Watch: PM Modi Dedicates Kochi Metro, Launches Panicker National Reading Day

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Latest News: Union Budget 2026–27 Highlights: New Income Tax Act, 2025 to be effective from April 2026; simplified tax rules and forms will be notified soon * Safe harbor limit for IT services raised from ₹300 crore to ₹2000 crore * Foreign cloud service providers granted a tax holiday until 2047 * All non-residents paying tax on an estimated basis exempted from Minimum Alternate Tax * Securities Transaction Tax on futures trading increased from 0.02% to 0.05% * Customs duty exemption extended for capital goods used in lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing * Customs duty exemption granted for capital goods required in processing critical minerals * Tariff rate on goods imported for personal use reduced from 20% to 10% * Basic customs duty exemption extended to 17 medicines and drugs * BioPharma Shakti program with an outlay of ₹10,000 crore to build an ecosystem for domestic production of biologics and biosimilars * Proposal for a ₹10,000 crore SME Development Fund to support MSMEs * Public capital expenditure increased from ₹11.2 lakh crore to ₹12.2 lakh crore in FY 2026–27 * Seven high-speed rail corridors to be developed as Growth Transport Links for sustainable passenger systems * Indian Institute of Design Technology, Mumbai to set up AVGC content creation labs in 15,000 high schools and 500 colleges * A girls’ hostel to be built in every district to address challenges faced by female students in higher education and STEM institutions * In partnership with IIMs, a 12-week hybrid training program will upgrade skills of 10,000 guides across 20 tourist destinations * ICAR packages on agricultural portals and practices to be integrated with AI systems as a multilingual AI tool * Tax on foreign travel packages reduced from current five per cent and 20% to two per cent * Customs bonded warehouse framework revamped into an operator-centric system with self-declaration, electronic monitoring, and risk-based accounting * Indian share markets will be open for trading on Sunday, February 01, as the Union Budget is being presented on that day * Key Highlights of Economic Survey 2025–26: GDP & GVA Growth Estimates for FY 2026: First advance estimates at 7.4% and 7.3% respectively * India’s Core Growth Projection: Around 7%, with real GDP growth for FY 2027 expected between 6.8% and 7.2% * Central Government Revenue: Rose to 11.6% of GDP in FY 2025 * Non-Performing Assets: Declined to a multi-decade low of 2.2% * PMJDY Accounts: Over 552 million bank accounts opened by March 2025; 366 million in rural and semi-urban areas * Investor Base: Surpassed 120 million by September 2025, with women comprising ~25% * Global Trade Share: India’s export share doubled from 1% in 2005 to 1.8% in 2024 * Services Export: Reached an all-time high of $387.6 billion in FY 2025, up 13.6% * Global Deposits: India became the largest recipient in FY 2025 with $135.4 billion * Foreign Exchange Reserves: Hit $701.4 billion on January 16, 2026—covering 11 months of imports and 94% of external debt * Inflation: Averaged 1.7% from April to December 2025 * Foodgrain Production: Reached 357.73 million metric tons in 2024–25, up 25.43 MMT from the previous year * PM-Kisan Scheme: Over ₹4.09 lakh crore disbursed to eligible farmers since inception * Rural Employment Alignment: “Viksit Bharat – Jee Ram Ji” initiative launched to replace MGNREGA in the vision for a developed India by 2047 * Manufacturing Growth: 7.72% in Q1 and 9.13% in Q2 of FY 2026 * PLI Scheme Impact: ₹2 lakh crore in actual investment across 14 sectors; production and sales exceeded ₹18.7 lakh crore; over 1.26 million jobs created by September 2025 * Semiconductor Mission: Domestic capacity boosted with ₹1.6 lakh crore invested across 10 projects * Railway High-Speed Corridor: Expanded from 550 km in FY 2014 to 5,364 km; 3,500 km added in FY 2026 * Civil Aviation: India became the third-largest domestic air travel market; airports increased from 74 in 2014 to 164 in 2025 * DISCOMs Turnaround: Recorded first-ever positive PAT of ₹20,701 crore in FY 2025 * Renewable Energy: India ranked third globally in total renewable and installed solar capacity * Satellite Docking: India became the fourth country to achieve autonomous satellite docking capability * School Enrollment Ratios: Primary – 90.9%, Upper Primary – 90.3%, Secondary – 78.7% * Higher Education Expansion: India now has 23 IITs, 21 IIMs, and 20 AIIMS; international IIT campuses established in Zanzibar and Abu Dhabi * Maternal & Infant Mortality: Declined since 1990, now below global average