New Delhi, Feb 1 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said the Budget announced on Sunday “turbocharges the momentum” to bolster India’s position on the global stage as the most-attractive investment destination for a wide range of sectors, from traditional to the new-age ones.
“From manufacturing to infrastructure, from health to tourism, from rural areas to AI, from sports to pilgrimage sites, #ViksitBharatBudget is a budget that empowers the dreams of the youth, women, and farmers of every village, every town, and every city, enabling them to realise those dreams,” Shah said in a series of posts on X.
Congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for the “resounding reaffirmation” of the BJP-led government’s commitment to driving growth and development with fiscal prudence, Shah said the budget fulfils the target of keeping the fiscal deficit below 4.5 per cent.
He said the Budget reflects the vision of a developed India by 2047 and the roadmap for the next 25 years.
The home minister said by allocating Rs 12.2 lakh crore for capital expenditure, the Budget has given impetus to the prime minister’s vision of a future-ready India, where development extends beyond major cities.
He said reaching Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities through new rail corridors, national waterways and improved connectivity will boost job creation, taking India’s aspirations to new heights.
“#ViksitBharatBudget will give unprecedented momentum to connectivity in India. Seven high-speed rail corridors announced today aimed at supercharging inter-city connectivity and slashing travel time across key economic and population centres of our country,” Shah said.
He said through the Budget 2026-27, Modi has proven that “Aatmanirbhar” and “Viksit Bharat” are not just slogans, but the resolve of his government.
“This budget not only provides a clear blueprint for empowering every sector, every class, and every citizen, but also offers a grounded vision to encourage it, which will support it at every step. #ViksitBharatBudget is a vision for building an India that leads in every field in the world,” he said.
Shah said a historic decision has been taken in the Budget to launch the Mahatma Gandhi Gram Swaraj Yojana to realise Gandhi’s dream of Gram Swaraj.
“This will strengthen the rural economy and provide new support to weavers, farmers and the handloom industry,” he added.
The home minister said the decision to benefit three crore farmers through the Coconut Promotion Scheme in coastal areas, promote production and export of cashew and coconut, and conserve sandalwood clearly demonstrates that the prime minister is fully committed to ensuring the prosperity of farmers and making agriculture a profitable enterprise.
“A visionary decision has been taken in the #ViksitBharatBudget to increase farmers’ income through livestock. Increasing the number of veterinarians, expanding veterinary centres and training centres will strengthen the livestock-based economy,” he said.
Shah said decisions such as providing credit-linked subsidies for the dairy and poultry sectors, developing 500 reservoirs to promote fisheries and providing access to global markets will prove to be milestones in the direction of the Modi government’s resolve to increase farmers’ income.
“#ViksitBharatBudget embodies Bharat as a nation forging its new identity as an emerging economic power centre with resolute trust in its own strengths. Post Covid, PM @narendramodi Ji’s visionary economic policies have fuelled the Indian economy. #ViksitBharatBudget turbocharges the momentum to bolster India’s position on the global stage as the most attractive investment destination for a wide range of sectors, from traditional to the new-age ones,” he said.
The senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said by making micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) the champions of India’s growth story, the Budget realises the prime minister’s vision of strengthening the economy from the grassroots level through a clear tripartite framework with a Rs 10,000 crore growth fund.
He said this provision will help MSMEs in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities achieve their goals through structured professional support.
The home minister said the decision to develop 15 archaeological sites, including Dholavira, as cultural destinations will establish India’s ancient culture on the global stage.
The construction of a Buddhist circuit in five northeastern states, the development of mountain trails in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir and the Araku Valley, and the development of turtle trails in Odisha, Karnataka and Kerala will give a new impetus to development in these regions and promote eco-tourism, he said.
The five university townships around major industrial and logistics corridors will promote education-industry integration, and the construction and upgrading of four telescope-infrastructure facilities will give research a new impetus, he added.
“The establishment of a National Design Institute, AVGC labs in 15,000 secondary schools and 500 colleges, and the formation of a high-powered ‘Education to Employment and Enterprise’ committee reflect the commitment to empowering the new generation with skills and building a leading India in every sector,” Shah said.
He said the Budget is taking the country to a new era of prosperity by harnessing the power of its youngsters, for which content-creation training has been started in 15,000 schools and special initiatives have been taken to provide affordable sports equipment.
The home minister said by launching the careers of youngsters in semiconductors, information technology (IT), textiles, hospitality, tourism and corporate compliance, the Budget is propelling their progress.
He said the Budget provisions will take connectivity to the next level by opening new corridors.
Shah said 20 new national waterways and freight corridors, connecting Dankuni in the east to Surat in the west, will open new avenues of prosperity for trade and commerce.
