Budget
Bloomberg TV India analyses Budget 2015
MUMBAI: The Narendra Modi government will present its first full and possibly most crucial budget on 28 February, 2015. As it earnestly works towards the revival of the Indian economy, the most anticipated question on everyone’s mind is ‘Will the Government Make or Break the Economy?’
To share the views on the same, Bloomberg TV India has come up with a special budget-programming segment titled Budget 2015 – Make or Break.
The year 2015 brings with it sky-high expectations from the new government, which is poised to make breakthroughs that will re-ignite investments and take the economy back to a robust GDP growth.
The government has announced numerous initiatives and reforms- key amongst them being the ‘Make in India’ program, which will boost manufacturing and job creation, digitization programs to increase the use of technology across the country, and the implementation of GST.
For Union Budget 2015, Bloomberg TV India has laid out a comprehensive line-up of special shows which will showcase the best-in-class insights, analyses, reports, debates and interviews appealing to a large spectrum of audience – global and domestic influencers, business leaders, foreign institutional investors, retail investors and the common man.
The Pre-Budget programming started early January, by hosting leading Indian corporate leaders from across the sectors, policy experts and economists on their expectations from Budget 2015.
The big highlight of the Pre-Budget programming includes featuring the point of view of Global Market Movers on what India’s financial markets need, and what they hope to see in Budget 2015.
Apart from covering the FM speech Live, the special coverage on Budget Day and Post-Budget will include reactions and insights on the impact of Budget 2015 from an enviable line-up of global and Indian market movers and thought leaders, along with detailed analysis of major announcements by the best-in-class editorial minds in the business news genre namely Siddharth Zarabi, Harsha Subramaniam and Mini Menon.
Bloomberg TV India executive editor Siddharth Zarabi said that this year it has planned its budget programming with an outlook towards generating content that will appeal to both domestic and global investors.
He further added that in recent times, he has seen a staggering flow of foreign institutional investments in India making FIIs the pillars of Indian market thus it’s very important to know the views of global FIIs. “Therefore we would be capturing the views of these FIIs across Hong Kong, London, Singapore and New York on the budget, which will be one of the key focuses of our budget programming,” he said.
Overall, the Budget programming initiative of the channel will cater to a large and diverse audience – global and domestic influencers, business leaders, foreign institutional investors, retail investors and the common man.
Bloomberg TV India EVP Alok Nair said, “Bloomberg TV India is the only Indian business channel viewed Live on the Bloomberg terminal across 150 countries delivering over 3.75 lacs global individuals who are way high on the influence quotient. We were the first to start the intense Budget programming from January, 2015 with Ideas for transforming India.”
As part of the extensive budget programming, the channel had done an exclusive spectacular Live TV event with Jayant Sinha engaging and answering the FIIs across the world.
“This was a first in a series on Invest in India theme. This year’s Budget day promises to deliver insightful content and analysis with the screen graphics tailor made to suit the viewer requirement. The channel is poised to deliver an impact perspective on budget day for audiences across FIIs, corporate India and investors. Our focus is on the new economy entrepreneurs in a significant manner. With our enviable editorial team strength led by Siddharth, Mini and Harsha, Bloomberg TV India is all set to engage with the best minds in India during budget,” Nair added.
MUMBAI: Anuj Singhal, managing editor at CNBC- AWAAZ and CNBC BAJAR, operates at the sharp end of India’s business news ecosystem. With over two decades in business journalism, he has earned credibility for decoding policy, markets and macro trends for millions of Hindi-speaking investors. Equal parts newsroom leader and market analyst, he shapes editorial direction while anchoring flagship shows that break down the economy, politics and corporate India in real time.
Known for cutting through jargon and hype, Singhal blends data, discipline and clarity — a mix that has made him one of the most trusted voices in Hindi business news.
In this interaction, he discusses the Union Budget, trade deals, newsroom strategy and what truly moves markets and ratings.
• What was the single most market-moving announcement in this Budget, and why?
The most market-moving element was the clear commitment to fiscal consolidation without compromising capex. The glide path on fiscal deficit reassured bond markets and foreign investors, while sustained public investment kept growth expectations intact. That balance removed a big overhang for both equities and debt.
• Do you see this Budget as growth-oriented, fiscally cautious, or politically calibrated?
