By Salonee Kulkarni
The longest-serving finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, is expected to make history on Sunday as she presents the ninth consecutive budget.
The Union cabinet has approved the Union budget for 2026-2027. Amidst global uncertainties, the budget will be presented in the Lok Sabha. Proceedings in the lower house of the parliament have commenced.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman quoted, “Since the Modi Government assumed office, the economy has been marked by a state of stability, fiscal discipline, sustained growth and moderate inflation.”
Amidst Trump tariffs and other geopolitical tensions,”…we face an external environment…access to supply chains disrupted,” quoted the finance minister.
A high growth rate of 7% was witnessed by India, which was a result of Atmanirbharta. Atmanirbharta was metaphorically compared to the North Star. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman emphasised that “India must remain deeply integrated with the global markets, exporting more and attracting stable long-term investments.”
The Union Budget 2026-2027 is a unique Yuva Shakti-driven Budget. The Government’s sankalp is to focus on the poor and disadvantaged. To ensure that the government can execute the mission, it will draw its inspiration from three kartavyas, which are to build a resilient strategy to a volatile global dynamics by accelerating and sustaining economic growth. Further, the aspirations of the people will be fulfilled by making them capable and enhancing their capacity to be effective partners. The resources, amenities, and opportunities will be effectively used across families, sectors and regions.
The threefold approach can be ensured through an ecosystem which is supportive. It will require structural reforms, a financial sector which is resilient and equipped with cutting-edge technology.
Interventions in six areas have been proposed:
- Scaling up manufacturing in seven strategic and frontier sectors.
- Rejuvenating legacy industrial sectors
- Creating champion MSMEs
- Delivering a powerful push for infrastructure
- Ensuring long-term security and stability
- Developing city-economic regions.
To ensure health advancement when India is burdened with diseases which are non-communicable in nature, like diabetes. Biopharma Shakti has been proposed for the next five years with a financial blueprint of Rs. 10,000 crore.