Category Archives: News

Niranjan Kirloskar: Budget 2026 Boosts Infrastructure, Regional Manufacturing, and Industrial Efficiency

Mr. Niranjan Kirloskar, Managing Director,  Fleetguard Filters Private Limited

“Union Budget 2026 clearly signals the government’s intent to anchor growth in infrastructure and manufacturing. With capital expenditure set at ₹12.2 lakh crore for FY 2026–27, industries can expect a strong multiplier effect across capital goods, construction equipment, mobility, and industrial operations. For sectors reliant on heavy machinery, engines, and fleet movement, this translates into higher equipment utilisation and sustained demand for reliable, high-performance filtration and operational solutions. Equally significant is the focus on Tier II and Tier III cities as emerging industrial and logistics hubs. As manufacturing clusters expand beyond metros and supply chains become more efficient, industrial activity will deepen across regions, supporting economic growth while raising standards in operational efficiency, emissions control, and equipment longevity — areas where advanced filtration technology plays a critical role.

From an ease-of-doing-business perspective, procedural tax relief and clearer policy frameworks will reduce compliance friction and accelerate project execution for manufacturers and infrastructure players. The Budget’s emphasis on developing rare earth and critical mineral mining corridors in states like Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu is timely, strengthening domestic supply chains and supporting mining, power, and heavy engineering sectors that depend on robust, high-performance filtration systems. Overall, this Budget moves beyond short-term stimulus to focus on building long-term capacity. By strengthening infrastructure, securing supply chains, and promoting regional growth, it sets the stage for industries to invest in efficiency, reliability, and sustainability, aligning with India’s vision of a resilient, self-reliant, and future-ready economy under the Viksit Bharat agenda.”

Garima Bharadwaj: Budget 2026 Boosts Data Centre Growth, Green Tech, and Make-in-India Manufacturing

By:- Garima Bharadwaj, Co-founder & CTO, Enlite Research

Tech‑stack exemptions for data centres are a pragmatic move, reducing capex by 10–15 % and helping India reach ~4.5 GW capacity sooner, while expanding green‑certified facilities. Broader Budget 2026 measures — including a record ₹12.2 lakh crore infrastructure capex, a ₹40,000 crore electronics components scheme, and a ₹20,000 crore carbon capture push — will accelerate Make‑in‑India manufacturing, smart energy systems, and industrial decarbonisation. Across urban assets, real-time data, automation, and analytics will turn sustainability intent into measurable operational and climate impact.

Union Budget 2026–27 to drive Viksit Bharat 2047 vision with major boost to cooperative dairy sector: Chairman, NDDB

Anand, Feb 02: Dr. Meenesh Shah, Chairman, National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) hailed the Union Budget 2026-27 as truly transformative, noting its initiatives to enhance farmers’ incomes, promote entrepreneurship in animal husbandry and dairying and strengthen cooperatives – key steps toward realising the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047 and fostering inclusive economic growth.

Recognized as the growth engine of agriculture and allied activities providing livelihoods to rural households, the animal husbandry sector has received a significant boost in the Union Budget 2026–27, with an allocation of Rs 6,153.46 crore – up 16% from last year. The Budget also announced a Rs 500 crore Integrated Scheme for Entrepreneurship Development to expand employment through credit-linked subsidies, modernise livestock enterprises, build integrated dairy and poultry value chains and promote Livestock Farmer Producer Organisations, thereby fostering entrepreneurship and rural development.

 The Budget will add 20,000 veterinary professionals and through a loan-linked subsidy scheme, support new veterinary and private colleges, hospitals, labs, and breeding facilities. Targeting India’s 53 crore livestock, including 30 crore dairy animals, the initiative also encourages global collaborations to drive innovation. Dr Meenesh Shah hailed it as a milestone for the sector.

 In addition to the existing provision allowing full deduction of profits and gains for primary cooperative societies engaged in supplying milk, oilseeds, fruits, or vegetables raised by their members, this benefit has now been extended to cattle feed. With primary cooperatives selling about 102 lakh metric tonnes of cattle feed annually, this move will significantly reduce their tax burden, ensuring better returns for farmer members. India’s dairy cooperatives already return over 75% of the consumer rupee to producers, and this initiative will further enhance pay-outs, putting more money directly into farmers’ hands.

