Union Budget 2026 LIVE: Rare earth corridors, Rs 10,000 crore SME fund, other key announcements

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget in Parliament today, February 1, 2026. This is her ninth Budget and the first time ever that India’s Union Budget is being presented on a Sunday.

The Budget speech is expected to begin around 11 am.

The Budget is likely to focus on keeping India’s growth strong, managing government finances carefully, and pushing ahead with key reforms. Measures to support jobs, control inflation, boost infrastructure spending, and give relief to the middle class and businesses are keenly watched.

The government may also announce steps to protect the Indian economy from global challenges, including trade tensions and possible U.S. tariffs.

Ahead of the Budget, the Economic Survey 2025–26 was tabled in Parliament by the Finance Minister on Thursday. The Survey was prepared by Chief Economic Advisor V. Anantha Nageswaran. It said India’s economy is estimated to grow at 7.4% in the current financial year (2025–26).

For the October–December 2025 quarter, growth is estimated at 7%. For the next year, 2026–27, the Survey expects growth to be in the range of 6.8% to 7.2%.

Feb 01, 2026 13:35 IST
FM Nirmala Sitharaman's speech lasted about 85 minutes
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman delivered her Union Budget 2026 speech in Parliament over a duration of approximately 1 hour and 25 minutes.



Feb 01, 2026 13:34 IST
FM proposes changes to ITR timelines, eases compliance for taxpayers
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the Union Budget 2026–27 in Parliament, proposed changes to income-tax return (ITR) timelines to ease compliance.
She proposed extending the time available for revising returns from 31 December to 31 March (of the following year), subject to payment of a nominal fee.
She also proposed staggering return-filing due dates: ITR-1 and ITR-2 would remain due by 31 July, while non-audit business cases and trusts would be allowed to file up to 31 August.



Feb 01, 2026 13:15 IST
FM announces TCS cut on overseas education and medical remittances
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed to reduce the Tax Collected at Source (TCS) rate from 5% to 2% on outward remittances under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) for pursuing education and for medical purposes.
The change applies to eligible remittances above the prevailing LRS TCS threshold of Rs 10 lakh in a financial year (i.e., the rate is applied on the amount above Rs 10 lakh, as per existing rules).



Feb 01, 2026 13:05 IST
FM announces STT hike on equity derivatives
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a hike in the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) on equity derivatives, citing it under the government’s “other tax proposals”.
She said the STT on equity futures will be increased to 0.05%, up from the existing 0.02%. On equity options, she proposed raising the STT on the options premium to 0.15% from 0.10%, and the STT on the exercise of options to 0.15% from 0.125%.
The changes mark a higher transaction tax burden on derivatives trading and are expected to impact costs for active futures and options participants.



Feb 01, 2026 12:59 IST
FM raises PIS investment limits for overseas individuals
FM Nirmala Sitharaman announced a significant liberalisation of the Portfolio Investment Scheme (PIS) to encourage greater participation by overseas individual investors in Indian equity markets.
She proposed to increase the PIS investment limit for an individual Person Resident Outside India (PROI) to 10%, from the existing 5%.
She also announced that the aggregate investment limit for all such overseas individuals in a listed Indian company will be raised to 24%, from the earlier 10%.



Feb 01, 2026 12:47 IST
FM announces relief on TCS for overseas tour packages
Presenting the Union Budget, Nirmala Sitharaman announced a reduction in Tax Collected at Source (TCS) on overseas tour packages, offering relief to travellers and easing the upfront tax burden.
“I propose to reduce the TCS rate on overseas tour packages to 2%, without any stipulation of amount.”
The proposal lowers the TCS rate that was earlier higher and applied beyond specified thresholds. The move is aimed at simplifying tax compliance and reducing the cash-flow impact on individuals purchasing overseas travel packages.



Feb 01, 2026 12:44 IST
FM announces ‘SHE Stores’ to help women become enterprise owners
FM Nirmala Sitharaman announced a new initiative aimed at strengthening women-led enterprises and building on the success of the Lakhpati Didi programme.
“Building on the success of the Lakhpati Didi programme, I propose to help women take the next step from credit-linked livelihoods to becoming owners of enterprises.”
She said that Self-Help Entrepreneur (SHE) stores will be set up as community-owned retail outlets within cluster-level federations, providing women entrepreneurs a dedicated platform to sell and scale their products.
“Self-help entrepreneur marts will be established as community-owned retail outlets within cluster-level federations, supported through enhanced and innovative financing instruments.”
The proposed SHE Stores are intended to improve market access for women-led businesses and support their transition from self-employment to sustainable enterprise ownership.



Feb 01, 2026 12:34 IST
FM announces ‘Bharat Vistar’, a multilingual AI platform for agriculture
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the Union Budget, announced the launch of Bharat Vistar, a new AI–powered tool aimed at supporting India’s agriculture sector.
“I propose to launch Bharat Vistar Virtually Integrated System to access Agricultural Resources. It will be a multilingual AI tool that will integrate the AgriStack portals and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research’s package of agricultural practices with AI systems.”



Feb 01, 2026 12:29 IST
FM announces AVGC content creator labs, new design institute for eastern India
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced measures to strengthen India’s creative and design ecosystem, focusing on talent creation and future-ready skills.
She proposed supporting the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT), Mumbai, to set up AVGC (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics) content creator labs in 15,000 secondary schools and 500 colleges across the country, to nurture creative talent and strengthen India’s “orange economy.”
She also proposed establishing, through the challenge route, a new National Institute of Design in eastern India to expand design education capacity and help address the demand for trained designers.



