UNION BUDGET 2026–27 – SHORT NOTES for UPSC

UNION BUDGET 2026–27 – SHORT NOTES (UPSC)

Theme: Yuva Shakti Driven Budget

Vision: Viksit Bharat

Focus: Poor – Underprivileged – Disadvantaged

FM: Nirmala Sitharaman (9th Budget; only 2nd Sunday Budget after 1999)

Three KARTAVYAS (Duties)

Kartavya	Objective
1. Growth	Accelerate & sustain economic growth
2. Capacity	Fulfil aspirations & build human capital
3. Inclusion	Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas

1st Kartavya – Economic Growth

A. 7 Strategic Manufacturing Sectors

1. Biopharma SHAKTI – ₹10,000 cr (5 yrs)

2. India Semiconductor Mission 2.0

3. Rare Earth Mineral Corridors – Odisha, AP, TN, Kerala

4. CIE Scheme – Construction & Infra Equipment

5. 3 Chemical Parks

6. Container Manufacturing Scheme – ₹10,000 cr

7. Revival of 200 Legacy Industrial Clusters

B. Textile Sector

• Mahatma Gandhi Gram Swaraj Yojana (Khadi, handloom)

• Integrated Textile Programme:

  • National Fibre Scheme

  • Textile Expansion & Employment Scheme

  • National Handloom & Handicraft

  • Tex-Eco

  • Samarth 2.0

C. Champion MSMEs

3-pronged support:

• Equity

• Liquidity

• Professional assistance

New MSME limits:

Type	Investment	Turnover
Micro	₹2.5 cr	₹10 cr
Small	₹25 cr	₹100 cr
Medium	₹125 cr	₹500 cr

D. Infrastructure Push

• Public Capex: ₹12.2 lakh crore

• Infrastructure Risk Guarantee Fund

• New Freight Corridor: Dankuni–Surat

• 20 National Waterways (5 yrs)

• Coastal Cargo Promotion

• Ship Repair Ecosystem: Varanasi, Patna

• High-Speed Rail Corridors (7)

E. Climate & Energy

• CCUS Mission: ₹20,000 cr (5 yrs)

F. Ease of Doing Business

• PROI allowed in listed equities

• FEMA review

• Corporate bond market-making

• Tax holiday till 2047 for foreign cloud firms in India

2nd Kartavya – Aspirations & Capacity

Services Sector

• Education to Employment & Enterprise Committee

• Target: 10% global services share by 2047

New Career Sectors

• Care Economy (geriatric & allied health)

• Medical Tourism: 5 Regional Hubs

• Ayurveda:

  • 3 AIIMS-like Institutes

  • AYUSH labs upgrade

  • WHO Traditional Medicine Centre, Jamnagar

Orange Economy (ABGC)

• Content labs in 15,000 schools + 500 colleges

Education

• National Institute of Design (East India)

• 5 University Townships

• Girls’ hostels in every district

• 4 telescope facilities

Tourism

• National Institute of Hospitality

• 10,000 tourist guides

• National Destination Digital Knowledge Grid

• 15 heritage sites incl. Lothal, Dholavira, Rakhigarhi

Sports

• Khelo India Mission (next decade)

3rd Kartavya – Inclusive Growth

Rural & Agri

• 500 reservoirs + Amrit Sarovars

• Fisheries & animal husbandry value chains

• High-value crops: Coconut, cocoa, sandalwood, agar, almonds

Digital Agriculture

• Bharat-VISTAAR AI (AgriStack + ICAR)

Women

• SHE Marts (Lakhpati Didi)

Divyangjan

• Divyangjan Kaushal Yojana

• Divyang Sahara Yojana

Mental Health

• NIMHANS-2 (North India)

• Trauma care capacity ↑ 50%

Purvodaya

• East Coast Industrial Corridor (Durgapur node)

• 5 tourism destinations

• States: Bihar, Jharkhand, WB, Odisha, AP

Buddhist Circuits

• NE States + Sikkim

PART -II – FISCAL & TAX

Indicator	2026–27
GDP	₹393 lakh cr
Fiscal Deficit	4.3%
Revenue Deficit	1.5%
Primary Deficit	0.7%
Debt/GDP	55.6%
Borrowing	₹17.2 lakh cr

16th Finance Commission

• Chair: Arvind Panagariya

• Vertical Devolution: 41%

• Grants to States: ₹1.4 lakh crore

Tax Reforms

• Income Tax Act, 2025 → from April 1, 2026

• STT hiked on derivatives

• SEZ one-time DTA duty relief

Key Concepts

• Orange Economy: Creativity-based industries

• CCUS: Carbon capture & storage

• EffCapex: Capex + asset-creating grants

• Finance Commission: Art. 280

• Union Budget: Art. 112

All the best.