Chairman, NDDB welcomed the Budget move allowing inter-cooperative society dividend income as deduction under the new tax regime to the extent it is further distributed to its members, fostering investments in multistate cooperatives under Sahkar se Samriddhi. A three-year exemption on dividend income for notified national cooperative federations on their investments made in companies up to 31.01.2026, if further distributed to its members cooperatives, will further strengthen profitability and enable higher pay-outs to member institutions.

The Centralized Bio-CNG Model turns dairy waste into clean transport fuel and organic fertilizer, advancing circular economy goals. As announced in the Union Budget, the entire value of biogas while calculating the Central Excise duty payable on biogas blended CNG to be excluded which will be a major boost for scaling large Bio-CNG models nationwide, strengthening sustainability and promoting natural farming through organic fertilizer by-products.

In a nutshell, Chairman, NDDB described the Union Budget 2026–27 as one that ticks all the right boxes – providing impetus to agriculture, dairy and allied sectors, improving capital efficiency, reducing tax distortions across cooperatives and thereby boosting farmers’ incomes and employment opportunities.

Post budget quote by R.S Subramanian, SVP, DHL Express India A Landmark Shift Towards a Truly Trust-Based Trade Environment

The trade facilitation measures announced in the Union Budget represent a landmark shift in India’s approach to global commerce. By placing systemic trust and digital integration at the core of reforms, the government has laid a strong foundation for a more resilient, agile, and globally competitive export-import ecosystem.

A key highlight is the transition towards a fully digital, trust-based customs framework. The adoption of AI-enabled scanning, faster clearances, and more predictable regulatory rulings goes beyond improving efficiency—it enhances transparency, reduces uncertainty, and gives businesses the confidence needed for long-term investment and operational planning.

Several measures directly address long-standing challenges in cross-border trade. The removal of value caps on courier exports and the simplification of duty structures significantly ease compliance for MSMEs, e-commerce exporters, and individuals, who have long faced confusion around varied duty rates. These reforms will help expand India’s global trade footprint by removing procedural and value-related constraints.

The introduction of seamless export returns and “Return-to-Origin” processes further reduces risk, cost, and congestion in international trade. This improves shipper confidence, accelerates resolution in non-clearance scenarios, and creates a more business-friendly trading environment.

Equally impactful is the integration of SEZ clearances through ECCS, ICEGATE, and ICES, which strengthens India’s digital trade infrastructure and enables Special Economic Zones to operate in a more frictionless and globally competitive manner. This also sets the stage for streamlined clearances across EOU, IGCRD, MOOWR, and similar schemes via courier channels.

Finally, the strengthening of the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) framework through a 30-day deferred duty payment option is a significant boost to working capital efficiency and provides a strong incentive for higher compliance standards.

Taken together, these measures signal a decisive move towards a modern, trust-based, and technology-driven trade ecosystem—reinforcing India’s ambition to emerge as a preferred global trade and logistics hub.

Budget 2026: Boost for Digital Payments, MSMEs, and Export Growth

Anup Agarwal, Co-founder, Kiwi

The ₹2,000 crore incentive allocation for UPI and RuPay in Budget 2026 reinforces the importance of a sustainable digital payments ecosystem. As UPI continues to scale across transactions and use cases, the role of NPCI in maintaining interoperability, reliability, and low-cost access remains central. Sustained incentives are critical to preserving this affordability while enabling responsible innovation across the ecosystem. At Kiwi, we see this as a strong foundation for layering transparent and responsible credit on top of trusted payment rails to improve access and affordability for everyday consumption.

Vikas Tarachandani, Co-founder, SURE

“The Budget reinforces confidence in India’s financial ecosystem by prioritising stability, reform continuity and sector preparedness for long-term growth. The focus on improving credit quality and expanding financial inclusion strengthens the foundation for more disciplined borrowing and efficient capital allocation.”

Sundeep Mohindru, Founder & Promoter, M1xchange

“The Budget’s decisive push to create CHAMPION SMEs by giving equity support and by anchoring liquidity access through the TReDS ecosystem marks a structural shift in how working capital flows to MSMEs. By positioning TReDS as the settlement platform for liquidity support for MSMEs for their supplies to CPSEs, the government encourages wider participation in invoice discounting. This re-establishes the value add TReDS is making towards solving the delayed payment challenge for MSMEs. Credit guarantee support on Invoice discounting on TReDS and the integration of GeM with TReDS will enable quicker and more affordable financing for suppliers. Treating TReDS receivables as asset backed securities will deepen liquidity multifold and enhance the secondary market expansion for invoices discounted . Equally critical is the creation of corporate mitras through professional institutions, which will strengthen affordable compliance support in Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns. Together, these measures reinforce MSMEs as India’s engine of growth.”

