Union Budget 2026: Key Highlights
- Strong Push for MSMEs: ₹10,000 crore allocation announced to strengthen MSMEs, boost credit access, innovation, and job creation.
- Infrastructure Expansion: Proposal for 7 high-speed rail corridors to enhance connectivity, logistics efficiency, and regional growth.
- Focus on ‘Viksit Bharat’: Budget aligned with long-term vision of a developed, self-reliant, and inclusive India.
- Employment & Skilling: Emphasis on skill development, entrepreneurship, and support for youth-led enterprises.
- Manufacturing & Make in India: Measures to promote domestic manufacturing, value addition, and global competitiveness.
- Digital & Technology Growth: Continued thrust on digital public infrastructure, fintech, and technology-driven governance.
- Green & Sustainable Development: Support for clean energy, climate action, and sustainable infrastructure.
- People-Centric Approach: Policies aimed at inclusive growth, supporting farmers, women, startups, and the middle class.
Source: Sansad TV
Agriculture & Allied Sectors
- Coconut Production Scheme to enhance productivity; similar proposals for cashew, cocoa, and sandalwood.
- Support for fisheries and animal husbandry sectors.
- Focus on northeast states to increase farmer incomes, empower divyangjan, and provide mental health and trauma care.
- Launch of Bharat Vistar AI tool – multilingual AI platform integrating AgriStack and ICAR portals to support farmers.
- She-Marts – community-owned retail outlets at cluster-level federations.
Disability & Social Welfare
- Disability Pension for Armed Forces: Exemption on service and disability components for personnel invalided due to service-related disability.
- Divyaang Sahara Yojana: Timely access to assistive devices for eligible divyangjan, modern retail-style centres, and scaled-up production.
- NIMHANS 2.0: Upgrading mental health and trauma care institutes in Ranchi and Tezpur.
Sports & Youth
- Launch of Khelo India Mission to train coaches, organize competitions, and set up leagues.
Tourism & Culture
- Upgrade of National Institute of Hospitality.
- Pilot scheme to upskill 10,000 tourist guides across 20 locations.
- National Destination Digital Knowledge Grid for researchers and content creators.
- Development of ecological trails (Himachal, Uttarakhand, J&K), turtle trails (Kerala, Odisha, Karnataka), bird-watching trails (Pulicat Lake).
- Development of 15 archaeological sites.
- Buddhist circuits development in Arunachal, Sikkim, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, and Tripura.
Education & Creative Economy
- AVGC content creator labs in 15,000 secondary schools and 500 colleges.
- New National Institute of Design in Eastern India.
Healthcare & Wellness
- Support for Allied Health Practitioners and caregiver training.
- Promotion of India as a hub for medical-value tourism through 5 regional medical hubs in partnership with private sectors.
- Three new All India Institutes for Ayurveda; upgrades to AYUSH pharmacies and WHO traditional medicine center in Jamnagar.
Services & Technology
- High-powered committee to develop service sector as a growth driver; assess AI and emerging technology impact on jobs.
- Tax Holiday till 2047 for foreign cloud service providers using India-based data centers and reselling to Indian customers.
Finance & Taxation
- Income Tax Act 2025 effective April 1, 2026.
- Exemption of interest awarded by Motor Accident Claims Tribunal to natural persons; TDS removed.
- Reduction of TCS for education and medical purposes: 5% → 2%.
- Scheme for small taxpayers to get lower/nil deduction certificates automatically.
- Extension for revising returns: Dec 31 → Mar 31 (nominal fee).
- Staggered timelines for filing: ITR 1 & 2 till July 31; non-audit businesses/trusts till Aug 31.
- Rationalization of penalties: Common assessment & penalty orders; no interest on penalty during first appeal; pre-payment reduced 20% → 10%; taxpayers can update returns after reassessment initiation.
- One-time six-month foreign asset disclosure scheme for undeclared or partially declared overseas assets.
- Removal of interest deduction against dividend and mutual fund income.
- Capital gains exemption on Sovereign Gold Bonds only for original subscribers held till maturity.
- Rationalization of share buybacks: taxed as capital gains; differential rates for promoters (22% domestic, 30% others).
Finance Commission & Key Numbers
- Rs. 1.4 lakh crore allocated to states for 2026–27.
- Debt-to-GDP ratio: 55.6% (BE 2026–27).
- Fiscal Deficit: 4.3% of GDP (BE 2026–27).
- Revised Estimates: Non-debt receipts Rs. 34 lakh crore; total expenditure Rs. 49.6 lakh crore.
- Budget Estimates 2026–27: Non-debt receipts Rs. 36.5 lakh crore; total expenditure Rs. 53.5 lakh crore.
Infrastructure & Urban Development
- City-economic regions (CERs) allocated Rs. 5,000 crore per CER over five years.
- 7 high-speed rail corridors as growth collectors: Mumbai–Pune, Pune–Hyderabad, Hyderabad–Bengaluru, Hyderabad–Chennai, Chennai–Bengaluru, Delhi–Varanasi, Varanasi–Siliguri.
- Public capital expenditure: Rs. 12.2 lakh crore.
- Infrastructure Risk Guarantee Fund; 20 new waterways; new freight corridors.
- Ship-repair ecosystems in Varanasi and Patna.
- Dedicated East Coast Industrial Corridor with node at Durgapur.
Industry & MSMEs
- Three-pronged MSME support: Rs. 10,000 crore SME Growth Fund; Rs. 2,000 crore Self-Reliant India Fund top-up; liquidity via TREDS platform.
- Professional institutes to design Corporate Mitra programs.
- Scheme to revive 200 legacy industrial clusters.
Sector-specific Initiatives
- Sports Goods sector development.
- Labour-intensive textile sector: National Fiber Scheme, Samarth 2.0, textile expansion, mega-textile parks, Khadi/Handloom/Handicrafts strengthening.
- Strong Capital Goods: High-tech toolrooms, construction & infrastructure equipment enhancement; container manufacturing Rs. 10,000 crore over 5 years.
Minerals & Electronics
- Dedicated rare-earth corridors in Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu.
- Semiconductor Mission 2.0; Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme allocation Rs. 40,000 crore.
Environment
- Carbon Capture Utilization & Storage with Rs. 20,000 crore outlay over 5 years.
Ease of Doing Business
- NRI investment facilitated; reforms to simplify corporate financing.