Top News

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday, February 1, presented her ninth consecutive Union Budget 2026 in Parliament, with a series of announcements targeting states scheduled to go to polls later this year.

Past Union Budgets have often reflected electoral considerations. Budget 2025 carried a special focus on Bihar ahead of its Assembly elections, while the 2021 Budget included several announcements for West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Kerala and Puducherry, all of which were heading into elections at the time.

In a similar pattern, Budget 2026 included multiple proposals linked to infrastructure, industry, tourism and pilgrimage development in poll-bound states set to vote in April. The Finance Minister’s speech outlined measures spanning textiles, road and rail connectivity, rare earth mineral mining, and tourism promotion in these regions.

TAMIL NADU

Nirmala Sitharaman proposed support for mineral-rich states, including Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, to establish critical mineral facilities.

She announced plans to develop seven high-speed rail corridors as growth connectors, linking Mumbai–Pune, Pune–Hyderabad, Hyderabad–Bengaluru, Hyderabad–Chennai, Chennai–Bengaluru, Delhi–Varanasi and Varanasi–Siliguri.

She announced tourism-related initiatives including the development of birdwatching trails at Pulicat Lake along the Tamil Nadu–Andhra Pradesh border.

Sitharaman also announced an outlay of Fs 20,000 crore over the next five years to strengthen infrastructure in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, including temple towns in the state.

KERALA

Kerala was included among the mineral-rich states that will receive support to establish critical mineral facilities.

In addition, the Budget proposed the development of key turtle nesting sites along with designated turtle trails to promote conservation-linked tourism.

WEST BENGAL

For West Bengal, Sitharaman announced a new dedicated freight corridor from Dankuni in the east to Surat in the west, aimed at enabling environmentally sustainable cargo movement.

The Budget also proposed the creation of five tourism destinations across five Purvodaya states and provisions for 4,000 electric buses. An integrated East Coast Industrial Corridor with a well-connected node at Durgapur was also announced.

ASSAM

The Finance Minister announced a scheme for Development of Buddhist Circuits covering preservation of temples and monasteries, pilgrimage interpretation centers, connectivity and pilgrim amenities. Assam was included in the proposal, which has a Rs 20,000 crore outlay over the next five years to strengthen infrastructure in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, including temple towns in the state.