As India approaches Union Budget 2026, financial inclusion experts are advocating for a transformative shift toward gender-intentional design in financial systems to accelerate women's economic empowerment. This approach goes beyond traditional schemes and rebates, focusing on embedding women's needs and realities into the core architecture of financial products, services, and policies. The objective is to ensure financial systems work effectively for women at scale, moving from isolated initiatives to comprehensive systemic change.

Gender-Disaggregated Data as Foundation for Better Design

Gender-disaggregated data emerges as a critical priority for understanding how women engage with financial services and identifying persistent gaps. This data provides essential evidence for designing suitable products, improving fairness in credit scoring, creating responsive policies, and setting meaningful gender targets. Currently, the RBI Financial Inclusion Index tracks access, usage, and quality of financial services across India but does not reveal how effectively women are being served.

Experts propose incorporating a Gender Intentionality Index within the existing FI Index to address this gap. This enhanced framework would measure key indicators including:

• Account ownership patterns
• Credit access and utilization
• Social security enrollment rates
• Workforce diversity metrics
• Digital usage behaviors

Early implementation of gender-disaggregated approaches has shown promising results:

Women Agents as Social Infrastructure

While India's Digital Public Infrastructure has delivered significant gains in financial access through digital identity, instant payments, and direct benefit transfers, substantial opportunities remain in building financial resilience. The focus shifts to greater uptake of credit, pensions, and microinsurance through trusted, well-trained women agents operating as financial intermediaries at the community level.

Women agents function in various capacities as Bima Vahaks, Vitta Sakhis, and UPI Didis, serving as critical links in achieving India's financial inclusion goals by 2030. Their effectiveness stems from community presence, trusted relationships, and ability to explain complex financial and insurance products, enabling informed decision-making and effective claims support.

Evidence-Based Performance Advantages

Data from Jan Dhan Plus demonstrates that women agents consistently outperform their male counterparts while building stronger trust across multiple financial services. Maharashtra's UMED–State Rural Livelihood Mission provides concrete evidence of how BC Sakhis can complement Digital Public Infrastructure as social infrastructure, delivering higher transaction volumes and broader service coverage.

Strategic Priorities for Budget 2026

To realize the vision of "Insurance for All by 2047," experts recommend the upcoming Union Budget prioritize several key areas:

The proposed approach aligns with the Panch Jyoti framework for the next phase of financial inclusion, emphasizing data-driven action to strengthen women's financial resilience. This comprehensive strategy positions women not just as beneficiaries but as essential infrastructure enabling broader participation in India's evolving financial ecosystem.

Tax policy experts have presented comprehensive recommendations for Budget 2026 to enhance India's mergers and acquisitions environment, particularly with the Income-tax Act, 2025 scheduled for implementation from April 1, 2026. The suggestions aim to address existing regulatory gaps and improve the ease of doing business for M&A transactions.

Fast-Track Demerger Tax Neutrality

A primary recommendation involves extending tax neutrality to fast-track demergers under Section 233 of the Companies Act, 2013. Currently, the Income-tax Act, 2025 provides tax neutrality only to NCLT-approved demergers under Sections 230 to 232, excluding fast-track demergers that enable small or closely held companies to undertake demergers without court approval.

The finance ministry's rationale for excluding fast-track demergers centers on concerns about potential valuation manipulation without court oversight. However, experts argue this approach contradicts the ease of doing business agenda, forcing genuine taxpayers to choose between transaction efficiency and tax benefits.

Contingent Consideration Clarity

Experts emphasize the need for clear taxation guidelines on earn-out, profit-linked, or contingent consideration arrangements that have become increasingly common in M&A transactions. These arrangements tie part of the sale consideration to achieving specific profitability or financial milestones.

The current legal framework lacks clarity on:

• Taxability of contingent payments
• Timing of taxation for such arrangements
• Treatment of milestone-based considerations

Foreign Company Merger Anomalies

The recommendations address existing inconsistencies in foreign company merger taxation. While foreign companies enjoy capital gains tax exemptions on direct or indirect share transfers during mergers with other foreign companies, shareholders of the amalgamating company face potential capital gains liability on share swaps.

This creates an anomaly compared to domestic mergers, which provide exemptions at both company and shareholder levels.

Capital Gains Tax Rate Concerns

The recent capital gains tax regime rationalization introduced higher long-term capital gains tax rates, which experts suggest adversely impacts investor returns and exit efficiency. The increased rates potentially drive investors toward jurisdictions with more favorable tax regimes.

Key concerns include:

• Reduced post-tax returns for investors
• Decreased competitiveness with other investment destinations
• Impact on foreign capital attraction

Experts recommend reducing capital gains tax rates, suggesting restoration of the earlier 10.00% rate to improve India's competitive position in attracting foreign investment.

Strategic Implementation Timeline

With the Income-tax Act, 2025 set for April 1, 2026 implementation, Budget 2026 represents the final opportunity to incorporate these amendments before the new framework takes effect. The recommendations aim to position India as a preferred destination for cross-border M&A activities while maintaining regulatory integrity and supporting corporate growth objectives.