Representatives of capital markets on Tuesday pitched for reductions in transaction tax and measures to deepen the financial sector in the upcoming Budget.
Suggestions regarding improving efficiency of capital markets and increasing capital market inclusion were also made during the pre-Budget meeting with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, sources said.
Representatives of the sector sought lower Securities Transaction Tax (STT) on cash market trade as compared to derivatives, sources said.
This was the fourth pre-Budget meeting between the finance minister and representatives of capital markets, including BSE, Multi Commodity Exchange, Association of Mutual Funds in India, Association of Registered Investment Advisers, and Commodity Participants Association of India.
Capital markets facilitated resource mobilisation of Rs 14.6 lakh crore in FY25, marking a 33 per cent increase over the previous year.
The use of a broad spectrum of financial instruments — ranging from equity and debt-to-real estate investment trusts (REITs), and infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs) — highlighted the evolving and adaptive financing strategies of corporates and infrastructure entities.
However, equity and debt segments alone accounted for ₹14.2 lakh crore, reaffirming their central role in supporting capital formation and propelling economic development.
The meeting was also attended by Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs Anuradha Thakur, Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran and other senior officials from the Ministry of Finance.
This is the fourth in a series of pre-Budget consultations that the Ministry of Finance conducts annually before finalising the Budget 2026-27.
Last week, the finance minister had met economists, leading representatives from the agriculture sector and MSME sector players as part of the first, second, and third rounds of discussions, respectively.
Sitharaman, who would present her ninth consecutive Budget likely on February 1, will present the annual account in the backdrop of geopolitical uncertainties and the steep US tariff of 50 per cent imposed on shipments from India.
The Budget for the next financial year will have to address issues of boosting demand, job creation and putting the economy on a sustained 8 per cent-plus growth path. The government estimates the Indian economy to grow in the range of 6.3-6.8 per cent during the current fiscal year.