Union Budget will boost incomes of poor families, farmers and small businesses through targeted agricultural and handicraft initiatives.
The Union Budget prioritises raising living standards for poor families, labourers, farmers, women and students by enhancing earning opportunities and accelerating economic growth. It includes targeted measures to increase incomes of farmers and small business owners through promotion of crops and allied activities (cashew, walnut, almond, coconut, coffee, fish farming) and special provisions for khadi, handlooms and handicrafts to benefit weavers and traditional artisans.

MSME support: Rs 10,000 crore growth fund plus TReDS liquidity measures, credit guarantees and compliance support announced.
Budget establishes a three pronged MSME programme: a Rs 10,000 crore SME Growth Fund and Rs 2,000 crore top up to the Self Reliant India Fund for equity support; liquidity measures leveraging TReDS-mandating TReDS for CPSE purchases, CGTMSE credit guarantees for invoice discounting, GeM TReDS integration, and TReDS receivables as asset backed securities; and professional support through accredited para professionals to assist MSME compliance. Administrative reforms include extended timelines for revised returns, simplified TDS for manpower supply, and converting procedural penalties into fees.

Union Budget advances urban development fund, municipal bond concession, sectoral incentives and tax changes affecting healthcare affordability.
The Union Budget allocates a Rs 12 lakh crore city development fund and a Rs 100 crore municipal bond concession to accelerate tier two and tier three urbanisation, announces Mumbai-Pune and Pune-Hyderabad high speed rail corridors, provides Rs 40,000 crore for semiconductors and Rs 10,000 crore for biopharma to boost manufacturing, and implements a simplified income tax regime alongside reduced import duties on medicines for chronic diseases to improve healthcare affordability.

Tax holiday for foreign cloud providers using Indian data centres to serve global customers, with reseller and safe harbour rules.
A tax holiday until 2047 is offered to foreign companies providing cloud services globally using Indian data centres, provided they serve Indian customers through an Indian reseller entity; a 15% safe harbour on cost applies where the data centre services provider is a related entity.

Union Budget 2026 offers no policy vision and neglects farmers, disadvantaged groups, and stressed state finances.
The Union Budget 2026 is criticised for lacking a coherent policy vision and failing to propose substantive measures for economic, social, and political challenges. It reportedly provides no income security plan for farmers, omits targeted support for disadvantaged communities, and does not appear to relieve stressed state finances, raising concerns about fiscal federalism. Administratively, the Budget raises the capital expenditure target to Rs 12.2 lakh crore for FY27 and includes infrastructure measures for smaller cities.

Indian non residents permitted to invest in domestic equities via Portfolio Investment Scheme; higher individual and aggregate limits.
The government proposes permitting Individual Persons Resident Outside India (PROI) to invest in equity instruments of listed Indian companies through the Portfolio Investment Scheme, increasing the individual PROI limit from five percent to ten percent and raising the aggregate cap for all individual PROIs from ten percent to twenty four percent.

Rare earth corridors to support mining, processing, research and manufacturing in Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
The Budget proposes seven High-Speed Rail corridors, including Hyderabad-Chennai and Chennai-Bengaluru, and proposes dedicated Rare Earth Corridors to support mining, processing, research and manufacturing in Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, alongside environmental and cultural initiatives such as an ecologically sustainable mountain trail in Podhigai Malai, bird-watching trails along Pulikat Lake, and development of the Adichanallur archaeological site.

Union Budget criticised for ignoring jobs, manufacturing and farmer distress despite capex rising to Rs 12.2 lakh crore.
The Budget for 2026-27 is criticised as ignoring core crises-youth unemployment, falling manufacturing, capital withdrawals, low household savings and farmer distress-while announcing an increase in capital expenditure to Rs 12.2 lakh crore for FY27 and measures to boost infrastructure, including in tier 2 and tier 3 cities, against a backdrop of global uncertainty and export slowdown.

Union Budget boosts Maharashtra's finances with higher tax devolution and targeted infrastructure and agricultural funding.
The Union Budget increases devolution of taxes to Maharashtra to Rs 98,306 crore-about Rs 15,000-20,000 crore more than prior years-enhancing the state's fiscal capacity. It also allocates funds for rural road infrastructure, agriculture business networks, economic clusters, tertiary medical education, agricultural and rural transformation, high-speed rail, metro expansion and mass urban transport projects, enabling states to implement transport, health and agrarian reforms within the central fiscal framework.

India budget boosts investment appeal, launches rural programmes, supports agriculture and livestock, and commits to high-speed rail connectivity.
The Budget targets a fiscal deficit below 4.5 per cent while promoting India as an investment destination through sectoral support for manufacturing, infrastructure, health, tourism and digital industries. It launches the Mahatma Gandhi Gram Swaraj Yojana to strengthen rural economies, backs agricultural value chains including coconut, cashew, sandalwood and fisheries via reservoirs and export access, expands veterinary and livestock services, provides credit-linked subsidies for dairy and poultry, and commits to seven high-speed rail corridors to boost national connectivity.

