New Delhi . Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the Union Budget 2026-27 in Parliament, announced the development of seven high-speed rail corridors in the country. He said that these corridors will act as ‘growth connectors’ between cities and promote environmentally sustainable passenger transport systems.

The proposed high-speed rail corridors will connect Mumbai–Pune, Pune–Hyderabad, Hyderabad–Bengaluru, Hyderabad–Chennai, Chennai–Bengaluru, Delhi–Varanasi and Varanasi–Siliguri. Through these projects, connectivity between different states and major economic sectors will be strengthened.

The Finance Minister said that the government is laying special emphasis on increasing vehicle capacity and development of modern rail infrastructure. These high-speed corridors will provide better connectivity to industrial, technical, cultural and religious sectors, which is expected to give a new impetus to economic activities.

Proposal to increase public capital expenditure to Rs 12.2 lakh crore in the Union Budget

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget for the ninth consecutive time on Sunday. Sitharaman in her budget speech has proposed to increase public capital expenditure to Rs 12.2 lakh crore.

The Union Finance Minister said that to promote environmentally sustainable passenger systems, 7 high-speed rail corridors will be built as growth connectors between cities, which include Mumbai to Pune, Pune to Hyderabad, Hyderabad to Bengaluru, Hyderabad to Chennai, Chennai to Bengaluru, Delhi to Varanasi, Varanasi to Siliguri. He has proposed a scheme to help states set up 5 regional hubs in the country to promote India as a medical tourism hub.

The Union Finance Minister has proposed Coconut Promotion Scheme in the budget to further increase competition in coconut production, so that production can be increased in different ways and productivity can be improved. This includes planting new varieties of trees in major coconut growing states to replace degraded trees. Also, a special program is proposed for Indian cashew and cocoa, so that India can become self-reliant in the production and processing of raw cashew and coconut, increase export competitiveness and convert Indian cashew and Indian cocoa into premium global brands by 2030.

Budget: Target to increase the share of service sector in GDP to 10 percent by the year 2047

The central government has set a target of increasing the contribution of service sector in the country’s GDP to 10 percent by the year 2047. For this, a high level committee will be formed to increase employment in this area. Besides, five regional medical centers will be built with the cooperation of the private sector, which will include AYUSH centres, medical tourism and diagnostic areas. These will provide employment to doctors, nurses and other medical personnel.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in her budget speech in the Lok Sabha on Sunday that a high-level standing committee named ‘Education to Employment and Entrepreneurship’ will be formed, which will recommend necessary measures to make the services sector the main driver of ‘Developed India’. The committee will prioritize sectors that maximize growth, employment and export potential and assess the impact of emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), on jobs and skills.

He said that after Covid, Yoga and Ayurveda have got a lot of promotion. Keeping in view the global demand, special attention will be given to Ayurveda. Under this, three new All India Institutes will be created, AYUSH Pharmacy and Drug Testing Laboratory will be upgraded and the World Health Organization Global Clinical Center located in Jamnagar will also be upgraded.

Sitharaman said that a provision of Rs 20 thousand crore will be made in the next five years for carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies. In the field of infrastructure, the government has placed a big focus on waterways. 20 new waterways will be built in the next five years. National Waterway will be built in Odisha to connect mineral-rich Talcher and Angul and connect Kalinganagar to Paradip Port. Besides, special centers will be set up in Varanasi and Patna to create a ship repair ecosystem in the country.

To strengthen the MSME sector, the Finance Minister announced MSME Growth Fund of Rs 10 thousand crore. The textile sector will also get a booster and the government will strengthen infrastructure in cities with a population of more than five lakh.

3 new All India Ayurveda Institutes will be opened in the country

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has made important announcements to the health sector in the budget. Under which 3 new All India Ayurveda Institutes will be opened in the country. Their location has not been disclosed yet. Along with this, with the aim of better mental health treatment, the Finance Minister announced the establishment of NIMHANS 2.0 which will serve as the premier mental health institute for the country. Along with this, it was announced to establish two mental health centers in North India. Nirmala Sitharaman proposed a scheme to help set up 5 regional hubs in the country to promote India as a medical tourism hub. This will increase access to mental health services, strengthen training and research, and provide high-quality care to patients. Apart from this, one lakh specialists will become healthcare professionals in 5 years. 1.5 lakh caregivers will be trained.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the prices of medicines for non-communicable diseases will be made cheaper. In this, emphasis has been laid on cancer medicines. Director of All India Ayurveda Institute, Prof. (Vaidya) Pradeep Kumar Prajapati, regarding the announcement in the Union Budget to open three new AIIA locations across the country, said that this will strengthen quality Ayurvedic education, research and patient care.