Friday, August 07
With markets grappling with global uncertainty, shifting FII flows, and a mixed earnings recovery, investors are closely watching the Union Budget 2026 for policy direction and growth cues.In this edition of ETMarkets Smart Talk, Rahul Singh, CIO–Equities at Tata Asset Management, shares his expectations from the upcoming Budget, the outlook on valuations and foreign flows, and where opportunities are emerging across sectors and asset classes.He believes the government has limited room for fiscal stimulus and is likely to prioritise capital expenditure and customs duty rationalisation, while major changes to capital gains taxation appear unlikely.Singh also discusses earnings trends, the evolving commodity theme, and how investors should approach mid and smallcaps in the current market e
New Delhi: The number of Indians heading to Europe for higher studies increased significantly in 2025 from the previous year but fell in the US, mainly due to stricter visa rules, according to experts.Internal data from study abroad platforms, accommodation providers and financial services show that the number of students heading to the US in 2025 decreased by about 30% from 2024. In contrast, European Union destinations saw a sharp rise.Leverage Edu, an ed-tech platform, told ET that the EU saw a 62% year-on-year increase, with Germany, Italy, France, Ireland, Spain, Malta, and the Netherlands being the popular destinations for higher education. "Germany alone has nearly doubled year-on-year, while Italy and France have also seen strong 5-7x growth multiples," said Akshay Chaturvedi, Leve
A tougher tax regime for cigarettes, tobacco and pan masala will come into force from February 1, with the Centre rolling out additional excise duties and a dedicated health and national security cess on products already taxed at the highest Goods and Services Tax (GST) slab. The move marks the most significant overhaul of taxation on “sin goods” since the rollout of GST in 2017.Under the revised structure, the existing levy of 28 per cent GST along with compensation cess will be replaced by a 40 per cent GST, supplemented by excise duty on tobacco products and a separate cess on pan masala.The government has also notified a new MRP-based valuation system for tobacco products such as chewing tobacco, filter khaini, jarda scented tobacco and gutkha. From February 1, GST on these product
