Budget 2026-27: Growth & Employment Focus

New Delhi, Feb 1 (PTI) The Budget 2026-27 is inclusive, growth- and employment-oriented and focuses on ease of doing business and ease of living Budget, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) S Mahendra Dev said on Sunday.

"Budget 2026-27 is a continuation of strategies for achieving the goals of Viksit Bharat.

"It is growth, inclusive and employment-oriented and ease of doing business and ease of living Budget. Some of the key points of the Budget are given in the attachment," Dev said in a post on LinkedIn.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday announced a slew of measures to boost manufacturing, a tax holiday for global data centres, and incentives for the agriculture and tourism sectors as she unveiled a Rs 53.5 lakh crore Budget seen as a long-term blueprint for sustaining growth amid rising global risks.


Sitharaman stuck to fiscal discipline and shunned populist measures despite five key states, including West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, heading to the polls soon. However, her Budget, rattled stock markets, with a higher transaction tax on derivatives trading weighing on sentiment.

The Budget 2026-27 has simplified the customs regime by rationalising exemptions, waiving customs duty on 17 cancer drugs, while easing baggage rules and reducing duty to 10 per cent on goods imported for personal use.

Presenting her record 9th straight Budget, Sitharaman stepped up the government's capital expenditure outlay to Rs 12.2 lakh crore from Rs 11.2 lakh crore last year, underscoring its focus on infrastructure-led growth amid global uncertainty.

The government will prioritise scaling up manufacturing across seven sectors -- pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, rare-earth magnets, chemicals, capital goods, textiles and sports goods, she said. Also, the emphasis will be on job creation and technology-driven development.