Mint poll finds high demand for populist budget

Major relaxations in direct and indirect taxes announced last year appear to have found favour with the population, but expectations for more still run high ahead of the Budget, a Mint readers' poll suggests.

- Rupanjal Chauhan

Most respondents to the poll still favour a populist budget approach, and are hoping for further tax relief and some exemptions under the new tax regime.

Mint surveyed its digital and print readers between 4 December 2025 and 26 January 2026 to capture public views and gauge what they want the government to prioritize this time. A total of 1,674 readers answered the poll. The sample is not representative of the population.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to table the Union Budget for 2026-27 on Sunday, 1 February.

The poll captured views on last year's tax slab changes and their impact, expectations from the budget, whether further populist measures are warranted, the need for targeted schemes for women, farmers and entrepreneurs, and the timeframe the government should think of in its policy-making in pursuit of the goal to make India a developed economy by 2047.

Priorities for Budget 2026

When asked about their top priorities, the option “tax rates for the middle class” turned out to be the most popular, with 23% of votes, even though the past year saw income tax slab relaxations and cuts in goods and services tax (GST) slabs. About 22% of respondents want the budget to prioritize job creation for the youth.

Participants could only pick one out of the seven options provided.

Health and education (19%), infrastructure development (13%), and controlling the fiscal deficit (11%) seemed to be the top priority for fewer respondents.

Tax cuts find favour