New Delhi, Feb. 2 -- Robust buoyancy in personal income tax revenue helped offering tax relief to individuals in the FY26 union budget and this is expected to offset the impact of the substantial tax cut, finance secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said on Sunday.

In a post-budget interview with Mint, Pandey also said the government's push for deregulation could see them being implemented as mandatory reforms, which states are required to implement to qualify for a share of the Centre's 50-year interest-free capex loans.

Meanwhile, the 16th Finance Commission, headed by economist Arvind Panagariya, will give guidance on the state government's debt reduction roadmap, with the central government set to reduce the debt-GDP ratio to 50% by March 2...