Overview
- Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the fourth round with capital market stakeholders in New Delhi, with Minister of State Pankaj Chaudhary, the Department of Economic Affairs Secretary and Chief Economic Adviser V. Anantha Nageswaran in attendance.
- A fifth session brought in startup ecosystem representatives, where participants presented proposals on innovation, financing and regulatory frameworks, according to the ministry’s post on X.
- The ministry said recent discussions with market participants addressed investor sentiment, regulatory clarity and market stability as part of preparations for the Union Budget 2026–27.
- The consultation schedule runs through this week with MSME and manufacturing, BFSI and IT, tourism, hospitality and labour, then infrastructure, energy and urban development, with the exercise expected to conclude on November 26.
- The Finance Ministry publicly confirmed the sessions on social media, NDTV cited unnamed sources naming prominent market attendees, and some reports noted speculation that the Budget presentation could be on January 31 or February 2 since February 1 falls on a Sunday.