The Indian Union Budget presented on a Sunday due to a scheduling conflict, aimed to navigate a challenging global environment by balancing short-term economic stability with a long-term growth roadmap, focusing on three key priorities: accelerating growth, fulfilling citizen aspirations, and ensuring inclusive development.
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Enhancement of construction [music] and
infrastructure equipments, high-speed
rail corridors as growth connectors,
individual persons resident outside
India [music]
will be permitted to invest in equity
instruments, medical tourism services,
creation of five tourism destinations in
five poor states. >> [music]
>> [music]
>> I commend the budget to this August house.
It's budget day in India. Every year the
budget is presented on the 1st of
February. This year it fell on a Sunday.
So the government took an unusual step.
It presented the union budget on a
Sunday. Even the stock markets were
open. And that alone should tell you
something. This is not a routine budget.
It comes at a time when India stands at
a crossroads. It faces a challenging
global environment. Trade wars and
tariffs are testing India's long-term
resilience. And that is why this year's
budget assumes greater significance. The
expectations were high. The budget was
supposed to do two things. Chart a
short-term course for a volatile world
and lay out a long-term road map for
India's economic future. The question
is, did it deliver?
We'd say it's a mixed bag. And tonight
on the show, we'll explain why we say
this. But we'll start with the
highlights of the budget. Number one,
the budget spelled out three clear
priorities. Finance Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman called them the three
kartavas or the three duties. One,
accelerate growth so that the economy
can withstand global shocks. Two, help
every Indian fulfill their potential
through education, innovation and job
creation. and three ensure inclusive
development and access to resources for
all so that no family no village no
state is left behind. We are inspired by
three kartabya.
Our first kartabya is to accelerate and
sustain economic growth. Our second
kartabya is to fulfill aspirations of
our people. Our third kartabya aligned
with our vision of Sapka, Sapka Vikas
is to ensure that every family,
community, region and sector has access
to resources, amenities and
opportunities for meaningful participation.
These three priorities set the tone for
budgetary allocations today. Highlight
number two, capital expenditure. This
time it is 12.12 lakh crore rupees.
That's what the government plans to
spend. 12.2 lakh cr rupees. That's
around 133 billion US. And this is a
record allocation. It's a 9% increase
from last year. Now what is capital
expenditure? This is spending on
building long-term assets. Things like
roads, railways, airports, bridges,
hospitals. The money you spend on
building these. This investment will
help create jobs and boost productivity
in the long term.
>> Public capital expenditure has increased
manifold from 2 lakh cr in 20145
to an allocation of 11.2 lakh cr in B2526.
In this coming year that is financial
year 2026 27 I propose to increase it to
12.2 two lakh crores to continue the momentum.
momentum.
>> Highlight number three, semiconductors
or chips that run modern life. They
power all your gadgets. Everything from
your phones to laptops to cars and
defense systems. Chips are the new oil
and India wants to make them at home. So
the finance minister has announced a
revamped plan. It's called the India
semiconductor mission 2.0.
>> India semiconductor mission 1.0 0
expanded India's semiconductor sector
capabilities. Building on this, we will
launch ISM 2.0 to produce equipment and
materials, design fullstack Indian IP
and fortify supply chains. We will also
focus on industry-led research and
training centers to develop technology
and skilled workforce.
The idea is to design chips at home,
build equipment and create IPS or
intellectual properties. Basically,
India's own patents in chip design and
manufacturing. And this is part of a
larger plan. The government's push in
the electronics manufacturing space.
It's significant both economically and
geopolitically because today China
dominates electronics and chip
manufacturing. It has a strangle hold on
this industry and Taiwan and the US
dominate chip design. India wants to
become self-reliant in both these areas.
It wants to secure supply chains,
upskill its workers and reduce
dependence on imports. And for this, the
government has set aside 40,000 cr
rupees. This is over $4 billion. 40,000
crores. This is linked to highlight
number four, the focus on rare earths.
These are critical minerals used for
making chips and electronics. For India
to win the semiconductor race, it needs
a steady supply of rare earths. Again,
China controls 90% of the world's rare
earths and it has weaponized this
dominance. China has throttled supplies
in the past. So, India wants to build
alternative supply chains. And in
today's budget, the government has
proposed rare earth corridors in four
Indian states. A scheme for rare earth
permanent magnets was launched in 2025
November. We now propose to support the
mineralrich states of Odisa, Kerala,
Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu to
establish dedicated rare earth corridors
to promote mining, processing, research
and manufacturing.
Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil
Nad. These four states will get get rare
earth corridors. They will support
mining, processing, research and
manufacturing activities. The aim is to
unlock India's own mineral wealth and
insulate the economy from external shocks.
shocks.
And why were these four states chosen?
Because they are known to be mineral
rich. They already have mining and
processing infrastructure. Also, Kerala
and Tamil Nad go to the polls this year.
And typically union budgets lean towards
polebound states.
Highlight number five, rail
connectivity. For years, Indian budgets
focused on highways to achieve faster
movement of goods. Now the same strategy
is being extended to railways. This
year, the government has proposed seven
new high-speed rail corridors.
