4 min readNew DelhiFeb 6, 2026 05:40 AM IST
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Thursday the government’s primary objective is to sustain growth, and even though the private sector is “moving out of the passive mode to invest”, her ministry has continued with the heavy lifting in capital spending in the Budget for 2026-27.
In an interview to The Indian Express, Sitharaman said, “At the moment we are looking at sustaining growth and therefore, we will have to do it, so we are doing it. That will be our primary object — sustaining growth.” The government has allocated Rs 12.22 lakh crore towards capex for next year, which is more than 11.5 per cent compared with 2025-26.
The Finance Minister, however, said that there is a clear sign that one is able to see the private sector coming out to invest. “Investments earning passive income are now moving to investments in expanding capacities or setting up new businesses. This may be happening more in partnerships with people in the newer, frontier sectors, and probably less — this is a bit too early — in the usual core manufacturing, old industries. There are signs they are coming forward,” she said.
Sitharaman also said that the sentiment of global investors is changing. “Countries like Norway, Canada are showing keen interest for their pension funds and large sovereign funds to come here. But there are some in North America, big fund managers, who wait and watch to see which way the trend moves, and then take a call. After the call between the (US) President and (India) Prime Minister, I get the feeling the stock market in India, particularly, the rupee has covered some lost ground,” she said.
Union Minister for Finance Nirmala Sitharaman poses with her team for a photo op before leaving to present the Budget in New Delhi on Sunday. (Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal)
Responding to a question if she was being conservative in the estimates of the 10 per cent nominal GDP growth rate, Sitharaman said it was a “realistic” estimation. “I think I have been realistic in the way in which I have assessed what kind of growth (rates) are possible. It’s not conservative… I’ve also maintained that I come up with realistic numbers and we are able to also achieve each one of them. Even this year, it was very realistic,” she said.
The Finance Minister also defended the Budget move to tax capital gains on sovereign gold bonds in the secondary market. “This scheme was for people who take it at the issuance and who will hold it till maturity. But leaving that aside, if you procured or you’ve taken it from the secondary market, you’re not in the same category, are you?” When pressed if the rules were changed midway, she said the Budget announcement was a clarification.
On hiking the Securities Transaction Tax on futures and options despite the sharp reduction in trading volumes, Sitharaman said, “Even after (the interventions by Sebi), the market regulator came up with a report that 90 per cent of people who are participating in futures and options were losing money… that study is the answer for your question.”