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The Union Budget 2026-27 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday, February 1, received mixed reactions, with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) describing it as a “highway of opportunities” and the Opposition saying that it was blind to the people’s real problems.

Highway of opportunities: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the Budget as a “highway of opportunities,” saying it reflected the aspirations of 140 crore Indians, strengthened the reform journey and charts a clear roadmap for Viksit Bharat.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the Budget “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.

Congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Nirmala Sitharaman for “resounding reaffirmation” of the government’s commitment to drive growth and development with fiscal prudence, Shah said the Budget fulfils the target of keeping the fiscal deficit below 4.5 per cent.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told reporters that the Budget is a reflection of the country’s march towards becoming the third-largest economy in the world.

“The Budget gives adequate funds to the state in rural road infrastructure, agriculture business network, economic cluster, tertiary care medical education, agriculture business and rural transformation, high speed trains, metro network and MUTP 3,” he said.

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said the Budget touches every segment and promotes different dimensions of trade and business, after watching the Budget presentation at an event in North West Delhi’s Tri Nagar with local residents.

Andhra Pradesh IT Minister Nara Lokesh said that the Budget offers significant opportunities for the state through initiatives such as the critical minerals corridor, high-speed rail connectivity, tax incentives for data centres, a stronger push for electronics manufacturing and renewed focus on tourism.

Opposition raps Budget for being ‘blind to India’s real crises’

On the other hand, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said the Union Budget 2026-27 was “blind to India’s real crises,” and highlighted how the youth are without jobs, manufacturing is falling and farmers are in distress.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the Modi government has run out of ideas, and that the Budget offers no single solution to India’s many economic, social and political challenges.

Kharge said farmers still await meaningful welfare support or an income security plan. “Inequality has surpassed the levels seen under the British Raj, but the Budget does not even mention it or provide any support to SC, ST, OBC, EWS and minority communities.

“The Finance Commission’s recommendations will have to be studied more, but they do not appear to provide any relief to state governments, which are under severe financial stress. Federalism has become a casualty,” he said.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh called the Budget “totally lacklustre.” “While the documents need to be studied in detail, 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 in a post on X.

“The speech was also non-transparent since it gave no idea whatsoever of budgetary allocations for key programmes and schemes,” he said.

Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee described the Budget as “directionless, visionless and anti-people,” which had nothing on offer for her state.

“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 Budget,” she alleged.

Similarly, Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee, nephew of Mamata Banerjee, described the Budget as a reflection of the BJP’s “step-motherly attitude” towards poll-bound Bengal. Asserting that the saffron party would lose the upcoming Assembly elections, the TMC national general secretary alleged that the BJP was trying to “teach the people of West Bengal a lesson.”

“In Bengal, they are losing. So the BJP, with its step-motherly attitude, is trying to teach the people a lesson,” Banerjee told reporters outside Parliament, according to a statement shared by the TMC media cell.

Industry leaders comment

Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said the Union Budget makes a decisive investment in India’s health and innovation future by placing biopharma among the seven strategic frontier sectors and launching “Biopharma Shakti” with an outlay of Rs 10,000 crore over five years.

Biopharmaceuticals, or biologics, are complex medicines manufactured from living organisms, cells or tissues rather than through chemical synthesis.

As India’s disease burden shifts toward cancer, diabetes and autoimmune disorders, biologics and biosimilars will be central to improving longevity and quality of life, she said.

Federation of Industry and Commerce of North Eastern Region (FINER) termed the Budget a “balanced and fiscal-disciplined” and not a populist one. It maintained that the Budget was drafted keeping in mind the “geo-political tensions,” including the Russia-Ukraine war, tariff hikes by the US and “other negativities.”

“This is not a populist Budget. I think it is a balanced and fiscal-disciplined one,” FINER president Bajrang Lohia said. Though Assembly elections are close, there is nothing as such for the state, he added.

Lohia said the push for MSMEs will benefit Assam and the North East, as the region has mostly medium and small enterprises. Infrastructure development boost for tier 3 and 4 cities will also benefit the region, he maintained.

Meanwhile, MSME Development Forum-West Bengal president Mamta Binani said the proposal to set up a dedicated Rs 10,000 crore Growth Fund for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) in the Union Budget 2026-27 will be a “game-changer” for the sector

Binani said it comes at a crucial time when MSMEs are grappling with liquidity constraints, delayed payments and rising competitive pressures.

Real estate player, Brigade Hotel Ventures Ltd, added that the Budget has given the “strategic recognition” to the tourism sector. Vineet Verma, director of Brigade Hotel Ventures Ltd, said the Budget’s emphasis on tourism goes beyond infrastructure and rightly addresses the sector’s biggest gap, skilled human capital.

Aarthi Scans and Labs also lauded the Budget, terming it as a clear strengthening of healthcare capacity.

(With inputs from PTI)