Stock Market View | Amar Ambani, Executive Director, YES Securities on Budget expectations

Budgets prior to general elections are usually a lukewarm affair.

But we can expect the government to continue with its agenda of boosting capex as a percentage of total expenditure. We also foresee non-government enterprises incrementally cajoled through incentives to help lift the private capex cycle.

Talking of fiscal prudence, the government is likely to be aggressive on its fiscal deficit target, especially in the wake of buoyant tax collections. We can expect a commitment to achieve a 4.6% fiscal deficit in FY26. Given the inclusion of Indian bonds in global indices, this seems imperative.

Income support to farmers in the last instance was introduced just prior to the general election. This time around, given the flurry of subsidies in various forms since Covid, including distributing food grains, and coupled with the strong mandate in recent state elections, we don't foresee the government announcing any material sops on the socio-developmental front.