India's Union Budget 2026

• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget on February 1, 2026.
• This was the first time in India’s history that the Budget was given on a Sunday.
• The Budget aims to boost self-reliance, create employment, and enhance India’s global competitiveness.
• The total amount of money in the Budget is ₹53.5 lakh crore.
• The plan focuses on three 'Kartavyas' (Duties): economic growth, helping people's dreams, and giving everyone equal chances.
• The Budget focuses on scaling up manufacturing in seven strategic and frontier sectors, including Biopharma SHAKTI, semiconductors, textiles, chemicals, rare earths, and sports goods.
• The government expects the Fiscal Deficit to be 4.3% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
• The government will spend ₹12.2 lakh crore on building big things like roads and bridges, which is called Capital Expenditure (Capex).
• Net market borrowing for the Financial Year 2026–27 has been fixed at ₹11.73 lakh crore

Money and Taxes

• A new law called the Income Tax Act 2025 will start on April 1, 2026.
• There are no changes to the current income tax slabs for people.
• Foreign companies that provide cloud services using Indian data centres will get a Tax Holiday (no tax) until the year 2047.
• The Securities Transaction Tax (STT) for trading in futures and options (stock market bets) has been increased.
• Customs Duty (tax on imported goods) was reduced for 17 cancer medicines to make them cheaper.
• Basic Customs Duty was removed for parts used to make lithium-ion batteries and airplanes.
• Soaps, detergents, and umbrellas might become more expensive due to tax changes.

Transport and Infrastructure

• The Indian Railways will get a record investment of ₹2.93 lakh crore.
• The government will build seven new High-Speed Rail (HSR) corridors, including routes like Mumbai-Pune and Chennai-Bengaluru.
• Twenty new waterways will be opened over the next five years.
• A new East Coast Industrial Corridor will be built with a special centre at Durgapur.
• Chennai will get two of the new high-speed rail corridors.

Science and Industry

• The India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) 2.0 was launched to help India make its own computer chips.
• The Biopharma SHAKTI (Strategic Health and Knowledge Tracking Initiative) scheme will get ₹10,000 crore to help make medicines.
• The Department of Space was given ₹13,705 crore for its missions.
• The government will help 200 old industrial areas (Legacy Clusters) become modern and better.
• A special project for "Sports Goods" was announced to help India make better sports equipment.

Health and Education

• The Health Ministry will receive ₹1.06 lakh crore.
• A second National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS-2) will be built in North India.
• The government will set up five regional medical hubs to bring more people to India for healthcare.
• New schools and colleges will get special labs to learn how to make cartoons and games (AVGC - Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics).
• A new National Institute of Design (NID) will be opened in Eastern India.

Farmers and Rural Development

• A new Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool called Bharat-VISTAAR (Versatile Information System for Targeted Agricultural Assistance and Resources) was launched to help farmers.
• The government will help farmers grow more coconuts, cashews, cocoa, and sandalwood.
• "SHE Marts" will be opened to help women business owners sell their products.
• The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) scheme for farmers was given ₹63,500 crore.

Safety and Others

• Defence spending (money for the army, navy, and air force) will rise by 15.3% to ₹7.84 lakh crore.
• The Home Ministry (MHA) will get ₹2.55 lakh crore to keep the country safe.
• The Khelo India Mission was launched to help young people become better at sports.
• Special "Rare-Earth Corridors" will be built in states like Odisha and Tamil Nadu to find special minerals used in technology.
• The Union Budget 2026–27 announced the establishment of five university townships to strengthen higher education and skill development.