Pushkar Mukewar, Founder and CEO, Drip Capital

“The Budget’s measures to support seafood exports, including increased duty-free input limits, extended export timelines, and duty-free fish catch in the EEZ and on the High Seas, will significantly ease cost and working-capital pressures for Indian exporters. These steps create new avenues to scale operations, manage cash flows more predictably, and fully harness the economic value of marine resources.”

Budget 2026 Charts a ‘New Urban India’, Powers Tier-2 and Tier-3 Growth: Santosh Agarwal

Santosh Agarwal, CFO & Executive Director, Alpha Corp Development Limited

“The Union Budget 2026 is a definitive blueprint for a ‘New Urban India.’ By scaling public capital expenditure to ₹12.2 lakh crore, the government isn’t just building roads it’s building the future of our Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. This ₹5,000 crore annual commitment to emerging urban hubs is a masterstroke for balanced growth. For the real estate sector, this translates to more than just connectivity; it enhances ‘liveability’ as a core asset, turning rising cities into primary economic engines. We are moving away from metro-centricity toward a more inclusive, high-growth urban reality.”

MSME Growth Fund and SRI Fund Boost Equity Support for Scaling Businesses

By:- Snhkumar Purohit, Chief Strategist, EVM India.e

Most MSMEs struggle because cash cycles are tight and balance sheets are stretched. Too much debt leaves little room to absorb shocks or invest in growth. The ₹10,000 crore MSME Growth Fund finally recognises this gap by bringing equity into the picture. The ₹2,000 crore addition to the Self-Reliant India Fund supports businesses that are ready to scale, not just start. This helps MSMEs move from managing liabilities to building capability. This addresses a real structural constraint on the ground.

Economic Survey 2025–’26 emphasises revival of village Commons; calls for creation of distinct land-use category

Bhubaneswar, Feb 01 :The Union government’s Economic Survey 2025-’26 places renewed emphasis on the revival of village Commons as a foundation for sustainable rural growth, stronger livelihoods, and more resilient communities. The Survey was released on Thursday ahead of Sunday’s Budget presentation. “Reviving and protecting village commons…requires a collaborative approach that involves both the government and local communities actively participating,” the document notes. “To achieve this, first, ‘village commons’ as a distinct land-use category may need official incorporation with sub-categories, so that accurate estimation, monitoring, and informed policy intervention can be undertaken.”

In a chapter titled Rural Development and Social Progress: From Participation to Partnership_ , the survey describes village Commons, also known as Common Property Resources (CPRs), as a “crucial yet underutilised asset” where community institutions, technology, and livelihood generation intersect to support long-term rural transformation. These commons include grazing lands, ponds, water bodies, and shared spaces traditionally managed by local communities.

According to the Survey, around 15% of India’s geographical area comprises village Commons. The 2011 Census estimates common land at 6.6 crore hectares, forming biodiversity-rich ecosystems that support the livelihoods of approximately 35 crore rural people. These ecosystems provide 34 ecosystem services including food, fodder, fuelwood, water and income, and facilitate water purification, soil protection, carbon sequestration, and flood control.

The Survey notes that these ecosystems generate an economic dividend of USD 9.05 crore per year, while contributing directly to the Sustainable Development Goals, including poverty reduction and sustainable livelihoods. Yet, it cautions that “their value is often underestimated”, and that commons have deteriorated due to encroachment, misuse, and rising environmental pressures.

Mr. Sisir K Pradhan, PhD, University of Waterloo said,

“Village commons have always been central to rural livelihoods, but have traditionally been viewed through cultural identity or subsistence economic lenses. The recent economic survey has, for the first time, emphasised village commons as an economic resource essential for rural communities to thrive. It has also highlighted the need for restoration of such commons to improve life and livelihoods and to address the climate crisis that affects social, ecological, and economic foundations every day. “

Mr. Pravas Mishra, economist, budget analyst and NRM expert Said,

“The Survey rightly highlights the need to move away from neglect and encroachment towards a framework of deliberate governance — through formal recognition of commons as a distinct land-use category, strengthening local institutions, and integrating community stewardship with modern tools such as GIS mapping and capacity building. Following the economy survey, Union Budget 2026-27 should take adequate actions on optimal use of commons for making the panchayats self sufficient. Developing panchayat wise inventory of commons is the need of the hour to plan for its sustainable use.“

