Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman delivered her ninth consecutive Union Budget speech on Sunday.
During her speech, the Finance Minister said the Centre had focused on “reforms over rhetoric”, while adding that this had helped the government deliver a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of 7.2%, amid geopolitical crises.
“India's economic trajectory marked by stability over 12 years. The stability has been displayed amid ongoing uncertainty…The government has preferred reform over rhetoric and pursued far-reaching reforms,” Sitharaman said. Follow live updates on Union Budget 2026 here
For the Union Budget 2026, Sitharaman proposed central intervention in six sectors – including manufacturing, strategic and frontier sectors, healthcare and advanced technology.
Sitharaman said that the Union Government would push to accelerate and sustain economic growth by:
• Scaling up manufacturing in seven strategic sectors
• Rejuvenating legacy industrial sectors
• Creating champion MSMEs
• Delivering a push for infra
• Ensuring long-term security and stability
{{/usCountry}}• Ensuring long-term security and stability
{{/usCountry}}• Developing city economic regions.
Focus on critical minerals, biopharma
Sitharaman highlighted the Centre's focus on biopharma, critical minerals and semiconductors. The Finance Minister proposed the launch of ‘Semiconductor mission 2.0’, which she said will focus on producing equipment and materials designed for full-stack Indian IP.
The Finance Minister also announced ₹10,000 budget outlay for investment in the biopharma sector over the next five years.
Apart from this, Sitharaman also proposed dedicated corridors for rare earths for mining, processing, research and manufacturing. For this, the Finance Minister announced support to mineral rich states of Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu to establish these critical mineral facilities.
The Union Budget will also increase the outlay on electronic manufacturing to ₹40,000 crore, with high-tech tool rooms to be established at two locations for boost to capital goods manufacturing, Sitharaman said.
The Finance Minister also spoke about reducing import dependency by proposing the setting up of three dedicated chemical parks for enhancing domestic production.