The Union Budget 2026 was presented by the Finance Minister, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, 2026. The budget proposes new changes in customs duties and tariffs that are set to make some tech items cheaper this year. The announcement of ISM 2.0 and a bigger budget for ECMS will also lead to numerous benefits for the Indian consumer. Let’s take a quick look at what’s getting cheaper in the world of tech.
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In This Article
Union Budget 2026: Smartphones cheaper, coffee machines and cameras more expensive
The Union Budget 2026/27 gave way to new import tariffs and customs duties. The new structure allows more breathing room for medicines by slashing the Basic Customs Duty (BCD) on 17 cancer drugs to zero and nullifying the import duties for medications and specialised nutrition related to 7 rare diseases. The customs duties on personal-use imports have been brought down to 10% from 20%. When it comes to tech, these products will get cheaper this fiscal year:
- Smartphones and Tablets
- TVs
- Microwaves and Ovens
- EV batteries
- Solar panels
New changes to the law will encourage smartphone companies to scale up production within India, effectively bringing down the prices of their products. The new policy dictates that products made from machines owned by manufacturers like Tata and Foxconn will not incur additional charges. This rule applies to factories in ‘custom-bonded areas’ till 2030-31.
Indian Semiconductor Mission (ISM) 2.0 was one of the big announcements in the Union Budget 2026. It seeks to produce equipment and materials, design full-stack Indian IP, and fortify supply chains. The outlay to the Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS) has been increased from Rs 22,919 crore to Rs 40,000 crore. To enable critical infrastructure and boost investment in data centres, the Budget 26/27 has proposed a tax holiday till 2047 to any foreign company that provides cloud services to customers globally by using data centre services from India. However, these services must be provided to Indian customers through an Indian reseller entity.
While the smartphones may be getting cheaper, the price of these items is set to go up in the next fiscal year:
- Premium cameras and filming equipment
- Imported luxury watches
- Cofee machines
- Imported cars
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Final Thoughts
As we move further into the year, the reduction in high import costs associated with semiconductors will trickle down to the user in the form of lower asking prices. Expect cheaper AI services as well. What did you think of the Union Budget 2026? Let us know in the comments!
