Union Budget 2026-27

What was the Union Budget 2026–27 described as in the chapter?

The Union Budget 2026–27 was presented as a Yu va Shakti-driven blueprint anchored in the Viksit Bharat vision and guided by three Kartavyas: Sustaining Economic Growth, Fulfilling Aspirations, and Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas.

Who presented the Union Budget 2026–27?

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2026–27.

What distinction did Nirmala Sitharaman achieve with the Union Budget 2026–27?

Nirmala Sitharaman presented her ninth consecutive Union Budget for FY 2026–27.

Where was the Union Budget 2026–27 prepared/presented?

The Union Budget 2026–27 was prepared in the newly inaugurated Kartavya Bhawan.

When was the Union Budget 2026–27 presented?

The Union Budget 2026–27 was presented on Sunday, 1 February 2026.

What are the six key areas or pillars of growth highlighted in Union Budget 2026–27?

The six pillars are scaling up manufacturing in seven strategic sectors; rejuvenating legacy industrial sectors to boost productivity and competitiveness; creating champion MSMEs; delivering a push for infrastructure development; ensuring long-term economic security and stability across economic and financial systems; and developing city economic regions to drive regional growth and urban development.

What is Biopharma SHAKTI and what does SHAKTI stand for?

Biopharma SHAKTI stands for Strategy for Healthcare Advancement through Knowledge, Technology & Innovation. It aims to develop India into a Global Bio-Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Hub by strengthening the ecosystem for domestic production of biologics and biosimilars.

What are biologics and biosimilars in the context of Biopharma SHAKTI?

Biologics are medicines derived from living sources such as animal or plant cells and microorganisms, including vaccines, blood and blood components, gene therapy, somatic cells and therapeutic proteins. Biosimilars are highly similar versions of biologics that have no clinically meaningful differences from the reference biologic in terms of safety, purity and efficacy.

What funding was proposed for Biopharma SHAKTI?

Biopharma SHAKTI was allocated ₹10,000 crore over five years.

What institutional expansion was proposed under Biopharma SHAKTI?

The Budget proposed establishing three new National Institutes of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPERs) and upgrading seven existing NIPERs.

What is the targeted value of India's Bio-Economy by 2030 under the Budget?

The Budget material targets India's Bio-Economy to reach USD 300 billion by 2030, with the bio-economy contributing about 4.25% as stated in the chapter.

What are the major sub-sectors of India's Bio-Economy mentioned in the chapter?

The sub-sectoral shares mentioned are Bioindustrial at 47%, Biopharma at 35%, BioAgri at 8% and BioResearch at 9%.

What allocation was made for Semiconductor Mission 2.0?

₹1,000 crore was allocated for Semiconductor Mission 2.0, with emphasis on shifting India's semiconductor ecosystem from assembly to higher-value manufacturing and indigenous intellectual property creation.

What expansion was proposed for the Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme?

The Government expanded the Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme outlay to ₹40,000 crore to capitalise on investment momentum and build a large electronics manufacturing ecosystem.

What is the target of the electronics manufacturing ecosystem under the Budget?

The Budget targets creation of a $500 billion electronics manufacturing ecosystem by 2030–31.

What is the Container Ecosystem initiative?

The Budget allocated ₹10,050 crore for developing a domestic container-manufacturing ecosystem, with the objective of reducing dependence on Chinese imports.

What is the Rare Earth Corridor proposed in Union Budget 2026–27?

The Rare Earth Corridor is to be developed across Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu to secure the full value chain from mining to manufacturing of critical minerals.

What is the SME Growth Fund?

The SME Growth Fund is a dedicated ₹10,000 crore fund intended to help scale high-potential MSMEs into “Champion” enterprises capable of competing globally.

What major carbon-capture initiative was announced in the Budget?

₹20,000 crore was announced for Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) technologies to support decarbonisation and reduce emissions from hard-to-abate sectors.

Which new Dedicated Freight Corridor was proposed to improve East–West logistics?

A new Dedicated Freight Corridor connecting Dankuni in West Bengal to Surat in Gujarat was proposed to streamline East–West logistics.

