturing and exports, while tightening tax rules in selected areas. This came as part of the strategy to help exporters hit by the US trade policies and cut dependence on China for raw materials. Technology and sunrise sectors received incentives, while the Budget announced a tax holiday until 2047 for foreign companies providing services to customers outside India using data centres located in India. In addition, the government proposed a safe harbour margin of 15% on costs where the data centre service provider in India is a related entity . The Budget also had a provision for exempting income tax for five years to non-residents providing capital goods or equipment to any toll manuf acturer in a bonded zone. Allocation for top hosps up, but not much for clean air V I S M AY B A S U @ New Delhi THE Union Budgets between 2024-25 and 2026-27 show a sustained increase in allocations for major Central government hospitals and medical research institutions in Delhi. According to the Budget, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) remains the single largest recipient of Central funds. Its allocation rose steadily from `4,909.33 crore in 202425 to `5,238.70 crore in 2025-26, before touching `5,500.92 crore in this year’s Budget. A similar trend is visible for Safdarjung Hospital and Vardhman Mahavir Medical College, whose all o c a t i o n increased from `1,916.53 crore in 202425 to `2,170.75 crore in 202627. Lady Hardinge Medical Colle g e and Sucheta Kriplani Hospital also saw a significant rise, from `630.72 crore to `795.90 crore over the same period. Funding for the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Medical Sciences and RML Hospital dipped marginally in 2025-26 to `1,214.74 crore from `1,313.21 crore the previous year, but rebounded strongly to `1,450.79 crore in 2026-27. Kalawati Saran Children’s Hospital received incremental increases, from `150.76 crore in 2024-25 to `182.22 crore in 2026-27. Allocations for the Indian Council of Medical Research recorded the sharpest jump, rising from `2,869.56 crore in 2024-25 to `4,000 crore in 202627, highlighting an emphasis on medical research, disease surveillance, and innovation. In contrast, no dedicated allocation was made for the Yamuna river cleaning. Despite political focus on the river’s pollution, the Budget continues to address environmental concerns through broad national schemes, rather than a specific Yamuna-centric funding head. However, the support for research institutes continues beyond the medical field. The Department of Economic Affairs will support the Institute of Economic Growth with a grant of `8.9 crore in 2026–27. Illustration: Sourav Roy HOW IT FARED Contrary to expectations of a cut in Securities Transaction Tax (STT), the government proposed higher levies on the futures and options (F&O) segment to curb speculative trading, which has led to significant investor losses `12 lakh No change in individual tax slabs following last year’s increase in the minimum tax threshold to `12 lakh Controversial buyback tax rule rolled back. Under that rule, buyback proceeds were treated as deemed dividend income without allowing deduction of acquisition cost Govt accepts 16th Finance Commission’s recommendation to retain the vertical devolution share to states at 41% THE Pakistan government has said that its cricket team will not take the field for the upcoming T20 World Cup game against India in Colombo on February 15. Ending weeks of speculation, their government confirmed that they would travel to Sri Lanka to take part their place in Group A, but will skip the India clash. “The Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan grants approval to the Pakistan Cricket Team to participate in the ICC World T20 2026,” their official handle posted. “However, the Pakistan Cricket Team shall not take the field in the match scheduled on 15th February 2026 against India.” There have been partial boycotts in World Cups before (West Indies and Australia in 1996 and New Zealand and England in 2003) so Pakistan may argue that they are doing what other teams have done before. But the Inter national Cricket Council (ICC) may be opening informal two-way communications to ensure they can convince them to honour an agreement. With both countries deciding on a hybrid model to face each other in ICC and ACC events after a dramatic fall in diplomatic relations, there was no threat to this match. But the issue snowballed after the BCCI directed Kolkata Knight Riders to drop Mustafizur Rahman from the roster this year. The BCCI said that it was due to recent “developments”. As a consequence, Bangladesh wanted their World Cup matches to be moved out of India. When that was denied, Pakistan showed their support and threatened to withdraw. They were the only ones to vote in favour of Bangladesh during the ICC board meeting that voted Bangladesh out. An ICC response is awaited. It needs to be seen if Pakistan play India if both teams reach Shifting focus to longignored sectors like mining, textiles, engineering goods, chemicals, and renewables 41% Seven manufacturing sectors including bio-pharma and semiconductors get a push to ensure long-term stability and security 82,500 82,000 Previous Close 81,500 82,269.78 Today’s Closing — Nirmala Sitharaman F&O STT HIKE A CONSCIOUS DECISION, SAYS NIRMALA I P5 NO HANDOUTS FOR POLL-BOUND STATES I P7 81,000 80,500 We have announced `12.2 lakh crore in public expenditure this time. It is 4.4% of GDP, the highest in at least the last 10 years. Such sustained increases in capital expenditure have not happened before INSIDE SENSEX DIVES 80,722.94 79,899.42 Hike in securities transactions tax sends markets into tailspin Equity market crashed as the Centre’s decision to increase the securities transactions tax on derivatives trading spooked investors. Nifty 50 and Sensex fell nearly 3% each intraday amid a widespread sell-off. The Sensex tanked 2,370 points, or 2.88%, crashing below the 80,000-mark to hit an intraday low 79,899. The NSE Nifty tanked 749 points, or 2.95%, to a low of 24,572. T20 World Cup takes political twist, Pak govt disallows team to play India E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V I C E @ Chennai SURPRISES Tax holiday until 2047 for foreign companies that provide services to customers outside India using data centres in India the final. Another sticky subject would be broadcast revenue. India-Pakistan match always considered highest grosser. If the match doesn’t take place what happens to it? Pakistan are scheduled to open their campaign against the Netherlands on February 7, followed by matches against the US on February 10 and Namibia on February 18. All matches will be played in Colombo. RELIEF AS GOVT MAKES U-TURN ON BUYBACK TAX I P8 MAJOR FOCUS ON AI, TECH JOBS AND TAX RELIEF FOR IT SERVICES I P9 GOVT TWEAKS CUSTOMS DUTY TO REDUCE MANUFACTURING COSTS I P8 AFFORDABLE CANCER CARE, MENTAL HEALTH IN GOVT’S HEALTH PUSH I P10 5 SCHEMES FOR TEXTILE SECTOR TO BOOST JOBS IN TIER-2 & 3 CITIES I P9 `95K CR ALLOCATION FOR G RAM G SCHEME, `30K CR FOR MGNREGA I P10 EXPRESS READ Mamata moves SC against SIR in Bengal Mamata Banerjee has moved Supreme Court challenging the SIR in West Bengal a day before her meet with the chief election commissioner. P11 IAF airlifts paralysed woman amid snowfall An IAF helicopter undertook a medical evacuation of an elderly paralysed woman from a Himachal village amid heavy snowfall on Sunday.