Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has given a very clear picture of the Indian economy and ongoing reforms, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday. The Finance Minister said that the effective capital expenditure works out to 4.3 per cent of the GDP in the Budget for 2025-26 while the fiscal deficit is 4.4 per cent. She further cited figures from the Budget to show that the capex allocation in the budget has increased to Rs 1.21 lakh crore, dismissing the opposition’s claim that the outlay has been reduced. “For decades, we have been talking about globalisation. Now we are facing the issue of fragmentation in the world. Everybody wants to have a free market but there are increasing tariff barriers. The world is growing through a major change,” said Finance Minister. The Budget for FY26 was prepared during a challenging time, with serious external challenges beyond estimates or forecasts, she said. ‘Many Indian imports which are very critical for our economy to grow are also going to be left with uncertainty,\” she mentioned.