What is the purpose of the proposed high-speed rail corridors?

Seven high-speed rail corridors were proposed as “Growth Connectors” to enable rapid inter-city mobility, including Mumbai–Pune, Pune–Hyderabad, Hyderabad–Bengaluru, Hyderabad–Chennai, Chennai–Bengaluru, Delhi–Varanasi and Varanasi–Siliguri.

What is the Infrastructure Risk Guarantee Fund?

The Infrastructure Risk Guarantee Fund is intended to provide calibrated partial credit guarantees to lenders during the infrastructure development and construction phase.

What are City Economic Regions (CERs)?

City Economic Regions are an initiative to map and develop cities according to their specific economic growth drivers, with ₹5,000 crore allocated for CERs over five years through a competitive-challenge-based implementation mechanism.

What is Bharat-VISTAAR?

Bharat-VISTAAR stands for Virtually Integrated System to Access Agricultural Resources. It is a multi-lingual, AI-based platform designed to integrate AgriStack, India's Agricultural Digital Public Infrastructure, with ICAR's agricultural practices and advanced AI systems.

Which crops received special support under the High-Value Crops initiative?

Special support was announced for cultivation of sandalwood, agar trees, walnuts and almonds to help farmers diversify into high-margin plantation crops.

What global branding target was announced for Indian cashew and cocoa?

The Government aims to achieve “Global Brand Status” for Indian cashew and cocoa by 2030 to enhance export realisation.

What is the Content Creator Labs initiative?

“Content Creator Labs” will be established in 15,000 schools and 500 colleges to create a talent pipeline for the Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) sector.

What proposal was made regarding the National Institute of Design?

The Budget proposed establishing a new National Institute of Design in the Eastern Region. India currently has seven NIDs, all designated as Institutes of National Importance.

What proposal was made for the National Institute of Hospitality?

A National Institute of Hospitality was proposed to upgrade the hospitality ecosystem by strengthening the National Council for Hotel Management and Catering Technology and its academic and tourism linkages.

What tax benefit was proposed for foreign companies providing cloud services from Indian data centres?

Foreign companies providing cloud services to global customers from Indian data centres would receive a tax holiday until 2047 to encourage data-centre localisation.

What is the Orange Economy?

The Orange Economy refers to economic activities driven by creativity, innovation and cultural capital, where value is derived mainly from intellectual property, ideas and cultural expression rather than physical production.

Who coined the concept of the Orange Economy?

The concept of the Orange Economy was coined by Iván Duque Márquez, former President of Colombia, and Felipe Buitrago in their 2013 work “The Orange Economy: An Infinite Opportunity.”

Which sectors are included in the Orange Economy?

Key sectors include audio-visual media such as films, television and OTT content; animation, VFX, gaming and comics; live entertainment such as music, theatre and performing arts; and design, fashion and digital creative industries.

What are the other “colours of economy” mentioned in the Budget material?

The Green Economy refers to sustainable, low-carbon and energy-efficient industries; the White Economy refers to health and social care; the Blue Economy covers marine and ocean-based activities; and the Silver Economy concerns the ageing population and ageing-related services.

What women-led development initiatives were highlighted under Nari Shakti?

The Budget proposed SHE Marts, meaning Self-Help Enterprise Marts, as community-owned retail outlets for women to sell products directly, and STEM Hostels, including a dedicated girls' hostel in each district to increase representation of female students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

What is the SHE Marts initiative?

SHE Marts, or Self-Help Enterprise Marts, are community-owned retail outlets intended to enable women associated with self-help enterprises to market and sell their products directly.

What are the major direct-tax reforms announced in Union Budget 2026–27?

A simplified new Income Tax Act, 2025 is to replace the Income Tax Act, 1961 from 1 April 2026; existing income-tax slabs for FY 2026–27 were retained; TCS on specified overseas education and medical remittances under the LRS was rationalised to 2%; and the Minimum Alternate Tax rate was reduced from 15% to 14%.

What is the status of the Income Tax Act, 2025 under the Budget?

