New Delhi, Feb 2 (UNI) Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said that US tariff actions had no bearing on the union Budget 2026-27, underlining that the government’s focus remained firmly on domestic structural reforms, labour-intensive sectors and medium-scale enterprises, while maintaining fiscal discipline without compressing expenditure.
Addressing newspersons in a post-Budget interaction aimed at explaining the proposals presented in the Lok Sabha on February 1, Sitharaman said the customs-duty rationalisation announced in the Budget was part of a long-planned reform agenda and not a reaction to external trade developments.
“US tariffs had no impact on the budget. I have been saying for some time now that customs reforms will be next, and that is what you see in this budget,” she said. The Finance Minister said the Budget consciously addressed sectors that generate employment and require sustained policy support.
“The budget addresses sectors that needed support and are labour-intensive,” she said, adding that manufacturing, infrastructure and allied activities were designed to create multiplier effects across the economy.
On market-related concerns, Sitharaman ruled out any further changes to the Securities Transaction Tax (STT).
“There will be no more action on STT from my side,” she said. Responding to questions on how the government would balance its fiscal deficit target while increasing spending on infrastructure and social sectors, Sitharaman rejected suggestions that expenditure had been curtailed.
“We have not compressed expenditure to meet the fiscal deficit target,” she said, indicating that improved revenue mobilisation and better quality of spending were key to fiscal consolidation. The Finance Minister said rupee movement and foreign portfolio investment (FPI) flows were not top priorities while framing the Budget, though the government remained alert to currency developments.
“We knew the rupee would be a concern—for others. We have kept in touch with the RBI on the rupee,” she said, emphasising coordination with the central bank. On concerns relating to MSMEs and small businesses, Sitharaman said the Budget largely focused on medium enterprises, while making it clear that smaller units would not be ignored.
“The emphasis is largely on medium enterprises, but we won’t ignore small ones. We couldn’t allow small enterprises to remain small,” she said. She explained that the policy intent was to enable firms to scale up, integrate into manufacturing value chains and benefit from infrastructure expansion, rather than remain trapped in low-productivity segments.
The Finance Minister reiterated that the Budget’s approach to MSMEs was aligned with the broader push for manufacturing growth and infrastructure development, ensuring that smaller businesses could grow alongside larger economic priorities.