Mr. Kanchi Kohli, researcher and educator said, idea of commons which includes but is not limited to its economic value. There is a need to future proof the shared and integrated social, cultural and ecological

IPRS Returns to Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2026 with Dedicated Stage Celebrating India’s Musical Diversity

Mumbai, Jan 30: The Indian Performing Right Society Ltd. (IPRS) is set to return to the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival (KGAF) 2026 with the IPRS Stage, reaffirming its commitment to nurturing original, folk, and regional music within one of India’s most respected multidisciplinary cultural festivals.

More than a performance platform, the IPRS Stage is a purposeful cultural initiative aimed at creating sustained visibility and meaningful engagement for diverse music traditions. By positioning music within the broader artistic dialogue of KGAF—where literature, visual arts, design, and performance converge—the IPRS Stage brings underrepresented musical voices into the public consciousness and fosters deeper audience appreciation.

At a time when digital algorithms increasingly influence music discovery, curated cultural platforms such as the IPRS Stage play a vital role in offering context, authenticity, and human connection. The initiative bridges generational and regional divides, enabling audiences to experience tradition-rooted and original music in a contemporary festival setting, while providing artists with credibility, reach, and new avenues for connection.

The IPRS Stage at KGAF 2026 will feature two distinctive performances that reflect this vision:

• 1 February 2026: Goa-based band Black Sapphire will showcase regional language music on a national cultural platform, highlighting the resonance of local voices when given the right exposure.

• 6 February 2026: Abhijit Pohankar’s Global Varkari Project will present the rich Varkari devotional tradition through a modern sonic framework, demonstrating how heritage can evolve while retaining its essence.

Speaking on the importance of such platforms, Alison Gonsalves, Lead Singer and Songwriter, Black Sapphire, said,

“Original music is deeply personal, especially when it comes from a regional language and lived culture. Platforms like the IPRS Stage at Kala Ghoda validate our work and help audiences connect more deeply with the stories and identities behind the music.”

Maestro Abhijit Pohankar, classical pianist, fusion music producer, and conceiver of the Global Varkari Project, added,

“The Varkari tradition emphasizes devotion, social equality, and righteousness through music. Presenting this ancient form with a modern sound allows it to remain relevant today. Platforms like the IPRS Stage ensure that folk and traditional music are experienced with dignity, relevance, and respect.”

Highlighting IPRS’s broader vision, Mr. Rakesh Nigam, CEO, IPRS, said,

“Platforms like the IPRS Stage are essential to sustaining India’s musical diversity. By partnering with festivals such as the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, we create spaces where artists can be discovered and audiences can engage meaningfully with the cultural roots of our music.”

Brinda Miller, Hon. Festival Director, Kala Ghoda Arts Festival, noted,

“KGAF has always stood for artistic integrity and cultural diversity in the public sphere. The IPRS Stage furthers this vision by spotlighting original and tradition-rooted music, inviting audiences to engage with music as a reflection of identity, history, and creative purpose.”

As the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival continues to serve as a vibrant meeting point for India’s creative communities, the IPRS Stage stands as a powerful model of how cultural institutions can support artists, educate audiences, and ensure that India’s rich musical legacy is preserved, celebrated, and carried forward into the future.

MultiFit Circle – Runners Edition Brings Pune’s Fitness Community Together This Republic Day

On 24th January, MultiFit celebrated the spirit of Republic Day with the MultiFit Circle – Runners Edition, a city-wide fitness initiative that brought Pune’s fitness community together through movement.

With every MultiFit branch across Pune hosting its own 5 km run, members stepped out to celebrate unity, discipline, and consistency, values that resonate deeply with both fitness and the essence of Republic Day. The runs weren’t about timing or competition, but about participation, camaraderie, and showing up together.

The event was further elevated through a collaboration with Healthyome, highlighting the importance of nutrition as a key pillar of overall wellness. Post-run, all participants were provided with 200 ml of fresh watermelon juice or orange juice, along with a complimentary breakfast salad meal, supporting recovery and mindful eating.

The MultiFit Circle – Runners Edition reinforced MultiFit’s commitment to building a strong, connected fitness community in Pune, one that believes fitness extends beyond gym walls and thrives in shared experiences.