The new Income Tax Act, 2025 is scheduled to replace the Income Tax Act, 1961 from 1 April 2026, with the objective of simplifying the tax framework and reducing litigation.

What change was made to Tax Collected at Source (TCS) on specified overseas remittances under LRS?

TCS on specified overseas education and medical remittances under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme was rationalised to 2%, with the earlier threshold-related complexity removed as stated in the Budget material.

What is the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) limit for a resident individual?

Under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme, a resident individual can remit up to USD 2,50,000 per financial year.

What is the Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) rate after the Budget change?

The Minimum Alternate Tax rate was reduced from 15% to 14%. The measure was presented as benefiting companies with profits but low or zero taxable income.

What nominal GDP growth and real GDP growth were projected for FY 2026–27?

The Budget projected 10.5% nominal GDP growth and 7% real GDP growth for FY 2026–27.

What fiscal deficit target was set for FY 2026–27?

The fiscal deficit target for FY 2026–27 was set at 4.3% of GDP.

What debt trajectory was projected for the Government?

The Government projected public debt to decline to 55.6% of GDP in BE 2026–27 from 56.1% in RE 2025–26, with a stated fiscal plan aiming to stabilise the debt-to-GDP ratio at 50% ±1% by 2030–31.

How much capital expenditure was allocated in Union Budget 2026–27?

₹12.2 lakh crore was allocated as capital expenditure (Capex), intended to generate a multiplier effect through infrastructure-led economic growth.

What was the Total Outlay for FY 2026–27?

The estimated Total Outlay for FY 2026–27 was ₹53.47 lakh crore.

Under which Article is the Annual Financial Statement constitutionally provided for?

Article 112 provides for the Annual Financial Statement, commonly called the Union Budget, which is the estimated statement of receipts and expenditure of the Government of India.

What does the Constitution say about the term “Budget”?

The Constitution of India does not itself use the term “Budget”; the constitutional expression is “Annual Financial Statement” under Article 112.

Who presents the Annual Financial Statement before Parliament?

The President causes the Annual Financial Statement to be laid before both Houses of Parliament under Article 112.

Which department acts as the nodal body for preparing the Union Budget?

The Budget Division of the Department of Economic Affairs under the Ministry of Finance acts as the nodal body for preparing the Union Budget in consultation with concerned ministries.

What are the major components of the Union Budget?

Major components include estimates of revenue and capital receipts, ways and means of raising revenue, estimates of expenditure, actual receipts and expenditure of the closing financial year, and the economic and financial policy of the upcoming financial year.

What are the main stages of budget enactment in Parliament?

The main stages include presentation of the Budget, general discussion, scrutiny by Departmentally Related Standing Committees, voting on Demands for Grants, passing of the Appropriation Bill and passing of the Finance Bill.

What constitutional limitations and parliamentary powers apply to the Union Budget?

A demand for a grant requires the President's recommendation; a Money Bill involving taxation cannot be introduced without such recommendation; money cannot be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund of India except through lawful appropriation; the Lok Sabha votes on Demands for Grants while the Rajya Sabha has no voting power over them; and the Finance Bill is introduced in the Lok Sabha and may be returned by the Rajya Sabha within 14 days.

What is the historical significance of the first Budget of British India?

India's first Budget was presented on 7 April 1860 by James Wilson, Finance Member of the India Council.

Who presented the first Budget of independent India?

The first Budget of independent India was presented in 1947 by R. K. Shanmukham Chetty.

Who presented the first Budget for a united India after the merger of the Railway and General Budgets?

The 1950–51 Budget, the first Budget for a united India, was presented by Finance Minister John Mathai.

What were some notable milestones in India's Budget history?

Liaquat Ali Khan presented the 1947 Interim Budget; C.D. Deshmukh presented the 1950 Union Budget and was India's third Finance Minister; the Railway Budget was presented separately for 92 years until its merger with the Union Budget in 2017; the Budget presentation date was shifted from the last working day of February to 1 February in 2017; and Nirmala Sitharaman delivered the longest Budget speech in 2020 at 2 hours 40 minutes.