Nirmala Sitharaman Speech: Key announcements from finance minister's 9th Budget

Nirmala Sitharaman presenting the Budget 2026

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman has begun presenting her ninth Union Budget in the Parliament, highlighting the estimated receipts and expenditure of the Government of India for the year 2026-27.

Set against the backdrop of geopolitical instability, economic volatility and trade tensions, the Union Budget 2026 is being closely watched by various sectors for fresh support and policy relaxations, especially export-oriented industries affected by the US tariff hikes imposed last year.

On January 29, Sitharaman tabled the Economic Survey 2025-26, noting that India's economic growth remains resilient, with strong domestic demand as the main anchor, even as the global environment remains fragile.

Taking an optimistic view of the economy, the Economic Survey estimated India's potential growth at around 7 per cent. It also projected that India's GDP growth in FY27 is likely to remain in the range of 6.8 per cent to 7.2 per cent, reflecting the economy's medium-term strength supported by reforms and macroeconomic stability.

Nirmala Sitharaman Budget Speech Live: Here's a look at the top quotes and announcements:

-"I propose to exempt basic customs duty on components and parts required for the manufacture of civilian training and other aircraft. It is also proposed to exempt basic customs duty on raw materials imported for the manufacture of aircraft parts to be used in maintenance, repair, or overhaul requirements by units in the defence sector."

-Sitharaman announced a proposal to halve the tariff on dutiable personal imports, reducing it from 20 percent to 10 percent.

-FM Sitharaman proposes to provide tax holiday till 2047 to any foreign company that provides cloud services to customers globally by using data center services. However, it will need to provide services to Indian customers through an Indian reseller entity.

-FM introduces 6-month foreign asset disclosure scheme for tax payers; proposes that the deadline for filing ITR-1 and ITR-2 will continue to be July 31. TCS on medical and education reduced from 5 percent to 2 percent

-Fiscal deficit projected at 4.3 per cent of GDP for FY27.

-Building on the success of the Lakhpati Didi programme, the finance minister proposed to help women take the next step from credit-led livelihoods to being owners of enterprises. Self-Help Entrepreneurs (SHE) Marts will be set-up as community-owned retail outlets within the cluster level federations through enhanced and innovative financing instruments.

-FM says govt has accepted recommendation of 16th Finance Commission to retain vertical share of devolution at 41%; sets debt to GDP ratio for FY27 at 55.6 percent in Budget.

-"I propose to set up mega textile parks in challenge mode. I propose to launch the Mahatma Gandhi Gram Swaraj initiative to strengthen Khadi and handloom," said Sitharaman.

-FM announces launch of India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) 2.0 in her Budget speech, alongside a sharp increase in the outlay for the electronics components manufacturing scheme (ECMS) to Rs 40,000 crore.

-"To provide relief to patients, particularly those suffering from cancer, I propose to exempt basic customs duty on 17 drugs or medicines. I propose also to add 7 more rare diseases for the purposes of exempting import duties on personal import of drugs, medicines and food for special medical purposes used in their treatment."

-FM announces to create 1 lakh Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) in 10 disciplines like optometry, radiology, anaesthesia. Over the next five years, FM announces to create 1.5 lakh care givers for geriatric and NSQF aligned programs.

- FM proposes to set up a high powered education to employment standing Committee to recommend measures that focus on services sector towards Viksit Bharat.

-Outlay of Rs 20,000 cr proposed for launch of carbon capture and utilisation scheme across sectors like steel and cement.

-Finance minister proposes developing seven high speed rail corridors between cities - Mumbai to Pune, Pune to Hyderabad, Hyderabad to Chennai, Hyderabad to Bengaluru, Chennai to Bengaluru, Delhi to Varanasi, Varanasi to Siliguri.

-FM proposes setting up a high level committee on banking for Viksit Bharat to review the banking sector and align it with India's next phase of growth.

-Public capital expenditure has increased manifold, from Rs two lakh crore in 2014-15 to an allocation of Rs 11.2 lakh crore in BE 25-26. In this coming year, that is financial year 2026-27, Budget proposes to increase it to Rs 12.2 lakh crore, to continue the momentum.

-Three-fold approach to strengthen MSMEs: Rs 10,000 crore SME growth fund to create champions among MSME, top-up self reliant India fund with Rs 2,000 crore and providing liquidity support.

-Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu to establish dedicated rare earth mineral corridors.

-"To develop India as a global bio-pharma manufacturing hub, I propose Bio Pharma Shakti with an outlay of Rs 10,000 crores over the next 5 years. This will build an ecosystem for domestic productions of biologics and biosimilars."

-"We are inspired by three kartavyas -- accelerate and sustain economic growth, fulfill aspirations of people and build capacity and third is to ensure that every family community region has access to resources."

-India will continue to take confident steps towards Viksit Bharat, balancing ambition with inclusion. As a growing economy with expanding trade and capital needs, India must also remain deeply integrated with global markets.

Follow all the live updates on Budget 2026 here