This Budget is growth-led but fiscally disciplined. It avoids overt populism, stays within macro guardrails, and prioritises medium-term competitiveness over short-term optics. Politically, it is restrained; economically, it is deliberate. The message is clear: stability over spectacle.
• How is CNBC-AWAAZ programming different, especially in decoding trade deal impact?
CNBC-AWAAZ goes beyond headline reaction. We translate policy into portfolio impact — sector by sector, stock by stock.
On trade agreements, our focus is on:
-Earnings visibility
-Export competitiveness
-Currency implications
-Margin sustainability
We don’t treat trade deals as political milestones. We decode them as profit-and-loss events for corporate India and map them to FY earnings trajectories.
• Which sectors look like clear winners and laggards over the next 12–18 months?
The next 12–18 months favour sectors aligned with structural spending and supply-side strengthening.
– Clear beneficiaries:
Capital goods and infrastructure
Manufacturing linked to export chains and PLI ecosystems
Power, defence, and logistics
– Relative laggards:
Consumption segments dependent on immediate demand revival
Businesses facing margin pressure from global volatility or pricing power erosion
This is not a momentum-driven market environment. It is execution-driven. Balance-sheet strength and order visibility will matter more than narrative.
• One headline to sum up this Budget 2026 for India Inc?
“Steady Hands, Long-Term Vision: A Budget That Rewards Discipline Over Drama”.
• What editorial filters do you apply before calling something ‘market-positive’ or ‘negative’?
We apply three structured filters:
– First: Earnings translation — does this materially change earnings visibility or cash flow outlook?
– Second: Time horizon — is the impact immediate, cyclical, or structural?
– Third: Valuation context — good news priced in or not.
If a policy doesn’t move earnings or risk perception, we don’t oversell it.
• How has business news consumption changed around big policy events?**
There has been a clear behavioural shift. They’re less interested in what was said, more in what it means for their money. There’s also a clear shift toward second-screen consumption, with digital platforms complementing live TV. The audience seeks sharper accountability. Viewers no longer accept broad optimism or pessimism — they want frameworks, numbers, and sector mapping.
• CNBC-AWAAZ decisively outperformed on Budget Day. What editorial and distribution choices mattered most?
Three deliberate strategic choices:
– Preparation depth:
We build scenarios months in advance — deficit ranges, sectoral incentives, tax calibrations — so we’re ready with analysis the moment numbers are announced.
– Language of impact:
We translate macro policy into investor-friendly Hindi without diluting complexity. That bridges accessibility and sophistication.
– Integrated distribution:
Television, YouTube, and digital platforms operate as one editorial grid, not parallel silos. This ensures continuity of narrative.We stayed analytical while others stayed reactive.
• How different is your YouTube audience from your TV audience?
The behavioural differences are subtle but important. TV audiences prioritise authority, structured debate, and context. YouTube audiences want speed, clarity, and actionable insights — often sharper, sometimes more opinionated. However, both share one expectation: accuracy. The format evolves; the trust benchmark does not.
• How do you retain viewers after the budget speech ends?
By shifting from announcements to implications.Retention comes from shifting the narrative from announcement to implication. We break down sectoral breakouts, stock-level impact, and what to do next. The speech is just the trigger; analysis is the destination.
• Is Budget Day your biggest traffic day?
It is one of the biggest — but more importantly, it is among the deepest in engagement. Viewers spend longer durations, revisit segments, and seek follow-up programming. That indicates behavioural trust, not just traffic.
• What’s the first thing you personally track on Budget Day — the speech or the markets?
The markets. They’re the fastest truth-teller. The speech explains intent; markets reveal interpretation.
• Your personal Budget-day ritual?
Early morning prep, minimal distractions, and once the speech begins, complete immersion. For me, Budget Day is less about reaction and more about reading between the lines.
• What drove your Budget-day ratings dominance, and how are Budget and trade deals shaping markets now?
Our dominance came from credibility, consistency, and clarity.
As for markets, both the Budget and recent trade deals are reinforcing a narrative of policy stability and global integration, which supports valuations even amid global volatility.
For Singhal, the market is the final judge. Policies can promise and speeches can persuade, but prices reveal what investors truly believe. As India’s investor class grows more informed and more demanding, business journalism is shifting from commentary to calibration. The premium is on clarity, context and credibility. In a landscape flooded with noise, the real edge lies in interpretation. In the end, the markets listen to numbers, not narratives , and Singhal’s craft is helping viewers tell the difference.
