Last Updated:January 16, 2026, 15:02 IST

Deloitte India urges FY27 Budget to boost MSME support and critical mineral security, job protection and advancing India’s global manufacturing and clean energy goals.

Budget 2026 Expectations.

Budget 2026: Deloitte India has pitched a sharper focus on MSME support and critical mineral security in the FY27 Union Budget, arguing that these measures are essential to strengthen India’s trade resilience and reduce external vulnerabilities amid rising global uncertainty.

In its Budget expectations note, Deloitte India said micro, small and medium enterprises play a pivotal role in the economy, accounting for nearly 46% of India’s exports and emerging as the second-largest employer after agriculture. According to the firm, easing financial and compliance-related pressures on MSMEs would help them cope with global volatility, sustain production and remain competitive in overseas markets.

The Union Budget 2026-27 will be tabled on Sunday, February 1.

“Strengthening MSMEs will safeguard jobs and drive inclusive economic growth, boost rural incomes and support India’s ambition to become a global manufacturing hub,” Deloitte said.

The firm recommended measures such as enhanced export credit availability, concessional financing and simplified digital compliance systems to reduce the regulatory burden on small businesses. It also called for comprehensive training programmes to improve last-mile competitiveness of MSMEs, particularly those linked to global value chains.

Deloitte further suggested targeted export incentives or enhanced duty drawback support for tariff-sensitive sectors such as ready-made garments, gems and jewellery, and leather, which are more vulnerable to global trade disruptions.

Highlighting the risks from an increasingly protectionist global environment, Deloitte Economist Rumki Majumdar said rising uncertainty from tariff hikes, changes in rules of origin and non-tariff barriers could disproportionately affect Indian exporters. While the direct impact of global trade frictions on GDP growth may be limited to 40-80 basis points, the spillover effects on MSMEs and employment could be far more severe.

“MSMEs contribute 30.1 per cent to GDP, account for 45.79 per cent of India’s exports and employ nearly 290 million people; disruptions in export markets or tightening trade rules pose serious risks to jobs and income stability,” Majumdar said.

Beyond MSMEs, Deloitte emphasised the need for a strategic push on critical minerals to secure supply chains and support India’s clean energy transition. It proposed setting up a dedicated critical minerals fund to finance overseas acquisitions and technology partnerships, ensuring long-term access to essential resources.

The firm also recommended deeper global collaboration with regions such as Africa, Australia and Latin America to secure upstream access to minerals, alongside joint research and development in mineral processing and recycling. In addition, it called for incentives to promote investments in renewable energy, green hydrogen and grid-scale energy storage.

Deloitte said expanded funding for exploration, extraction and processing of key critical minerals, including lithium, cobalt and rare earth magnets, would be crucial to reduce import dependence and strengthen India’s strategic and economic security in the years ahead.

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Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday staged a strong comeback, breaking the long bearish momentum as snowballing forex reserves have lifted investor sentiment.

During intraday trading, the PSX’s benchmark KSE-100 index gained a whopping 3,146.23 points to climb to 184,602.56 points, marking a positive change of 1.70%.

Out of 562 active companies, share prices of 375 advanced and of 67 declined while rates of 120 companies remained unchanged.

Economic analysts said the uptick offered some breathing space for the economy, even as the country continued to keep a close watch on external inflows and outflows.

Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves inched up by $16 million over the past week, according to figures released by the State Bank of Pakistan.

The central bank said its official reserves rose from $16.0557 billion to $16.0718 billion, showing a modest gain during the week.

Overall, the country’s total reserves climbed to $21.2484 billion.

The State Bank also noted that commercial banks’ holdings went up by $5.6 million, reaching $5.1927 billion.

The central bank projects the FY26 current account deficit at 0–1% of GDP and sees reserves at $17.8 billion by June 2026 with planned official inflows.

A day earlier, the stock exchange dropped by over 1,100 points due to massive selling pressure.

The PSX had extended losses after recording an increase for a brief period as investors seemed cautious amid rising geopolitical tensions involving Iran.

During intraday trading, the KSE-100 index touched 183,717.53 due to strong buying in the early sessions before it turned bearish by losing 69.29 points to close at 182,500.52 points.

International officials have warned that US military intervention in Iran now appears likely and could take place within the next 24 hours amid sharply escalating tensions in the Middle East.

American, European and Israeli sources said preparations for possible action were under way as Washington began evacuating personnel from its major air base in Qatar.