Budget 2026-27: Big push to Infra, Semiconductor Mission, Medical hubs
New Delhi Feb 1: The Union Budget 2026–27 signals a decisive push to accelerate India’s growth engine, with the Centre unveiling ambitious plans to expand infrastructure, boost capital expenditure, and strengthen domestic manufacturing. From high-speed rail connectivity to a renewed thrust on electronics and semiconductor mission, the Budget lays out a roadmap aimed at faster growth, job creation, and global competitiveness.
Centre proposes 7 high-speed rail corridors to link growth cities
The Central government on Sunday proposed to develop seven high-speed rail corridors across key urban and economic centres.
These corridors will act as growth connectors, cutting travel time, reducing emissions, and supporting regional development, said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during her Union Budget 2026-27 speech.
The proposed routes include Mumbai-Pune, Pune-Hyderabad, Hyderabad-Bengaluru, Hyderabad-Chennai, Chennai-Bengaluru, Delhi-Varanasi, and Varanasi-Siliguri.
Together, they will link India’s financial hubs, technology centres, manufacturing clusters, and emerging cities with faster and cleaner mobility, said the Union Minister.
Budget 2026-27 hikes Govt capex to Rs 12.2 lakh crore in big push to infra
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday announced a capital expenditure of Rs 12.2 lakh crore in the Budget for 2026-27, to boost big-ticket infrastructure projects for growth and jobs in the economy.
She said to push economic growth, the Budget proposes to deliver a powerful push to infrastructure, including highways, ports, railways and power projects, scale up manufacturing in 7 strategic sectors and create champion MSMEs.
The government has maintained fiscal prudence and monetary stability whilst maintaining a strong thrust on public investments, she said, stressing that India must deeply integrate with global markets, exporting more and attracting foreign investment as well.
Govt hikes component manufacturing outlay to Rs 40,000 crore, announces India Semiconductor Mission 2.0
Giving a thrust to ‘Make in India’ and domestic manufacturing, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday announced the launch of the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) 2.0, while increasing the outlay for electronics component manufacturing to Rs 40,000 crore to strengthen local production and innovation.
India’s Semiconductor Mission 1.0 expanded the country’s semiconductor capabilities, and building on this, the government will launch ISM 2.0 to produce equipment and materials, develop full-stack Indian IP, and strengthen supply chains, she said while presenting the Budget 2026-27.
The Union Budget 2026-27 also proposed to introduce a dedicated Rs 10,000 crore SME growth fund to create future jobs, incentivising enterprises based on select criteria.
For the labour-intensive textile sector, the Finance Minister proposed an integrated programme with five key components.
A government 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,” announced FM Sitharaman during her Budget speech.