Overview
- Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on November 19 held separate pre‑Budget consultations in New Delhi with leaders from the banking, financial services and insurance sector and the information technology industry.
- BFSI representatives urged a dedicated refinance window for NBFCs, a lower SARFAESI recovery threshold, removal of TDS on non‑individual borrowers, and alignment of long‑term capital gains tax treatment with fixed deposits.
- FIDC said cutting the SARFAESI threshold from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 1 lakh would bring smaller NBFCs into the mechanism and strengthen debt recovery.
- IT executives focused on AI readiness through domestic compute capacity and skilling, while warning that the H‑1B fee hike to $100,000 from September 2025 and the proposed HIRE Act’s 25% levy could raise costs for Indian firms.
- The consultation cycle runs November 18–26, following earlier meetings with capital markets and startups, with further sessions slated on infrastructure, energy and urban development.