Cancer drugs, foreign education, alcohol… What becomes cheaper and costlier after Budget 2026?

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her record ninth Budget in Parliament today (February 1). The focus has been on jobs, capital expenditure is up, and there have been no changes in income tax. How is the Budget going to impact you? What has become cheaper and what is more expensive?

• Catch all the live updates from Union Budget 2026 here

CHEAPER

Cancer drugs: The Union Budget 2026-2027 has brought a big relief for cancer patients and families coping with high treatment costs. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the removal of basic customs duty on 17 cancer-related drugs and medicines. The move aims to make life-saving therapies more affordable.

Sitharaman said that the duty exemption would directly help reduce the prices of critical drugs used across multiple cancer treatments. Imported oncology medicines often attract basic customs duty, contributing significantly to their final retail price.

Apart from exemptions on cancer drugs, the FM also announced that seven more rare diseases will be brought under customs duty relief. Under this proposal, personal imports of drugs, medicines and foods for special medical needs used in the treatment of these rare diseases will be exempt from import duties. The move will benefit patients who depend on niche therapies that are not manufactured in India and are often brought into the country on a named patient basis, reports NDTV.

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Foreign tourism packages: Overseas tourism packages are expected to get cheaper. The TCS (tax collected at source) rate has been cut from five per cent to 20 per cent to two per cent.

Foreign education: Foreign education is expected to get cheaper. A lower TDS has been announced under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme for education expenses.

Microwave ovens: Microwaves will become more affordable, as the Basic Customs Duty has been exempted.

Shoe upper exports: Shoe upper exports will get cheaper, with duty free exports now allowed.

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Sports equipment: With a focus on sports and announcement of Khelo India mission, sports equipment is expected to become cheaper.

Airplane parts: In a major push to strengthen India’s aviation ecosystem, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Union Budget 2026 speech has proposed to exempt basic customs duty (BCD) on components and parts required for the manufacture of civilian, training and other aircraft.

COSTLIER

Luxury goods: Certain luxury items such as watches and imported alcohol will get more expensive following the Budget speech.

Coffee-related items: If you are a fan of specially brewed coffees, brace yourself. The government has removed exemptions on coffee roasting, brewing and vending machines, which is likely to make it more expensive.

Fertilisers: A few fertilisers are also set to get expensive as the government has removed import fee exemptions on the import of Ammonium phosphate or ammonium nitro-phosphate, which are used in the manufacture of manure and complex fertilisers.

Stock options and futures trading: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman a hike in STT (Securities Transaction Tax) on Futures and Options, which will make derivatives trading more expensive. She announced that the STT on Futures has been raised to 0.05 per cent from 0.02 per cent and STT on Options has been increased to 0.15 per cent from 0.1 per cent.

Income tax misreporting: Misreporting of income tax will now attract a penalty equal to 100% of the tax amount.

With inputs from agencies