THE HEADLINES:-

1. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presents Union Budget 2026-27 in Lok Sabha; Says, budget inspired by three Kartavyas of accelerating economic growth, build capacity of people and to provide resources, amenities and opportunities to all.

2. Defence Sector gets all time high allocation of 7.85 lakh crore rupees.

3. Budget proposes to develop India as global Biopharma manufacturing hub; Semiconductor Mission 2.0 announced; dedicated Rare Earth Corridors to be set up to promote mining, processing, research and manufacturing; Mahatma Gandhi Gram Swaraj initiative to strengthen khadi, handloom and handicrafts; Several measures for development of East and the Northeast India announced.

4. Country’s real GDP estimated to grow by 7.4 per cent in current fiscal, with nominal GDP growth at 8 per cent.

5. Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, Union Budget presents ambitious roadmap to boost Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat; Stresses, new energy and momentum to be injected into country’s reform express.

6. Union Ministers, Chief Ministers of many states and Industry bodies hail the budget saying it will fulfil the sentiments and expectations of citizens.

7. Prime Minister Modi attends 649th birth anniversary of Sant Guru Ravidas Ji in Jalandhar, Punjab; Says, India-EU Free Trade Agreement will open new Markets for Punjabs industries.

8. In Badminton, India’s Devika Sihag clinches women’s singles title of Thailand Masters.
9. In Australian Open Tennis, Carlos Alcaraz wins his maiden Men’s Singles title.

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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget for the year 2026-27 in the Lok Sabha today. This was the 9^th consecutive Budget presented by her. She called her budget Yuva Shakti driven. Ms Sitharaman said, this years’ budget is inspired by three Kartavyas of accelerating economic growth, to build capacity of the people and to provide resources, amenities and opportunities to every family, community, region and sector.

The Minister announced that Biopharma SHAKTI with an outlay of 10 thousand crore rupees will be launched to develop India as a global Biopharma manufacturing hub in the next five years.

For the labour-intensive Textile Sector, the Finance Minister announced launch of Mahatma Gandhi Gram Swaraj initiative to strengthen khadi, handloom and handicrafts. Ms Sitharaman proposed to increase outlay of Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme to 40 thousand crore rupees. She also announced that three dedicated Chemical Parks will be established to promote mining, processing, research and manufacturing. The Finance Minister announced seven High-Speed Rail corridors.

Basic customs duty has been exempted on 17 drugs and medicines for cancer patients. Three new All India Institutes of Ayurveda will be established to prepare more skilled health personnel. On the importance of Artificial intelligence in governance, the Finance Minister said, adoption of technology is for the benefit of people including farmers, women, youth and Divyangjan to access newer opportunities. The Finance Minister announced, India Semiconductor Mission 2.0 will produce equipment and materials, design full-stack Indian IP, and fortify supply chains.

The Finance Minister highlighted the government’s vision for increasing farmers’ income, empowering Divyangjans, and the vulnerable to access mental health and trauma care and focus on the Purvodaya States and the North-East Region to accelerate development and employment opportunities.

The Finance Minister said, fiscal deficit in financial year 2026-27 is estimated to be 4.3 percent of GDP compared to 4.4 percent in current fiscal. As per the first advance estimates published by the National Statistics Office, Indias real GDP is estimated to grow by 7.4 per cent in FY 2025-26, with nominal GDP growth at 8 per cent.

Later, the copy of the Union Budget was tabled in the Rajya Sabha by the Finance Minister.

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Defence Services have received the all time high allocation among the Ministries in this year’s Union Budget. Ministry of Defence said the allocation amounting to 7.85 lakh crore rupees stands at 2 per cent of the estimated GDP for the next Financial Year and shows a significant increase of over 15 per cent over the Budgetary Estimates of 2025-26. It noted that the total Defence budget is 14.67 percent of the Central Government expenditure.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said the budget strengthens the security-development-self-reliance balance, and it is in the best interest of the nation. He said, the budget will fulfil the sentiments and expectations of citizens.

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In her Post Budget Press Conference in Delhi the Finance Minister said, the budget is the first one in the second quarter of the century, leading towards the vision for India to become a developed nation by 2047. The Finance Minister said, in this year’s budget health has been given equal importance, with special emphasis on mental health. 

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the Union Budget 2026-27 presents an ambitious roadmap to give new momentum to the Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiatives. In a video message, Mr Modi said, this year’s budget will give India’s reform express new energy and new momentum. He said, the budget turns todays aspirations into reality and strengthens the foundation of Indias bright future. 

