Budget 2026-27 - Did I really get nothing from the budget?

When a government stays in power for too long, one characteristic becomes very prominent and it is consistency in vision. For this government, that common vision seems to be Viksit Bharat, which simply translates to Developed India.

You can’t just keep building new highways while the current roads are full of potholes. Real progress means fixing today’s roads and planning tomorrow’s routes. That’s exactly what the government is trying to do by increasing capital expenditure from ₹2 lakh crore in 2014–15 to ₹12.2 lakh crore today, while simultaneously pushing reforms across multiple fronts.

In line with this approach, the Union Budget 2026-27 once again signals that whether private capital expenditure rises or not, government capex will continue to increase. Reforms will also continue. New focus areas whether sector-wise or region-wise will be added, keeping both growth (~7% of GDP) and fiscal prudence (4.4% of GDP) in mind.

I know it feels like “I got nothing from this budget,” mainly because there were no major changes in direct or indirect taxes for the common man. But let’s pause and ask, “did we really get nothing at all?”. In my opinion, this budget is primarily future-focused, in terms of skill development for coming generations, opening newer avenues for employment generation and technology enablement for legacy industries.

This year, while the government capex had the traditional spending like roads, highways, waterways, railways, defence, etc but it also had a significant portion towards social infrastructure, especially within the services sector. One of the most important statements in the budget speech was the announcement of a High-Powered “Education to Employment and Enterprise” Standing Committee to focus on the Services Sector as a core driver of Viksit Bharat. The Finance Minister also stated that India aims to capture 10% of the world’s services output in the coming years. This marks a clear structural shift, with India aiming to be indispensable to the world.

It almost feels as if the government wants to open up newer engines of growth like tourism, medical tourism, education, AYUSH, AI, and data centres.

I would like to draw your attention to the sheer number of initiatives announced to strengthen the services ecosystem.

• Upgrading and establishing new institutions for Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) across ten disciplines.
• Developing NSQF-aligned programmes to train 1.5 lakh multi-skilled caregivers.
• Supporting states to establish five hubs for Medical Value Tourism in partnership with the private sector.
• Setting up three new All India Institutes of Ayurveda, upgrading AYUSH pharmacies and drug testing labs, and strengthening the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre.
• Establishing AVGC Content Creator Labs in 15,000 secondary schools and 500 colleges.
• Setting up a new National Institute of Design through the Challenge route in eastern India.
• Developing five University Townships near major industrial and logistics corridors.
• Building girls’ hostels in higher education STEM institutions in every district.
• Setting up or upgrading four Telescope Infrastructure facilities.
• Creating a National Institute of Hospitality to bridge academia, industry and government.
• Launching a pilot scheme to upskill 10,000 tourist guides across 20 iconic destinations.
• Creating a National Destination Digital Knowledge Grid to digitally document places of significance.
• Developing ecologically sustainable mountain trails, turtle trails and bird-watching trails.
• Hosting India’s first Global Big Cat Summit.
• Developing 15 archaeological sites into vibrant experiential cultural destinations.
• Expanding Buddhist circuits in the North-East region.

So, if the budget was actually this comprehensive, why didn’t it feel good?

Because while the government looks at the macro picture, we as individuals and even securities markets collectively focus on a single question: “What’s in it for me?”. At the end of the day, human behaviour is instinctive and driven by immediate personal impact.

For individuals, the benefits of this budget are indirect but real. Their children will gain from initiatives like university townships, content creator labs, new Ayurveda institutes, and education-linked infrastructure. Instead of repeatedly asking the government to reduce our tax burden, maybe this budget is subtly answering a different question - how the taxes we already pay can shape our country, businesses, and future generations.

Now coming to the market reaction, why did markets respond so negatively? Mainly due to two announcements.

First, the increase in STT on futures from 0.02% to 0.05%, and on options premium and option exercise from 0.10% and 0.125% to 0.15% each. The government’s stated intent is to discourage excessive options trading and promote long-term investing. But what often gets overlooked is that trader behaviour isn’t driven by potential losses rather it changes only after real losses occur. In reality, many traders may simply exit positions faster, not because STT rose, but because capital erosion happened quicker.

The second factor impacting banking stocks was the increase in gross borrowing to ₹17.2 lakh crore (almost 18% increase from last year). Someone has to fund the government’s ambitious capex plans. Taxation didn't increase (Thank God!), so it comes from market borrowing. The pool of borrowable money is the same for everyone, whether it is for the government, banks or corporates. When government borrowing rises, available funds for others shrink, putting pressure on interest rates and liquidity.

Overall, this budget feels like the second week of starting a new fitness routine. You feel sore, tired and uncomfortable, without seeing visible results yet. But it is the consistency that eventually reshapes the body. In the same way, this budget isn’t designed to deliver instant gratification, it is designed to shape a stronger India over time.