>> We will develop seven high-speed rail corridors
corridors
between cities
as growth connectors.
namely Mumbai to Pune, Pune to
Hyderabad, Hyderabad to Bengaluru,
Hyderabad to Chennai, Chennai to
Bengaluru, Delhi to Vanasi, Vanasi to Siliguri.
These seven rail corridors will connect
some of India's biggest urban centers
like Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai,
Bengaluru and Delhi. And these are
called growth connectors. The logic is
simple. Better transport will boost
trade. It'll speed up travel and link
key economic centers with smaller towns.
Highlight number six, focuses on small
businesses or MSMES, the micro, small
and medium enterprises. The government
wants to support them. It wants to
cushion them from tariff shocks and help
create jobs. And for this, a 10,000 cr
rupee fund has been announced. That's
over $1 billion. The fund will support
small companies and businesses. Think of
this as venture capital investment for
India's small entrepreneurs. Highlight
number seven, the textile industry. It's
been the hardest hit by US President
Trump's 50% tariff. Now, New Delhi has
launched a fivepart integrated scheme to
boost the textile industry.
>> For the labor intensive textile sector,
I propose an integrated program with
five subp parts.
One, the national fiber scheme for
self-reliance in natural fibers such as
silk, wool, and jute, man-made fibers,
and new age fibers.
Text textile expansion and employment
scheme to modernize traditional clusters
with capital support for machinery,
technology upgradation, and common
testing and certification centers.
Three, the national handloom and
handiccraft program to integrate and
strengthen existing schemes and ensure
targeted support for weavers and
artisans. Highlight number eight,
promoting India in biioarma.
That's a 10,000 cr rupee investment in
biioharmaceuticals. Biioarma is a
specialized field. It involves creating
advanced medicines from living cells,
not chemicals. You're talking about
stuff like vaccines, gene therapies and
cuttingedge cancer treatments. India
already has an edge in these areas. The
government wants to build on it. This
investment will be spread out over a
period of 5 years.
>> I propose the biofarma shaky with an
outlay of 10,000 crores over the next 5 years.
years.
This will build the ecosystem for
domestic production of biologics and bio
similars. The strategy will include a
biioarma focused network with three new
national institutes of pharmaceutical
education and research popularly known
as need nipers and upgrading seven
existing ones. It will also create a
network of thousand accredited India
clinical trials sites.
Highlight number nine is content
creation and this is a first. The
government wants to invest in training
digital content creators. Also, those
involved in animation, visual effects,
gaming, and comics. Together, they're
called the AVGC sector or simply the
orange economy. The government wants to
invest in it. It plans to set up labs in
schools and colleges. for this.
>> India's animation, visual effects,
gaming and comics sector, ABGC sector is
a growing industry projected to require
I propose support
I propose to support the Indian
Institute of Creative Technologies
Mumbai in setting up ABGC content
creator labs in 15,000 secondary schools
>> And finally, highlight number 10,
developing India as a logistics hub. The
budget has a new scheme, a $1 billion
fund to promote the manufacturing of
containers. The goal is to secure
India's place in global supply chains. I
also propose a scheme for container
manufacturing to create a globally
competitive container manufacturing ecosystem
ecosystem
with a budgetary allocation of 10,000
crores over 5-year period.
>> So those were the top highlights, the
top 10. Beyond this, it's worth noting
that the government has met its fiscal
deficit target. The target they set was
4.4% of the GDP. Fiscal deficit, as you
know, means the difference between what
you spend and what you earn. A deficit
arises when the government has to borrow
money to meet its expenses.
Now, the target for this deficit was
4.4% of the GDP. The government hopes to
meet at this time. Another noteworthy
announcement was on health care. India
wants to promote medical tourism. Five
hubs will be developed for this and the
and states will lead the projects with
support from the private sector. The
idea is to attract patients from abroad,
offer them highquality treatment at
lower costs and mental health was also
mentioned in the budget. A major
facility has been announced for the
state of Jaran. The national institutes
in Raji and Tespur that focus on mental
health and neurosciences will also be upgraded.
upgraded.
Plus, there is a push for women in
science to make STEM education
accessible for girls. STEM means
science, technology, engineering, and
math. And the budget talks about
developing Buddhist tourism circuits.
This is something that New Delhi has
been pushing for to leverage religion
and culture and build India's soft power.
power.
But coming back to the key highlights,
today's budget broadly looks at two
goals. to maintain growth and to support
businesses to help them scale up to
shield them from global shocks. And for
this, the plan is to spend, spend more
and spend quickly. The budget has
refrained from any major policy changes.
It has failed to impress investors. The
markets failed today. We'll tell you why
in our next story.
The world doesn't fit in boxes, so why
should your news?
From battlefields to negotiation tables,
from internet outrage to real [music]
the conversations everyone [music] is
having and the ones they're avoiding.
It's the same show, but this new year,
First Post America gets a new look. I'm
Kerry Johnston and this is First Post America.
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