DDIndia India News: National & Local Updates

India

February 1, 2026 1:14 PM

No change in income tax slabs in Union Budget 2026-27

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday kept income tax rates and slabs unchanged following last year’s major tax reforms. While the basic tax structure remains the same, the Finance Minister, presenting the Budget 2026-27, announced several...

February 1, 2026 12:59 PM

Union Budget: Fiscal deficit target pegged at 4.3% for 2026-27

In her Union Budget speech on Sunday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman pegged fiscal deficit at 4.3 per cent of the GDP for the year 2026-27, as against 4.4 per cent being targeted in 2025-26. The difference between total revenue and total expend...

February 1, 2026 1:17 PM

Union Budget: FM Sitharaman proposes seven high-speed rail corridors, freight links, new waterways push

Asserting that the Union Budget 2026-27 is driven by "Yuvashakti" and based on "three kartavyas," Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday proposed seven high-speed rail corridors, new dedicated freight corridors, and the operationalisatio...

February 1, 2026 12:49 PM

Budget 2026: Odisha, Kerala, Andhra, Tamil Nadu to have dedicated rare earth corridors

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday proposed support for mineral-rich states including Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu to establish dedicated rare earth corridors. Announcing the proposal while presenting the Union Budget for...

February 1, 2026 12:45 PM

Union Budget: FM Sitharaman proposes 5 medical hubs, 3 new All India Institutes of Ayurveda

In a significant boost to the healthcare sector, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday proposed the creation of five regional medical hubs to boost medical value tourism in the country. "To promote India as a medical tourism hub, I pro...

February 1, 2026 12:40 PM

Budget 2026: Sitharaman outlines six key interventions to sustain growth

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday said the government has proposed targeted interventions across six key areas to accelerate and sustain India’s economic growth. Presenting the Union Budget in Parliament, the Finance Minister sai...

February 1, 2026 12:36 PM

Budget 2026: Sitharaman allocates Rs 10000 crore to make India biopharma hub

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday proposed a major push to India’s biopharmaceutical sector through a new Bio Pharma Shakti programme, with an allocation of ₹10,000 crore over the next five years. Presenting the Union Budget in Parli...

February 1, 2026 12:33 PM

Union Budget 2026-27 hikes Govt capex to Rs 12.2 lakh crore in big push to infra

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday announced a capital expenditure of Rs 12.2 lakh crore in the Budget for 2026-27, to boost big-ticket infrastructure projects for growth and jobs in the economy. Presenting the Budget, the Finance Ministe...

February 1, 2026 12:28 PM

Union Budget: FM Sitharaman lists 3 ‘Kartavyas’ to accelerate economy, empower poor

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday shared three 'Kartavyas' (duties) to not only accelerate the economy but also empower the poor, underprivileged, and the disadvantaged. Sitharaman said that to deliver on the government's 'sankalp' (reso...

February 1, 2026 10:53 AM

UPI transaction volume jumps 28% in January: NPCI data

Transactions on the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) recorded a 28 per cent year-on-year rise in volume to 21.70 billion in January, while the transaction value grew 21 per cent annually to Rs 28.33 lakh crore, data released by the National Payments ...

India

Top Stories of the Day