ECONOMY


Moneylife Digital Team 16 February 2026
Currency in circulation (CiC) in India has climbed to an all-time high of about ₹40 lakh crore as of the fortnight ended 31 January 2026, even as digital payments through unified payment interface (UPI) continue to scale record levels. What makes the development noteworthy is that the increase...

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The cloud hanging over the Indian stock market has lifted, for now. India’s trade deals with the US and the European Union (EU) have reduced one of the biggest risks embedded in Indian equities over the past year. Amid tariff and geopolitical uncertainty, foreign investors pulled out heavily in...

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Budget 2026 sends out a strong signal that India finally recognises how we are losing the global tourism race, despite extraordinary cultural diversity, wealth of historical monuments and scenic beauty. Not only are we not attracting foreign tourists, Indians themselves are flocking to...

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Avani Kapur, Sharad Pandey (IndiaSpend) 04 February 2026
India’s social sector budget as a share of the gross domestic product is now second lowest in over a decade, and lower even than 2014-15, when the Narendra Modi government presented its first-ever budget.   While Budget 2026-27—presented on February 1—shows small increases for welfare...

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Moneylife Digital Team 03 February 2026
US president Donald Trump on Monday announced what he described as a major trade deal with India, claiming Washington will reduce tariffs on Indian goods to 18% from much higher levels that had strained bilateral trade over the past year. The announcement followed a phone conversation between...

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Moneylife Digital Team 03 February 2026
The Sixteenth Finance Commission (16th FC) has retained the vertical devolution of central taxes to states at 41% of the divisible pool for the period FY26-27 to FY30-31, in line with the Fifteenth Finance Commission’s award, but changes in horizontal devolution criteria are expected to alter...

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KBS Sidhu 02 February 2026
The Budget’s Hidden Constraint Union Budget 2026–27 presents itself as a step along the path of fiscal consolidation—lower deficits, a clearer medium-term anchor, and continued emphasis on capital expenditure. Yet beneath the headline numbers lies a structural constraint that deserves more...

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Moneylife Digital Team 01 February 2026
Finance minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman in the Union Budget 2026-27 reaffirmed the government's commitment to infrastructure-led growth through sustained high public capital expenditure (capex). The Budget proposes a capex allocation of ₹12.2 lakh crore for FY26-27, representing a continued...

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Moneylife Digital Team 01 February 2026
Union finance minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday presented the Union Budget 2026–27 with a sharp focus on accelerating economic growth, expanding domestic manufacturing, building human capital and maintaining fiscal discipline, even as global trade uncertainties and geopolitical...

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Moneylife Digital Team 01 February 2026
Finance minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2026-27, outlining a comprehensive strategy to strengthen India's manufacturing capabilities and technological self-reliance. The Budget allocates substantial funds across strategic sectors, with a particular emphasis on...

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Moneylife Digital Team 30 January 2026
India’s retail inflation data for January will mark a significant shift in how price pressures are measured, with the government rolling out a new consumer price index (CPI) series that captures modern consumption patterns such as air travel, online shopping and over-the-top (OTT)...

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Moneylife Digital Team 29 January 2026
The Economic Survey 2025–26 paints a picture of an economy that is growing strongly, keeping inflation in check and maintaining macroeconomic stability, despite global turbulence. India’s real GDP growth is projected to remain around 7%, inflation is described as 'tamed and anchored', banks are...

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Moneylife Digital Team 29 January 2026
India’s economic aspirations are being compromised by a systemic failure in urban management, according to the Economic Survey 2025-26 which identifies a critical ‘governance deficit’ as the primary barrier to sustainable city growth.   The document asserts that while urbanisation is an...

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Moneylife Digital Team 29 January 2026
India's elevated borrowing costs are often interpreted through the lens of monetary policy—whether the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has tightened too much or delayed rate cuts. The Economic Survey 2025–26 challenges this narrative by placing the cost of capital within a broader macroeconomic...

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Moneylife Digital Team 29 January 2026
India's multidimensional poverty has plummeted dramatically over the past two decades, dropping from 55.3% in FY05-06 to just 11.28% in FY22-23, according to the latest Economic Survey 2024-25. This rapid decline, coupled with a sharp surge in female labour force participation and a shift...

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Moneylife Digital Team 29 January 2026
India’s industrial ambitions are being undercut by 'upstream protectionism' that acts as a hidden tax on domestic manufacturing, the Economic Survey 2025-26 warned on Thursday. In a blunt critique of current trade dynamics, the Survey argues that while the concept of Swadeshi remains a...

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Moneylife Digital Team 29 January 2026
India’s Economic Survey has cautioned against over-reliance on services exports as a growth engine, arguing that while sectors such as IT and business services have expanded rapidly, they cannot substitute for manufacturing in delivering durable currency stability, broad-based employment or...

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Moneylife Digital Team 29 January 2026
India’s economy is projected to grow at 7.4% in FY25-26, driven by robust domestic consumption and sustained investment activity, reaffirming the country’s position as the world’s fastest-growing major economy for the fourth consecutive year, according to the Economic Survey 2025–26 tabled in...

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Moneylife Digital Team 29 January 2026
India’s Economic Survey, released on Thursday, has reiterated that durable economic growth is driven primarily by capital expenditure rather than short-term consumption stimulus, arguing that public investment in infrastructure and productive assets has played a central role in lifting the...

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Moneylife Digital Team 29 January 2026
India’s latest Economic Survey has flagged deteriorating state government finances as a rising threat to fiscal stability, infrastructure creation and long-term economic growth, warning that populist spending choices at the state level are beginning to crowd out productive investment.   The...

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