Budget 2026: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled Modi 3.0's third Union Budget 2025-26 on Sunday, Feb. 1, with its key focus areas on boost for India's infrastructure growth and capex allocation. The government will look to strengthen the country's manufacturing sector, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her budget speech, as she laid out priorities for Asia's third-biggest economy and pledged to accelerate growth amid a volatile global environment. With today's budget, the finance minister's policy announcements have resulted in price reductions for several groups of items.
While presenting the Budget 2026 in the Lok Sabha, FM Sitharaman said, "It is proposed to provide basic customs duty exemption to the import of capital goods required for processing of critical minerals in India." This assumes significance in view of the government's focus on promoting rare earth or critical minerals to reduce import dependence as these can be useful for boosting electric vehicles, renewable energy, electronics, aerospace, and defence applications.
FOLLOW LIVE UPDATES: Budget 2026 Live: 'Make In India Roadmap' Is Key Highlight, Infra In Top Focus, Says Modi
Budget 2026: Here's the list of what's become cheaper and dearer with Modi 3.0's third Union Budget-
Complete List of items that have got cheaper in Budget 2026:
- Basic customs duty exempted on specified parts for microwave ovens.
Duty free imports of specified inputs available for exports of leather
Basic customs duty exempted for capital goods used to manufacture BESS
Customs duty on sodium antimonate exempted for use in manufacture of solar glass
Customs duty on imports of goods for nuclear power projects exempted till 2035
Customs duty on raw materials exempted for manufacture of parts for aviation
Overseas tourism packages: TCS rate cut from 5-20% to 2%
- Foreign education: Lower TDS under LRS for education expenses
- Shoe upper exports: Duty-free imports allowed
- Basic customs duty exempted on energy transition equipment
- Meat and edible offal of turkeys, frozen: Tariff reduced from 30% to 5%
- Artemia cysts/ cancer-disease drugs: Tariff reduced from 5% to nil
- Prawn and shrimps feed: Tariff reduced from 15% to 5%
- Seeds, fruit and spores, of a kind used for sowing: Tariff reduced from 30% to 15%
- Makhana, other roasted nuts and seeds: Tariff reduced from 150% to 30%
- Rare-earth metals, scandium and yttrium, whether or not intermixed or inter alloyed: Tariff reduced from 5% to nil
- Solar glass chemical (sodium antimonate): Duty reduced to nil
- Fish caught by fishermen: Customs duty exempted
- Phospohic acid: Duty reduced from 7.5% to 5%
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Complete List of items that have got costlier in Budget 2026:
- Income tax misreporting: Penalty equal to 100% of the tax amount
- Umbrellas (Parts, trimmings, and accessories for umbrellas will now attract a duty of 10 per cent or Rs 25 per kg, whichever is higher)
- Non-disclosure of movable assets: Now attracts a penalty
- Stock options Securities Transaction Tax: Increased to 0.15%
- Securities Transaction Tax on futures: Raised from 0.02% to 0.05%
- Alcoholic liquor, minerals, scrap sales: TCS increased from 1% to 2%
- Umbrellas & umbrella parts: Floor import price introduced
- Cranberries and blueberries: Increased to 5% and 10% respectively
Potassium hydroxide: Duty raised from nil to 7.5%
Cranberyy products: Increased to 10%
Refrigerated containers Duty increased to 5%
Chewing tobacco, jarda, gutkha NCCD hiked from 25% to 60%
ALSO READ: Budget 2026: Nirmala Sitharaman Announces Proposal To Build Rare Earth Mineral Corridors In India
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