Union Budget 2026-27: Will ‘Liquid’ and ‘Green’ Gold of Tripura Get a Boost
Agartala Jan 19: With the Union Budget 2026–27 is to be tabled on February 1, attention in Tripura is firmly on how the upcoming fiscal proposals could shape the state’s future-ready economic path.
Ongoing investments in infrastructure and connectivity across the Northeast, including Tripura, are expected to continue.
But stakeholders are keen to see whether the Budget introduces fresh, sector-focused initiatives to accelerate growth especially in Tripura.
Industrial expansion in the state faces structural hurdles, most notably the limited availability of land for large manufacturing units.
Although Tripura enjoys road, rail and air links with major Indian cities, logistics remain expensive and time-intensive.
Weak supply-chain resilience further complicates efforts to attract and sustain industries.
Against this backdrop, economists and policy observers are advocating a development strategy centred on efficient utilisation of natural resources while simultaneously strengthening advanced service sectors.
Since the state government has already rolled out multiple policies to ensure the commercial viability of its natural assets for sustainable livelihood.
Apart from targeted financial backing from the Centre, State Government will also expect favourable policy change announcements in the budget for facilitating cash crop based activities in the State.
Liquid Gold – Agarwood
Tripura’s economic roadmap is increasingly driven by two high-value resources—Agarwood, popularly known as “Liquid Gold,” and Bamboo, often referred to as “Green Gold.”
With much of the Act East Policy’s connectivity framework now operational, the state’s emphasis has shifted decisively towards industrial growth and export-led development.
The state has formally emerged as India’s second-largest Agarwood producer, with official estimates indicating the presence of around 1.5 crore Agar trees.
Under the Tripura Agarwood Policy, 2021, the government has set a goal of generating an annual turnover of Rs 2,000 crore by 2027.
To strengthen this sector, Tripura has already received Rs 27.42 crore under the Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North East Region (PM-DevINE).
The funds are being utilised to develop an Integrated Agarwood Cluster featuring modern nurseries and advanced oil distillation facilities.
In addition, plans are being finalised for a Rs 15 crore International Agar Trade and Research Centre in Agartala, aimed at ensuring that locally produced Agar oil complies with stringent quality benchmarks required by perfume markets in the Middle East and Europe.
Agarwood Challenge
However, farmers face serious troubles from entering the formal global market due to complex and time consuming export procedures.
The Agarwood Policy, 2021 also mentioned this issue and sought Centre’s intervention to ease export procedures.
As Agarwood falls under international protection norms, farmers often have to deal with multiple departments to prove their wood was plantation-grown rather than illegally poached from wild forests. This creates a massive paper trail and long wait times.
To address this issue, the State government is seeking a single-window clearance mechanism for Legal Acquisition Findings (LAF).
This would enable farmers and growers to navigate regulatory processes more efficiently and access global markets directly.
It remains to be seen whether Budget outlines any proposal to ease the procedure.
Green Gold – Bamboo
Beyond Agarwood, Tripura holds nearly 28 percent of the country’s bamboo reserves, with bamboo forests spanning about 2,397 square kilometres.
While bamboo-based handicrafts have long supported local livelihoods, expectations from the 2026–27 Union Budget are centred on promoting large-scale industrial applications.
The state is moving towards expanding industrial bamboo plantations to 45,000 hectares by the end of the current financial year.
At present, the handicraft segment sustains around 1.49 lakh artisans, but officials estimate that industrial uses—such as bamboo-based bio-ethanol, construction materials and laminated products—could unlock economic potential nearly ten times greater.
Environmental value
Proposals submitted by the State Science and Technology Department have also highlighted bamboo’s environmental value, noting its ability to absorb significantly more carbon dioxide than most tree species, thereby qualifying it for carbon credit incentives.
Stakeholders are expecting State bamboo sectors will get attention in the upcoming Central Budget.
Keeping both Agarwood and Bamboo in focus, Tripura’s key expectations from the forthcoming Union Budget include:
A dedicated export duty waiver on value-added Agarwood products to promote local processing.
Financial support for setting up a second-generation bio-ethanol refinery in West Tripura to utilise bamboo surplus.
Upgraded cargo infrastructure at Agartala Airport to facilitate direct air exports of high-value and perishable goods such as Agar oil and Queen pineapples.
*Jaydip Chakrabarti is the founding editor of enewstime.in and may be contacted at enewstime2017@gmail.com
**The write up was first published in the Print edition of Tripura Times.