UNION BUDGET 2026-27 FOCUSES ON 3 KARTAVYAS OF SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC GROWTH, CAPACITY BUILDING AND SABKA SATH, SABKA VIKAS

Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting the Union Budget 2026-2027 in Parliament today, proposed 3 kartavyas to speed-up the reform momentum towards Viksit Bharat. The Finance Minister said that the first Kartavya is to accelerate and sustain economic growth, by enhancing productivity and competitiveness, and building resilience to volatile global dynamics; second Kartavya is to fulfill aspirations of people and build their capacity, making them strong partners in India’s path to prosperity and third Kartavya, aligned with vision of Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas, is to ensure that every family, community, region and sector has access to resources, amenities and opportunities for meaningful participation.

The Finance Minister said that the threefold approach requires a supportive ecosystem. The first requirement is to sustain the momentum of structural reforms— continuous, adaptive, and forward-looking. Second, a robust and resilient financial sector is central to mobilising savings, allocating capital efficiently and managing risks. Third, cutting-edge technologies, including AI applications, can serve as force multipliers for better governance.

Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman said that the first Budget prepared in Kartavya Bhawan is a unique Yuva Shakti-driven Budget inspired from several innovative ideas which were shared with Hon’ble Prime Minister in the Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue 2026.

The Finance Minister said that India’s economic trajectory has been marked by stability, fiscal discipline, sustained growth and moderate inflation in last 12 years. The Government has continuously pursued far reaching structural reforms, fiscal prudence and monetary stability whilst maintaining a strong thrust on public investment.  She said that keeping ‘self-reliance (Atamnirbharta) at core, Government has built domestic manufacturing capacity, energy security and reduced critical import dependencies along with ensuring citizens centric development and undertaking reforms to support employment generation, agricultural productivity, household purchasing power and universal services to people. These measures have delivered a high growth rate of around 7% and helped us make substantial strides in poverty reduction and improvement in the lives of people, she said.

Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman said that in an external environment in which trade and multilateralism are imperiled and access to resources and supply chains are disrupted, new technologies are transforming production systems while sharply increasing demands on water, energy and critical minerals; India will continue to take confident steps towards Viksit Bharat by balancing ambition with inclusion and must remain deeply integrated with global markets, exporting more and attracting stable long-term investment.  The Finance Minister expressed the gratitude to the people for standing firmly with Government and forging the way together towards becoming one of the largest economies of the world.

Highlighting Government’s aim to transform aspiration into achievement and potential into performance, the Finance Minister said that Government is ensuring that dividends of growth reach every farmer, the scheduled caste, the scheduled tribes, the nomads, the youth, the poor and the women.

The Finance Minister said that the Government has undertaken comprehensive economic reforms towards creating employment, boosting productivity and accelerating growth. She said that after the Prime Minister’s announcement on Independence Day in 2025, over 350 reforms have been rolled out. These include GST simplification, notification of Labour Codes, and rationalisation of mandatory Quality Control Orders. High Level Committees have been formed and in parallel, the Central Government is working with the State Governments on deregulation and reducing compliance requirements. She said that this Reform Express is well on its way and will maintain its momentum to fulfil the Kartavya.

Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman proposed interventions in six areas under the first Kartavya to accelerate and sustain economic growth i) Scaling up manufacturing in 7 strategic and frontier sectors; ii) Rejuvenating legacy industrial sectors; iii) Creating “Champion MSMEs”; iv) Delivering a powerful push to Infrastructure; v) Ensuring long-term energy security and stability; and vi) Developing City Economic Regions.

The Finance Minister said that second Kartavya is to fulfil aspirations and build capacity. She said that close to 25 crore individuals have come out of multidimensional poverty through a decade of our Government’s sustained and reform-oriented efforts. She highlighted that Government has decided to place a renewed emphasis on the Services Sector to provide a pathway to fulfilling aspirations of a youthful India, with measures like setting up a High-Powered ‘Education to Employment and Enterprise’ Standing Committee to recommend measures that focus on the Services Sector as a core driver of Viksit Bharat. The Committee will prioritise areas to optimise the potential for growth, employment and exports. They will also assess the impact of emerging technologies, including AI, on jobs and skill requirements and propose measures thereof. This will make India a global leader in services, with a 10% global share by 2047, she said.

Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman proposed that the third Kartavya which aligns with vision of Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas requires targeted efforts for a) Increasing farmer incomes through productivity enhancement and entrepreneurship, with special attention to small and marginal farmers; b) Empowering Divyangjan through access to livelihood opportunities, training and high-quality assistive devices; c) Empowering the vulnerable to access mental health and trauma care; d) Focus on the Purvodaya States and the North-East Region to accelerate development and employment opportunities.