Budget 2026 Expectations LIVE Updates: Farm Union Seeks All Crops under MSP, Calls for Higher Investment in Agriculture
Ahead of the Union Budget 2026-27, farmers have once again reiterated their demand to cover all agricultural crops under the minimum support price (MSP). Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) National General Secretary Chaudhary Yudhvir Singh said this has always been a key demand of farmers.
Budget 2026 Expectations LIVE Updates: Crypto Firms Seek TDS Cut, Loss Set-Off Review to Boost Onshore Trading
"A calibrated reduction in transaction-level TDS and a review of loss set-off provisions could help restore onshore liquidity, improve compliance, and ensure that more economic activity remains within India’s regulated perimeter, without compromising oversight or enforcement," said Nischal Shetty, Founder, WazirX.
Budget 2026 Expectations LIVE Updates: Industry Calls for Stronger R&D Push and Localised Procurement Reforms
"For India to truly become a product nation, we must move beyond assembly and adoption to designing and developing critical technologies in India. This requires a mission-mode approach for sectors of national importance such as clean energy, clean mobility, AI, rare earth security, and energy security," Akshay Kashyap, managing director of Greenfuel Energy Solutions Pvt. Ltd, said.
He highlighted that the government should reinstate robust research and development incentives, including weighted tax deductions of up to 250%, and play a larger role as a demand aggregator for mission-critical technologies.
Public procurement norms need to move away from the lowest-cost (L1) model toward a T1-based framework that rewards firms with around 80% local value addition and indigenous design. Such measures are especially crucial for sectors like electrolyzers, fuel cells, electric vehicles, energy storage, and hydrogen-based mobility systems.
Budget 2026 Expectations LIVE Updates: Industry Experts Call for More Fund Allocation in R&D
If we genuinely want scientific progress and global competitiveness, R&D funding has to increase. Earlier, private-sector research was encouraged through income-tax deductions, which are no longer available. We hope this budget restores strong support for R&D for both public institutions and industry, says Dr. R.G. Agarwal, Chairman Emeritus, Dhanuka Agritech Ltd.
"We often talk about strengthening India’s innovation ecosystem, but the reality is that India still spends only about 0.7% on research and development. Countries like China, Israel, the US and many European nations invest much more."
