Union Budget FY 2026-27: Key Announcements and Highlights You Need to Know

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget for FY 2026–27 in the Lok Sabha on Sunday, making it only the second time a Union Budget was tabled on a Sunday.

The Budget was introduced as a “Yuva Shakti Driven Budget”, with the government’s focused on the poor, underprivileged and disadvantaged with three guiding principles: accelerating and sustaining economic growth, fulfilling aspirations and building capacity, and ensuring Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas.

Sitharaman announced India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) 2.0, building on earlier ISM 1.0 with an outlay of ₹40,000 crore to strengthen semiconductor production, Indian IP, and supply chains.

Sitharaman also announced dedicated Rare Earth Mineral Corridors in Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, aimed at improving supply security and strengthening industrial readiness and furthering its bid to reduce dependence on China.

The government increased public spending on infrastructure to ₹12.2 lakh crore and proposed seven high-speed rail corridors as “growth connectors”, linking Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Varanasi and Siliguri.

The government also placed strong focus on the Orange Economy, announcing Content Creator Labs for AVGC (Animation, VFX, Gaming, Comics) in 15,000 schools and 500 colleges, alongside a broader push for youth skill development.

Sitharaman also proposed a tax holiday till 2047 for foreign companies offering global cloud services through data centres in India, though such firms will have to serve Indian customers via an Indian reseller entity.