Overview
- Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the fourth pre-budget consultation with capital-market stakeholders in New Delhi.
- Representatives sought a lower Securities Transaction Tax on cash-equity trades than on derivatives to cut trading costs and encourage longer-term investing.
- Participants proposed levying buyback tax only on the profit component and aligning short-term dividend tax for domestic investors with the 20% rate applied to NRIs.
- The group also pushed to lift household equity allocation from roughly 5% toward 8% to broaden retail participation.
- The ministry recorded the suggestions for Budget 2026–27 consideration, including calls to deepen the corporate bond market, with no policy commitments announced.