Union Budget: Govt proposes six-month foreign asset disclosure window for small taxpayers

New Delhi: In a major announcement, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday proposed a six-month foreign asset disclosure scheme for small taxpayers like students, tech professionals and relocated NRIs as she presented the Union Budget 2026-27.

She also said taxpayers will not be charged interest on penalty amounts for the period during which appeals are pending before the first appellate authority, regardless of the final outcome.

The finance minister proposed a three-year exemption on dividend income earned by notified cooperative societies from investments made up to January 31, 2026.

On the healthcare front, Sitharaman said the government plans to increase capacity in district hospitals by 50 per cent through the establishment of emergency and trauma care centres.

She further announced plans to develop ecologically sustainable mountain trails across regions, including Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, the Araku Valley in the Eastern Ghats, and the Western Ghats.