Business
Cutting Debt-To-GDP Ratio Will Be Govt’s Core Focus In Coming Fiscal: FM Sitharaman
New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said that reducing the country’s debt-to-GDP ratio will be the “core focus” for the government in the next financial year (2026-27). Speaking at a media event here, Sitharaman stressed that it is crucial to bring down the debt-to-GDP ratio, which crossed 60 per cent during the Covid period.
“It is already coming down, but we need to reduce it further, and this will be a core focus in the next financial year,” the Finance Minister said, noting that RBI documents and studies show worrisome debt-to-GDP ratios in some states.
“Unless managed within FRBM (Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act) limits and high-interest debt is reduced, states borrow to service loans, not development — a poor fiscal play. This threatens the 10-year momentum for Viksit Bharat by 2047,” she pointed out.
The Finance Minister said that the Central government has set goals for transparency in budgeting, ensuring fiscal management meets accountability standards. “We’ve brought down debt-to-GDP from over 60 per cent post-Covid; it’s declining, with debt reduction as the core focus on the next financial year (fiscal deficit remains a marker). Entrepreneurial bankers note the changing ecosystem,” she added,
Sitharaman said that the government is also working to deepen the bond market to allow more funds to flow in.
The Union government’s discipline under Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi’s steady leadership—now in its third term—enables India’s global positioning to negotiate at the high table. This strength comes from a stable government, she said. Sitharaman further stated that with financial inclusion, credit access via Mudra, and everyone having accounts, every Indian’s credit footprint has grown, enabling formal bank credit.
“I’m saying this because we can aspire to an India that contributes 25 per cent to world trade—25 per cent of global trade emanates from India. That’s the target for Viksit Bharat: Revive manufacturing, agriculture, value addition, and the services sector (which grew to over 60 per cent of GDP on its own, despite minimal government presence — not just IT, but tourism and hospitality,” the Finance Minister said.
She said that private sector R&D adds value. “There are allegations and charges from the Opposition that despite corporate tax cuts in 2019, capacity isn’t expanding, they’re profiting without investing. That’s an unfair criticism. That reduction was necessary and businesses have to grow in the country. Prime Minister Modi supports corporations for jobs and GDP. Questions are being asked about why they can’t invest more which is fine as they will take their call. GCCs and data centres boost jobs, needing energy security—hence nuclear bill approval, small modular reactors as clean energy alongside pumped storage, hydro, solar, wind,” Sitharaman pointed out.
“Navigating geoeconomics as a bright spot of growing fast with steady growth, keeping growth at that level every year — is something the people of India are achieving. Each one of us, as much as all political parties and critics, should recognise it, because that’s the credit that must be given to the people of India. Much against all predictions, Covid or no Covid, people just didn’t sit back; the resilience of India is the story that all of us must stand by and help facilitate for the next several decades.”
The Finance Minister lamented that “globally, trade isn’t fair or free. India faces lectures on being inward-looking or a ‘tariff king’, but tariffs are weaponised — India safeguards against dumping, yet others face no criticism”. “This is the new normal; India must negotiate carefully, leveraging economic strength,” she added.
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The BSE Sensex is trading higher by 371 points, or 0.47%, at 81,090.24, while the NSE Nifty rises by 70 points to trade above 24,850 at 24,889.25.
Stock Market Today.
Market Updates Today: A day after the market crash following the Budget’s provision to hike Securities Transaction Tax (STT), the domestic equity market on Monday saw heightened volatility. After opening nearly flat, the NSE Nifty rose to the day’s high, then touched the day’s low before sharply recovering to trade at the day’s high of 25,093.
As of 3:16 pm, the BSE Sensex surged by 932 points, or up 1.13%, to 81,641.87 in the afternoon trade and the NSE Nifty rose by 267 points, or up 1.07%, to trade above 25,000 at 25,093.27. After opening nearly flat, the NSE Nifty rose to the day’s high, then touched the day’s low before sharply recovering to trade at the day’s high of 25,093.27.
Among the 30 Sensex shares, 25 stocks were trading in the green. Among the top gainers were PowerGrid, Adani Ports, BEL, Reliance, Mahindra & Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, and IndiGo, rising by up to 7.91%. The laggards were Axis Bank, Infosys, Titan, TCS, and Trent, falling by up to 1.97%.
After opening nearly flat, at around 9:30 am, the BSE Sensex jumped by 350 points to 81,112.03 in the opening trade, while the NSE Nifty rose 91 points to trade above the 24,900 level at 24,910.85. However, the benchmarks gave up all gains and declined to day’s low amid heavy volatility.
Aakash Shah, technical research analyst at Choice Equity Broking Private Ltd, said, “Near-term sentiment remains cautious despite some support from domestic technical indicators. The broader market direction will largely be influenced by global equity cues, crude oil price movements, and institutional fund flows.”
On Sunday, the Nifty saw an aggressive sell-off after the Budget 2026 announcement to hike STT, plunging nearly 870 points from 25,440 to an intraday low of 24,571, before staging a partial recovery to close at 24,825.
“A strong bearish candle was formed, with the index closing decisively below the 200-day EMA, indicating a deterioration in trend strength. Immediate resistance is placed at 24,950–25,000, while key support lies in the 24,650-24,700 zone. The RSI slipped to 31, reflecting oversold conditions, while India VIX surged 10.73% to 15.09, highlighting elevated market volatility,” Shah said.
On Sunday, February 1, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs 588 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) also remained net sellers, offloading shares worth Rs 682 crore, adding to the pressure on the market.
V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Investments Ltd, said, “Yesterday’s market selloff resulting in 495 point crash in Nifty was a knee-jerk reaction to the sharp increase in STT on F&O trades. This was not a revenue-raising measure, but a decision to discourage retail traders from complex F&O trading, in which 92% of them were losing money. This decision is in the interest of retail investors. But this decision impacted the market sentiments, which were already impacted by the decision to make no changes in the LTCGs tax, which a section of the market was expecting rather unrealistically.”
It is important to understand that the Budget is a growth-oriented Budget with fiscal prudence. The 10% nominal GDP growth projected in the Budget is achievable and has the potential to deliver around 15% earnings growth in FY27. The market will soon start discounting this positive. But it is possible that FIIs may continue to sell impacting the market. Retail investors should keep their cool and remain invested and continue to invest systematically. A significant upturn in the market may take time; perhaps a retreat from AI trade globally. We don’t know when this will happen. But we know that an earnings rebound is imminent in response to this growth oriented Budget. That is a clear positive, he added.
February 02, 2026, 09:34 IST
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Gold and silver prices have continued to drop sharply in a “brutal” sell-off after hitting record highs in recent weeks.
The precious metals began falling on Friday in response to US President Donald Trump’s nomination for the incoming chairman of the Federal Reserve.
His choice for former Fed governor Kevin Warsh to replace current chairman Jerome Powell when his term ends in May soothed some investor nerves, which boosted the US dollar but saw appetite for safe-haven investments gold and silver slump in response.
Gold and silver suffered their worst trading days for decades on Friday and were down heavily again on Monday, with spot prices off by another 7% and 11% respectively at one stage.
Silver had plunged by nearly 30% on Friday and gold dropped over 9% in its worst one-day drop since 1983.
Gold and silver had been enjoying a record breaking rally as investors sought refuge amid global geopolitical uncertainty, conflict and tariff woes.
Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior analyst at Swissquote, said: “The sell-off has been far more brutal than I, and many, expected.”
He added: “For silver, the rally on the way up was faster than gold’s, so the correction on the way down is faster too.”
Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB, added: “If the sell off continues, then gold and silver are at risk of eroding their losses for the year so far.
“The historic move lower in silver prices has not stemmed a fall at the start of this week.
“Traders have not yet found a level that they are happy to buy the dips, and the timing of Chinese Lunar New Year in mid-February could accelerate the sell off, as Chinese traders reduce risk ahead of the holiday.”
UK and US stock markets are expected to open in the red on Monday, as the gold and silver rout has a knock on effect on mining giants, while Brent oil was also 5% lower.
Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Mining stocks are likely to feel the heat as metal prices scramble to find a floor.
“Oil prices are also trending the wrong way for investors in commodity-focused companies.”
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