The “Living” Budget: FM Sitharaman Slashes Customs Duty to 10% to Cool Inflation and Boost MSMEs

The government wants to make life easier for people in India by reducing the cost of living. To do this Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has made some changes to taxes in the Union Budget 2026. One of the things she did was lower the Basic Customs Duty to 10% on some very important things. This means that India will not have to pay much for things it buys from other countries. The goal of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is to stop prices from going up much and to help the middle class and small businesses in India. The Make, in India plan will also get a boost from these changes.

The move is being seen as a change to make life easier. This change means the country is moving away from taxes on imported things to make trade fair for everyone and bring down costs. The goal is to make the country more competitive, with the rest of the world. This new way of doing things is called the “Ease of Living” change. The “Ease of Living” change is a deal because it helps the country trade with other countries in a better way.

The 10% Cap: Mobile Phones and Electronics

India wants to be a name in the world of electronics. So the Finance Minister has cut the taxes on things like printed circuit board assemblies and mobile phone components. Now they will be ten percent. They did something like this back in 2025 on a scale. The idea is to make fancy mobile phones and home appliances cheaper for people in India to buy. This will help make printed circuit board assemblies and mobile phone components more affordable, which is good for India and, for the people who live there and want to buy these things like premium smartphones and home appliances.

The Finance Minister said that we are changing from a system with high taxes to a system that works really well. She said this during her speech that lasted for 95 minutes. We are putting a limit on taxes for parts at 10 percent the Finance Minister explained. By doing this we are making sure that products that are Made in India are not just good enough for people in countries but are also affordable for every Indian household. The Made in India products should be good for people, in India too. That is what we are trying to do.

Healthcare Relief: Life-Saving Drugs and MedTech

This is really news, for the healthcare sector. The Budget 2026 has brought some changes.

The government has decided that people do not have to pay any duty on cancer drugs. They have added three cancer drugs to the list of drugs that are completely free from duty. This means that Zero Duty will be applied to these cancer drugs which’re really important for saving lives. Zero Duty, on these cancer drugs will help people get the medicine they need.

MedTech Slash: Customs duty on X-ray tubes and flat-panel detectors used in medical imaging has been reduced to 5%, aimed at lowering the cost of diagnostic services in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities.