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Presenting the Union Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has pegged fiscal deficit at 4.3 per cent of the GDP for the year 2026-27, as against 4.4 per cent being targeted in 2025-26.
The difference between total revenue and total expenditure of the government is termed as the fiscal deficit. It is an indication of the total borrowings that may be needed by the government. The government had intended to bring the fiscal deficit below 4.5 per cent of GDP by the financial year 2025-26, and is on the path to achieving it. The Union government in the Budget for 2026-27 has outlined a comprehensive economic roadmap aimed at strengthening India's self-reliance while keeping the country firmly integrated with global markets. To sustain and accelerate the economic momentum, Finance Minister Sitharaman has identified seven key areas for intervention. These include scaling up manufacturing across seven strategic and frontier sectors and promoting city-based economic regions as new engines of growth. As part of its sector-specific initiatives, the government has announced plans to position India as a global hub for bio-pharmaceutical manufacturing. A new programme, Bio Pharma Shakti, with an outlay of Rs 10,000 crore over five years, aims to build a strong ecosystem for the domestic production of biologics and biosimilars. In the technology and minerals space, the government has announced the launch of India Semiconductor Mission 2.0, alongside industry-led research and training centres to build a skilled workforce. Finance Minister Sitharaman has also proposed targeted support for mineral-rich states such as Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu to establish dedicated rare-earth corridors, building on a rare earth permanent magnet scheme launched in 2025. In her initial remarks, Sitharaman said that since her government assumed office, India's economic trajectory was marked by fiscal discipline and sustained growth. She stressed that the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has chosen action over ambivalence, and reform over rhetoric, keeping Atmanirbharta or self-reliance as a lodestar. "Since we assumed office 12 years ago, India's economic trajectory has been marked by stability, fiscal discipline, sustained growth and moderate inflation," she said. She continued that India will balance ambition with inclusion going ahead. Finance Minister Sitharaman presented her record ninth consecutive Union budget today in the Parliament. On Thursday, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the Economic Survey of India in Parliament for the financial year 2025-26. The tabling of the Economic Survey ahead of the Budget follows the long-standing tradition of outlining the state of the economy before detailing future fiscal plans. The document provided a comprehensive, data-backed review of the economy's performance over the previous year and offers a broad roadmap for future policy direction. As the government's flagship annual report, it reviews key economic developments over the past 12 months. India's real GDP growth for 2026-27 is projected in the range of 6.8-7.2 per cent, reflecting sustained medium-term growth capacity amid a challenging global environment. (ANI)
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