New Delhi, Dec. 31 -- With the Union budget of fiscal year 2027 (FY27)-finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman's ninth-set to be announced soon, India's governance engine is revving up to add more muscle to the slew of reforms initiated in FY26.

The two keywords for the coming budget-de-regulation and de-criminalisation-are being impressed upon all who matter within the government in an effort to make the budget a blueprint for faster economic growth over the medium term, according to two persons informed about developments within the government.

The first person cited above said that every ministry and department has been instructed to give proposals for deregulation and decriminalization of laws, rules and procedures. "These are being rev...