Union Budget 2026-27 balances fiscal deficit reduction and inflation control with high capital expenditure and MSME support.
Union Budget 2026-27 emphasises reducing fiscal deficit and containing inflation while maintaining high capital expenditure to support infrastructure and growth. It frames fiscal policy within a human-centric, trust-based governance model, advances Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat goals, and provides targeted support to MSMEs to enable scaling from local to global markets.

Food, fertiliser and fuel subsidies are reduced 4.47% in the FY27 budget, with lower allocations across all three heads.
Union Budget 2026-27 projects a 4.47% reduction in combined food, fertiliser and fuel subsidies to Rs 4,10,495 crore for FY27. Food subsidy is marginally lower at Rs 2,27,629 crore, primarily under PMGKAY supplying free rations to over 81 crore beneficiaries. Fertiliser subsidy is reduced to Rs 1,70,805 crore (Rs 1,16,805 crore for urea; Rs 54,000 crore for non-urea) and petroleum subsidy falls to Rs 12,085 crore, reflecting revised and budget estimates for managing subsidy outlays in the coming fiscal year.

Fiscal deficit pegged at 4.3% of GDP for FY27, financed mainly through Rs 11.7 lakh crore net market borrowings.
Fiscal policy fixes the fiscal deficit at 4.3% of GDP for FY27 as the operative instrument for debt consolidation, with the central government debt-to-GDP ratio estimated at 55.6% in BE 2026-27 and an explicit target to reach about 50 1% by March 31, 2031. Financing for FY27 is specified as Rs 11.7 lakh crore net market borrowings (Rs 17.2 lakh crore gross), with remaining resources from small savings and other sources.

Budget assigns Rs 95,692.31 crore to VB-G RAM G and Rs 30,000 crore to MGNREGA as transition funding.
The Budget allocates Rs 95,692.31 crore for the new VB-G RAM G while assigning Rs 30,000 crore to MGNREGA, which will continue until VB-G RAM G is implemented and pending works completed; the Department of Rural Development's total allocation is Rs 1,94,368.81 crore, with specified allocations for Land Resources, PMGSY, DAY-NRLM and PMAY-G and distinctions drawn between initial allocations and revised expenditure estimates.

MSME Growth Fund proposal to deploy Rs 10,000 crore to boost capital, competitiveness and market access.
Proposal to establish a Rs 10,000 crore MSME Growth Fund in the Union Budget 2026-27 to provide targeted capital addressing liquidity constraints, complement enhanced credit access and structural support, and to improve competitiveness, market access and integration of MSMEs into value chains.

Infrastructure Risk Guarantee Fund to provide partial credit guarantees to lenders, strengthening private developers' risk management.
Proposal to create an Infrastructure Risk Guarantee Fund to provide prudently calibrated partial credit guarantees to lenders backing private developers during development and construction phases, aimed at strengthening lender confidence and improving developer access to credit; and a parallel initiative to map City Economic Regions with Rs 5,000 crore per CER over five years to implement plans via a challenge mode with reform cum results based financing.

City economic regions to receive Rs 5,000 crore per region over five years under challenge-mode, results-linked financing.
Each City Economic Region is proposed to receive Rs 5,000 crore over five years to implement regionally mapped plans through a challenge mode using a reform cum results based financing mechanism, with priority for Tier II and Tier III cities and temple towns requiring upgraded infrastructure and basic amenities.

States' share in central taxes retained at 41% for five years; Rs 1.4 lakh crore in Finance Commission grants provided.
The Commission recommends retaining the vertical share of devolution of Central taxes to states at 41 percent for five years from April 1, 2026, excluding cesses and surcharges from the divisible pool. The Centre has accepted the recommendation and the report was tabled. The Commission recommends Finance Commission Grants of Rs 1.4 lakh crore for FY 2026-27, including Rural and Urban Local Body and Disaster Management Grants.

Union Budget prioritises infrastructure as central to development, emphasizing connectivity, manufacturing, regional balance and MSME support.
Union Budget 2026-27 makes infrastructure the focal policy instrument to advance connectivity, manufacturing depth and regional balance, presenting infrastructure as an enabler of resilience and global competitiveness while outlining complementary support for farmers, youth and MSMEs to drive inclusive growth, innovation and capital investment.

Union Budget allocates Rs 1,102 crore for ministerial expenses, PMO, Cabinet Secretariat, and hospitality of state guests.
Union Budget 2026-27 allocates Rs 1,102 crore for ministerial and executive branch expenditures, including Rs 620 crore for Council of Ministers salaries, allowances, travel and Special Extra Session Flight Operations; Rs 73.52 crore for the Prime Minister's Office; Rs 80 crore for the Cabinet Secretariat (including NACWC); Rs 256.19 crore for the National Security Council Secretariat; up to Rs 65 crore for the Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor; Rs 5.76 crore for state hospitality; and Rs 1.53 crore for secretariat assistance to former governors.