Union Budget 2026: Top 10 highlights you need to know

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday presented her ninth consecutive Union Budget 2026 placing strong emphasis on reforms job creation skills infrastructure and inclusive growthUnion Budget 2026 seeks to touch multiple segments of societymdashfrom farmers students and MSMEs to commuters investors and healthcare professionalsmdashwhile keeping longterm growth firmly in focusFollow the live updates of Union Budget 2026 with realtime coverage of major announcements tax reforms economic priorities and policy decisionsHere are the top 10 takeaways from Union Budget 20261 Capital expenditure raised to Rs 122 lakh croreKeeping growth at the core the government increased capital expenditure to Rs 122 lakh crore for FY27 from Rs 112 lakh crore in FY26mdashan increase of nearly 9 per cent The Finance Minister highlighted that public capex has surged from 2 lakh crore in 2014ndash15 to over Rs 11 lakh crore in recent years reinforcing infrastructureled growth2 Seven highspeed rail corridors announcedTo promote faster and greener mobility seven new highspeed rail corridors were proposed These include MumbaindashPune PunendashHyderabad HyderabadndashBengaluru HyderabadndashChennai ChennaindashBengaluru DelhindashVaranasi and VaranasindashSiliguri linking major economic and urban hubs3 Boost to corporate and municipal bond marketsThe Union Budget 2026 proposed a marketmaking framework for corporate bonds including access to funds and derivatives Large cities issuing municipal bonds worth over Rs 1000 crore will get incentives of Rs 100 crore while smaller towns will continue to receive support under AMRUT4 Banking reforms for lsquoViksit BharatrsquoA highlevel committee on banking will be set up to review the entire financial system and suggest reforms aligned with Indiarsquos next phase of growth while ensuring financial stability inclusion and consumer protection5 Higher investment limits for NRIsThe investment cap for NRIs was raised from 5 per cent to 10 per cent while the overall limit increased from 10 per cent to 24 per cent This move is expected to attract longterm overseas capital and deepen Indian capital markets6 Continued focus on fiscal consolidationThe fiscal deficit target for FY27 was pegged at 43 per cent of GDP down from 44 per cent in FY26 Net market borrowings are estimated at Rs 117 lakh crore signalling the governmentrsquos commitment to debt consolidation7 Securities Transaction Tax STT increasedSTT on futures was raised to 005 per cent from 002 per cent while STT on options was increased to 015 per cent The move is aimed at improving market discipline and revenue mobilisation8 Big push to tourismmdashmedical heritage and culturalBudget 2026 proposes five regional medical tourism hubs with AYUSH centres development of 15 iconic archaeological sites a National Destination Digital Knowledge Grid and Buddhist circuit projects in the Northeast9 New initiatives for DivyangjanTwo new schemesmdashDivyangjan Kaushal Yojana and Divyang Sahara Yojanamdashwere announced to support skill development assistive device manufacturing RampD and technology integration for persons with disabilities10 Khelo India Mission for sports transformationA decadelong Khelo India Mission was unveiled to strengthen sports infrastructure talent identification coaching and sports science aiming to transform Indiarsquos sporting ecosystemOverall Union Budget 2026 reflects a balanced approachmdashcombining fiscal discipline with growth infrastructure expansion with inclusion and reforms with longterm economic resilience