New Delhi, Nov. 3 -- Ahead of the Union budget, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday acknowledged investor concerns amid changing circumstances and said the government would consider the need to deepen and widen equity and bond markets while keeping its focus on trust-based taxation, ease of compliance and new-age skilling to generate employment. Asked whether the budget would roll out a red carpet for foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), Sitharaman said she understood the sensitivity and anxiety among retail investors and equity market participants. She pointed out that the taxation structure had been similar in 2023-24, when India recorded its highest inflows. "Whilst I observe this with not being biased either way, the taxation structure was what it is today even in 2023-24 when we had good inflow into the country," she said at the Financial Express Leadership Awards in Mumbai. "Nothing differently was done for drawing investments. But, of course, the situation is very different now. Circumstances have changed. Challenges have grown. More FII outflows, net, have happened. It started resuming now. They've started coming back now," she said. Without disclosing specific policy details ahead of the budget, Sitharaman said the government would take investor concerns into account, given the importance of sustaining economic growth. "So, I know that circumstances have changed, and therefore, voices of concern are louder. I quite appreciate that. So, I'll consider all these, because at a time where our growth is very important, where people are putting their very best, that we are able to see sustained 7-plus growth, in order to keep that intact, we need capital and equity, particularly now," she said. "Although the last few years have been placing a lot of emphasis on bond market, deepening it, widening it. Now we also have this voice which says, come on, even equity needs that kind of support," she said. When asked again whether the budget would roll out a red carpet for the dollar, Sitharaman cautioned against framing the issue as favouring foreign investors over domestic ones. "He [interviewer] would be gracious enough to say, FM said red carpet for the dollar. And, after which Indian investors would say already there's a bias for foreign investors. You didn't want red carpet for the Indian Rupee?," she said adding, "So, on that ground, I don't answer you." Sitharaman also weighed in on the ongoing developments at the Tata group, saying the matter required commercial judgement and cordiality rather than government intervention. "I think these are very delicate matters. And matters where a lot of commercial and business acumen will have to work, business cordiality will have to work," she said. Acknowledging the Tata group's contribution to the economy and its global standing, she said the matter should be resolved amicably within the group. "The contributions of the Parsi community have made Tata as a huge global brand," she said, noting that the group was engaged in a wide range of activities and was a critical component of the Indian economy. "So, this [Tata Group] is a very critical component to Indian economy, and therefore, it has to be amicably settled among themselves. So, they talk it out to make sure that it comes back quickly to some normalcy. It cannot be spilling out like this in the public. And, for the maturity of that leadership, we would like to have this scene settled sooner," she said. On policy priorities ahead of the budget, FM said the government would continue investing in skilling young people to prepare them for new-age technologies and improve their employability. She also emphasised the need to incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) into education curricula and skilling programmes. She said the government would continue its focus on trust-based taxation, citing corporate tax reductions, personal income-tax rationalisation and indirect tax reforms under the second version of the Goods and Services Tax (GST 2.0). Sitharaman also said the government would continue regulatory reforms and decriminalisation, and hinted at further easing of procurement rules, tender conditions, bank guarantees and project execution procedures. She urged industry and other stakeholders to engage with the government throughout the year rather than limiting their interaction to the annual pre-budget memorandum. "They are welcome to ask the government for anything that they want. And I don't think I will be wary of any demand that they want to ask. But post that, I would also want them to keep engaging with us to say whether they're moving forward or not," she said....