He said the Budget is a major step towards realising the prime minister’s vision of a healthy India, with steps like the Rs 10,000-crore Biopharma Shakti scheme, 1,000 trial sites, customs-duty exemption on 17 cancer drugs, assistive devices for the differently-abled, the NIMHANS-2 initiative for mental health and five medical tourism centres making healthcare more accessible.
“The Modi government is continuously working towards empowering women by educating and enriching them. The plan to open girls’ hostels in every district in the Developed India Budget will provide our sisters with better and safer educational opportunities,” Shah said in his posts in Hindi.
Meanwhile, after creating “Lakhpati Didis” (women who have become millionaires), the BJP-led government is now going to open SHE Marts for women.
“These retail outlets will provide a strong foundation for women to become enterprise owners. The launch of the She-Mark badge will also ensure easy access to financing facilities for women,” Shah said.
“Furthermore, the establishment of the National Institute of Hospitality will provide skills and employment opportunities to the youth and also strengthen the tourism sector,” the home minister added.
Hollow and directionless: Opposition
Opposition parties on Sunday described the Union Budget as “hollow” and “directionless”, claiming it failed to address key political and economic challenges in the country while expenditure had been slashed in several sectors affecting the common man.
The Congress said the Budget was “totally lacklustre” and alleged that the government has refused to go for course correction and is blind to India’s real crises.
It “fails” the test of economic strategy and economic statesmanship as it does not address several challenges identified by the Economic Survey and experts, the principal opposition party said.
“The Modi Government has run out of ideas. Budget 2026 does not provide a single solution to India’s many economic, social, and political challenges,” Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, adding there was no policy vision or political will, and the Budget provided no solutions or even slogans to paper over the absence of substance.
“‘Mission Mode’ is now ‘Challenge Route’. Reform Express rarely stops at any “Reform” Junction. Net result: no policy vision, no political will,” the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha said in a social media post.
“This Budget offers no solutions, not even slogans to hide the absence of policy!” the Congress chief said.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, said the youths were without jobs, manufacturing was falling and farmers were in distress, but the Budget has refused course correction.
“Investors pulling out capital. Household savings plummeting. Farmers in distress. Looming global shocks – all ignored,” the Congress leader said.
“A Budget that refuses course correction, blind to India’s real crises,” Gandhi said in a post on X.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee described the Union Budget for 2026-27 as a “directionless and visionless Humpty Dumpty”, claiming that it had nothing to offer to the common man and her state.
Banerjee also alleged that allocation for key sectors had been slashed in the Budget.
“This Budget is directionless, visionless, actionless and anti-people. It is also anti-women, anti-farmer, anti-education and against the SC, ST and OBC… There is nothing on offer for Bengal… in the Humpty Dumpty budget,” she said, adding that the “economy will be totally derailed”.
TMC General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee said it is a “faceless, baseless and visionless Budget” and accused the Centre of branding people of West Bengal as “Bangladeshis”. He also attacked the finance minister for not mentioning the state in her Budget speech.
Kerala Chief Minister and CPI(M) leader Pinarayi Vijayan strongly criticised the Budget, saying it has exposed the BJP-led Centre’s continued discrimination and neglect towards the southern state.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK leader M K Stalin said the Budget was hugely disappointing for his state. The interests of Tamil Nadu have been completely ignored and the Budget has got nothing for the poor, women, farmers and the marginalised, he said.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said the Budget was meant for the “top 5 per cent” population, as he challenged the government to declare the per-capita income of the remaining 95 per cent of the populace.
The result of the BJP’s Budget is out – the stock market has crashed, he noted.
Former finance minister P Chidambaram said the government and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman seem to have completely discarded the Economic Survey and fallen back on their “favourite pastime of throwing acronyms at people”.
“Our verdict is that the Budget Speech and the Budget fail the test of economic strategy and economic statesmanship,” Chidambaram said, as he listed out sectors where spending has been reduced.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the speech by the finance minister was “non-transparent” as it gave no idea of the Budgetary allocations for key programmes and schemes.
“It is clear after 90 minutes that Budget 2026/27 falls woefully short of the hype that was generated about it. It was totally lacklustre,” Ramesh said on X.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati said the Budget presented by the Centre, with its various schemes, projects, promises and assurances, raises concern about their future outcomes.
The Left parties called the Union Budget “anti-people, anti-federal”, and accused the Centre of promoting the interests of the wealthy at the cost of the common people.
“It is growing inequality that Budget 2026-27 is going to further promote and further aggravate the crisis that is afflicting the Indian economy. It is also a woefully inadequate response to the issues arising from what is happening in the world economy,” the CPI(M) said.
Communist Party of India (CPI) MP P Sandosh Kumar said the Budget speech revealed a “deliberate political choice to look away from people’s hardships while concentrating power and resources in fewer hands”.
AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal said the Budget will increase inflation and also create unemployment.
RJD Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha said, “Today’s Budget has once again failed to address the two most serious issues affecting the country’s vast population – rapidly rising income inequality and alarming unemployment.” (PTI)