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Union Ministers, Amit Shah, Dharmendra Pradhan, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Jagat Prakash Nadda, Nitin Gadkari, Piyush Goyal, Jual Oram, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Annpurna Devi, Sarbananda Sonowal  have hailed the Union Budget. Mr Pradhan said, the budget will give boost to education and employment-creation. Home Minister Amit Shah extended heartfelt congratulations on behalf of every Indian to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for the Union Budget. In a series of social media posts, Mr Shah said the Union Budget reflects the vision of building a developed India by 2047 and outlines the roadmap for the next 25 years.  Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal termed the budget for future ready Bharat:

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Union Minister for Railways, Electronics and IT and Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw said Government has proposed to provide support to the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies of Mumbai in setting up AVGC Content Creator Labs.

Chief Ministers of Puducherry, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Odisha have welcomed the Union Budget.

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Industry bodies, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, CII, FICCI have hailed the Union Budget. PHDCCI Chairman Dr. Ranjit Mehta said, the budget will increase competitiveness among the Small and Medium Enterprises. He said, the fund will increase the competitiveness among the MSMEs. CII President Rajiv Memani said, the Union Budget fulfills the demands of industries including those of the MSMEs. He also lauded the special focus on the services sector. FICCI  President, Anant Goenka said, this budget has been focused on growth, inclusivity and yuva shakti. Mr Goenka added that the budget reflects continuity and stability.

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Congress has criticised the Union Budget 2026-27. Reacting on this years budget on social media, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said, the budget does not provide a single solution to Indias many economic, social, and political challenges. 

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee dismissed the budget alleging that the State has been deliberately sidelined. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan alleged that the Central government has failed to consider the states long standing demands.        

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Benchmark domestic equity indices, the Sensex and the Nifty, plunged nearly two per cent in a volatile special trading session for the Union Budget today. Barring IT, all other sectoral indices ended lower. Markets started the day on a positive note but quickly dipped into negative territory. Investor sentiment turned cautious due to a combination of higher-than-expected borrowing figures, and hike in the Securities Transaction Tax on futures and options trades. The Sensex tanked 1,547 points to close at 80 thousand and 723, while the Nifty slid 495 points to settle at 24 thousand 825.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi today attended the 649th birth anniversary of Sant Guru Ravidas Ji at Dera Sachkhand Ballan in Jalandhar. Before reaching at the Dera, the Prime Minister unveiled the new name of the Airport as Sri Guru Ravidas Maharaj Ji Airport, Adampur and virtually  inaugurated the Terminal Building of Halwara Airport in Ludhiana.

Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said, in the Budget presented today in the Parliament, Mr industries and MSMEs in Punjab and the country have been taken care of. He said the India-EU Free Trade Deal will open up market to Punjab based hosiery, sports and other industries.

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Young Indian shuttler Devika Sihag clinched her maiden BWF Super 300 crown after Malaysias Goh Jin Wei retired midway through the womens singles final of the Thailand Masters at Bangkok today.

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In Tennis, Carlos Alcaraz has won Men’s Singles Australian Open title, completing the career Grand Slam and thwarting Novak Djokovic’s bid for a record 25th major title. 

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THE HEADLINES ONCE AGAIN :-

1. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presents Union Budget 2026-27 in Lok Sabha; Says, budget inspired by three Kartavyas of accelerating economic growth, build capacity of people and to provide resources, amenities and opportunities to all.

2. Defence Sector gets all time high allocation of 7.85 lakh crore rupees.

3. Budget proposes to develop India as global Biopharma manufacturing hub; Semiconductor Mission 2.0 announced; dedicated Rare Earth Corridors to be set up to promote mining, processing, research and manufacturing; Mahatma Gandhi Gram Swaraj initiative to strengthen khadi, handloom and handicrafts; Several measures for development of East and the Northeast India announced.

4. Country’s real GDP estimated to grow by 7.4 per cent in current fiscal, with nominal GDP growth at 8 per cent.

5. Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, Union Budget presents ambitious roadmap to boost Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat; Stresses, new energy and momentum to be injected into country’s reform express.

6. Union Ministers, Chief Ministers of many states and Industry bodies hail the budget saying it will fulfil the sentiments and expectations of citizens.

7. Prime Minister Modi attends 649th birth anniversary of Sant Guru Ravidas Ji in Jalandhar, Punjab; Says, India-EU Free Trade Agreement will open new Markets for Punjabs industries.

8. In Badminton, India’s Devika Sihag clinches women’s singles title of Thailand Masters.

9. In Australian Open Tennis, Carlos Alcaraz wins his maiden Men’s Singles title.

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