As India prepares for the release of a populist budget on Thursday expected to favour the small man, or aam admi, those at the other end of the spectrum – executives running domestic companies and multinationals in the country – are braced for bad news.

Tax consultants say the budget could contain an initiative aimed at bringing mergers and acquisitions by offshore companies that own Indian assets under the tax net, a step some fear could cost multinationals billions of dollars.