Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2026-2027
The Union Budget 2026–27 was presented in Parliament by the Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman. It is the first Budget prepared in Kartavya Bhawan. The Budget is structured around three kartavya reflecting the vision of Viksit Bharat through growth, inclusion, and resilience.
Philosophical and Global Context: The Budget draws inspiration from Magha Purnima and the birth anniversary of Guru Ravidas. It acknowledges global challenges such as stress on trade and multilateralism, supply chain disruptions, resource constraints, and rapid technological change. India aims to remain integrated with global markets while increasing exports and attracting stable long-term capital.
Kartavya 1: Accelerating and Sustaining Growth: The focus is on productivity, competitiveness, and resilience. Over 350 reforms have been implemented since the Independence Day 2025 announcement, including GST simplification, labour code notification, and rationalisation of quality control orders. Centre–State coordination has been strengthened for deregulation and compliance reduction.
Growth Strategy and Infrastructure Push: Six focus areas include manufacturing in seven strategic sectors, revival of legacy industries, Champion MSMEs, infrastructure expansion, energy security, and City Economic Regions. Public capital expenditure has increased from ₹2 lakh crore in 2014–15 to ₹11.2 lakh crore in BE 2025–26 and further to ₹12.2 lakh crore in BE 2026–27. A ₹10,000 crore SME Growth Fund has been announced.
Sectoral Initiatives: The Biopharma SHAKTI programme of ₹10,000 crore over five years aims to make India a global biopharma hub through new and upgraded NIPERs, 1,000+ clinical trial sites, and strengthened CDSCO. Textiles will be supported through an integrated programme covering fibre, employment, handlooms, sustainability, and skilling.
Transport and Urban Development: Dedicated Freight Corridors will be developed from Dankuni to Surat. Twenty National Waterways will be developed over five years, beginning with NW-5 in Odisha. City Economic Regions will receive ₹5,000 crore each over five years. Seven high-speed rail corridors have been proposed across major urban clusters.
Kartavya 2: Fulfilling Aspirations and Building Capacity: Nearly 25 crore people have exited multidimensional poverty in the last decade. Five regional medical hubs will be developed under PPP. Veterinary capacity will be expanded by over 20,000 professionals. The AVGC sector will be supported to meet a projected demand of two million professionals by 2030. Girls’ hostels will be set up in every district in STEM institutions.
Tourism, Sports, and Skills: A National Institute of Hospitality will be created by upgrading NCHMCT. Ten thousand tourist guides will be trained across twenty sites. The Khelo India Mission will continue as a decade-long sports development programme.
Kartavya 3: Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas: Focus areas include farmer income, Divyangjan empowerment, mental health care, and regional development in Purvodaya and the North-East. Bharat-VISTAAR will provide AI-based agricultural advisory services. Women-led enterprises will be supported through SHE Marts. Mental health infrastructure will be expanded through NIMHANS-2 and upgraded institutes.
Fiscal and Budgetary Numbers: The debt-to-GDP ratio is targeted at 55.6 percent and fiscal deficit at 4.3 percent in BE 2026–27. For 2025–26 RE, total expenditure is ₹49.6 lakh crore and capital expenditure ₹11 lakh crore. For 2026–27 BE, total expenditure is ₹53.5 lakh crore with gross market borrowings of ₹17.2 lakh crore.
Taxation Reforms: The New Income Tax Act, 2025 will come into effect from April 2026. TCS under LRS has been reduced to 2 percent. Compliance relief includes simplified TDS, extended return revision timelines, penalty rationalisation, and limited foreign asset disclosure windows. Customs duties have been rationalised to support exports, clean energy, healthcare, aviation, and ease of living.