‘Govt spending crucial, hope it does not pursue aggressive tightening’

The key hope from the Union Budget is that the government does not pursue aggressive fiscal tightening, according to the head of equity investments at Canara Robeco Asset Management Co.

- DiptiSharma dipti [e-mail]

With demand weak, private capex subdued, and household incomes seeing limited growth, the government spending remains crucial, said Shridatta Bhandwaldar, chief invest ment officerequities at the company. The previous budget marked a pivot towards consumption and revenue expenditure, and this one should avoid further tightening, he said, adding that defence capex is also expected to rise amid current geopolitical realities,

Other than that, “expectations from the budget are limited,” as it often excites markets but rarely delivers major changes, with taxation and strategic decisions increasingly happening outside it, said Bhandwaldar.

Last year was a bit of a dampener, but expectations are that 2026 will be better. What does Canara Robeco AMC expect?

From our perspective, it’s largely a continuation. The change is that we are now a listed entity, which adds accountability and an extra layer of regulation and scrutiny, with investors watching closely. Over the last five to six years, we've seen steady growth, maintained or increased market share, launched new products, and expanded our equity offerings. Most core-category NFOs (new fund offers) are done, with arbitrage only pending.

We closed the year with roughly3.11 lakh crore domestic equity assets under management (AUM) and around ₹16-I7k crore offshore, taking total equity AUM/advisory to around ₹1.25-1.26 lakh crore. We have I4 equity-oriented products, so that part of the portfolio is largely complete.

What has changed now?