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Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, chaired the fourth pre-Budget meeting with representatives of the capital markets, where ideas were pitched to help increase capital market inclusion and deepen the financial sector in the upcoming Budget.

Representatives of capital markets, including BSE, Multi Commodity Exchange, Association of Mutual Funds in India, Association of Registered Investment Advisers, and Commodity Participants Association of India, sought lower Securities Transaction Tax (STT) on cash market trade as compared to derivatives, sources said.

Other suggestions floated comprised methods to improve efficiency of capital markets, which have so far facilitated resource mobilisation of ₹14.6 lakh crore in FY25, marking a 33 per cent increase over the previous year.

The use of a broad spectrum of financial instruments – ranging from equity and debt-to-real estate investment trusts (REITs), and infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs) – highlighted the evolving and adaptive financing strategies of corporates and infrastructure entities.

However, equity and debt segments alone accounted for ₹14.2 lakh crore, reaffirming their central role in supporting capital formation and propelling economic development.

 

Also Read: Sitharaman invites foreign banks to expand flow of credit

This is the fourth in a series of pre-Budget consultations that the Ministry of Finance conducts annually before finalising the Budget 2026-27.

Last week, the finance minister had met economists, leading representatives from the agriculture sector and MSME sector players as part of the first, second, and third rounds of discussions, respectively, before she presents her ninth consecutive Budget, likely on February 1, 2026.

The meeting was also attended by Union Minister of State for Finance, Pankaj Chaudhary, Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs, Anuradha Thakur, Chief Economic Adviser, V Anantha Nageswaran, and other senior officials from the Ministry of Finance.

While the government estimates the Indian economy to grow in the range of 6.3-6.8 per cent during the current fiscal year, the Budget for the next financial year will have to address issues of boosting demand, job creation and putting the economy on a sustained 8 per cent-plus growth path.