Union Budget 2026: How Choice International Ltd Navigates New Growth Avenues

The Union Budget 2026, presented against India's 'Vikasit Bharat' vision, outlines a strategic roadmap for economic transformation, fiscal discipline, and sustained growth. For Choice International Ltd, a diversified financial services conglomerate, the budget's focus on a robust financial sector, infrastructure development, MSME empowerment, and digital integration creates a fertile ground for expansion across its core business segments.

Budget 2026: A Catalyst for Financial Sector Growth

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman emphasized building a resilient financial sector crucial for mobilizing savings and allocating capital efficiently. This overarching theme directly benefits companies like Choice International, which operates across stock broking, NBFC services, investment banking, and asset management. The budget's commitment to structural reforms and public investment is expected to foster a stable economic environment, encouraging both domestic and foreign capital participation in Indian markets.

Boosting Capital Markets and Broking Operations

The budget introduces measures poised to significantly enhance capital market activity. Notably, the proposal to increase investment limits for individual Persons Resident Outside India (PROI) in listed Indian companies through the Portfolio Investment Scheme, from 5% to 10% (with an overall limit of 24% from 10%), is a direct positive. This move is anticipated to attract greater foreign capital inflows, boosting trading volumes and client assets under management (AUM) for broking firms like Choice International. The company, which reported a 29% year-on-year increase in Demat accounts to 1.205 million and a 25% YoY growth in client assets under management in its stockbroking business in Q2 FY26, stands to benefit from this expanded investor base and increased market liquidity. While the budget proposes an increase in Securities Transaction Tax (STT) on futures (from 0.02% to 0.05%) and options (from 0.1% to 0.15% on premium and 0.125% to 0.15% on exercise), the broader market growth and increased participation are expected to outweigh this minor impact, particularly for Choice's retail-focused broking segment.

Empowering MSMEs: A Boon for NBFC Operations

The Union Budget 2026 places a strong emphasis on empowering Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), a critical engine of growth. This focus directly benefits Choice International's Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) segment. Key proposals include a dedicated ₹10,000 crore SME growth fund to foster