Feb 01, 2026 12:20 IST
India aims to become a global leader in services by 2047: FM Nirmala Sitharaman
In her Union Budget 2026–27 speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the government will pursue making India a global leader in services, aiming for a 10% global share by 2047.
She proposed setting up a High-Powered “Education to Employment and Enterprise” Standing Committee to recommend measures focusing on the services sector as a core driver of Viksit Bharat.
She said the committee will prioritise areas to optimise the potential for growth, employment and exports, and will also assess how AI and other emerging technologies impact jobs and recommend measures.



Feb 01, 2026 12:06 IST
FM Sitharaman announces initiative for sports goods sector
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a dedicated initiative for sports goods, stating India has the potential to emerge as a global hub in the sector.
In her Budget speech, she said the initiative will focus on promoting globally competitive sports goods, with an emphasis on strengthening manufacturing and research capabilities.



Feb 01, 2026 11:58 IST
FM Sitharaman flags rare earths as strategic priority
In her Budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman flagged rare earths as a priority area and referred to the government’s rare earth permanent magnets push.
She noted that "a scheme for rare earth permanent magnets was launched" in November 2025.
"We now propose to support the mineral-rich states of Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu to establish dedicated rare earth corridors."
She said these corridors are intended "to promote mining, processing, research and manufacturing," strengthening domestic capabilities across the rare earth value chain.



Feb 01, 2026 11:45 IST
FM Sitharaman announces India's Semiconductor Mission 2.0
During her Budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) 2.0, signalling a renewed push to make India self-reliant in chip manufacturing.
Alongside this, she proposed an outlay of Rs 40,000 crore for the Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS) to strengthen the broader electronics and semiconductor supply chain.
ISM 2.0 will focus on building a comprehensive semiconductor ecosystem, going beyond fabrication plants to include chip design, research and development, testing, packaging, equipment, and supply-chain support.
The combined initiatives aim to reduce import dependence, boost domestic electronics manufacturing, and position India as a reliable global player in semiconductors amid rising geopolitical and supply-chain risks.



Feb 01, 2026 11:39 IST
FM Sitharaman proposes Rs 10,000 crore SME Growth Fund
Besides Biopharma Shakti initiative, the Finance Minister also proposed a Rs 10,000 crore SME Growth Fund to strengthen micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
This fund will help MSMEs scale up, meet productivity criteria, formalise operations, and expand into new markets. It also supports schemes for reviving traditional legacy industry clusters and improving credit access for small businesses.



Feb 01, 2026 11:38 IST
Rs 10,000 crore for Biopharma Shakti initiative: Sitharaman
During the announcement, FM Nirmala Sitharaman proposed a Biopharma Shakti programme with a total outlay of Rs 10,000 crore over five years.
This initiative aims to make India a global hub for biopharmaceutical innovation and manufacturing. It is designed to help India meet the growing burden of non-communicable diseases (like diabetes and cancer) and expand high-value health sector capability.



Feb 01, 2026 11:35 IST
FM Sithamran proposes interventions in 6 broad areas:
FM Sithamran proposes interventions in 6 broad areas:
• Scaling up manufacturing in strategic sectors
• Rejuvenating legacy industries
• Creating champion MSMEs
• Accelerating infrastructure
• Ensuring long-term security
• Developing city economic regionFinancial sector reforms and governance measures expected
• Income-tax framework, slabs & deductions are key watch points for households and middle class.



Feb 01, 2026 11:32 IST
India need supportive ecosystem to fulfil the three Kartavyas: FM Sitharaman
This three-part plan, the Finance Minister said, needs a strong support system.
This includes keeping the pace of structural reforms to improve ease of doing business and boost private investment, building a robust and resilient financial sector so that credit reaches industry, MSMEs and households smoothly, and using new-age technologies, especially AI and AI-based applications, to raise productivity, improve public services, and make Indian businesses more competitive in a fast-changing global environment.



Feb 01, 2026 11:26 IST
FM Nirmalal Sitharaman lists 3 Kartavya
During the speech, FM Sitharaman said the government is inspired by three Kartavya. "Our first Kartavya is to accelerate and sustained economic growth by enhancing productivity and competitiveness and buildings to volatile Global dynamics."
"Our second Kartavya is to fulfuill aspiration of our people and build the capacity making them strong partners in India's path to prosperity."
"Our third Kartavya is aligned with 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas' is to ensure that every family, community, region, and sector has access to resources, amenities, and opportunities for meaning participation."



Feb 01, 2026 11:15 IST
'Our aim is to transform aspiration into achievement': FM Sitharaman
During her speech, FM Nirmala Sitharaman said 'Our aim is to transform aspiration into achievement and potential into performance as we ensure that the dividends of the growth reach every farmer, SC, STs, the youth, the poor, and the women.'



Feb 01, 2026 11:05 IST
Nirmala Sitharaman begins Union Budget speech for FY2026-27
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman begins presenting her record 9th consecutive budget in Parliament, New Delhi. FM Sitharaman said the economy has been marked by a state of stability, fiscal discipline, sustained growth and moderate inflation.




Feb 01, 2026 11:00 IST
Union Cabinet approves Budget 2026-27
The Union Cabinet has approved the 2026-27 Budget. FM Nirmala Sitharaman will present the same in the Lok Sabha soon.