In her Union Budget speech delivered on Sunday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman articulated a clear vision for India's economic future, emphasizing the government's unwavering commitment to maintaining its reform momentum. This strategic push is aimed at bolstering India's ascent to a developed nation status, a goal that requires balancing ambitious growth targets with inclusive development.
Confident Steps Toward Vikasit Bharat
Addressing Parliament, Sitharaman highlighted that India will continue to take confident strides toward achieving the vision of Vikasit Bharat. She underscored the importance of transforming aspirations into tangible achievements and converting potential into robust performance. As a rapidly growing economy with expanding trade and capital requirements, India must remain deeply integrated with global markets. This integration involves boosting exports and attracting stable, long-term investments to fuel sustainable development.
Government's Core Duties and Strategic Focus
Sitharaman outlined three primary duties of the government in this economic journey. First, to accelerate and sustain economic growth by enhancing productivity, competitiveness, and building resilience against volatile global dynamics. Second, to fulfill the aspirations of the people and build their capacity, making them strong partners in India's path to prosperity. Third, to ensure inclusive growth, encapsulated in the principle of sabka sath, sabka vikas (together with all, development for all).
The minister noted that the government has pursued far-reaching fiscal reforms and maintained fiscal stability, with a sharp focus on delivering prosperity to the poor and underprivileged. To achieve these goals, she announced steps in six key areas, including scaling up manufacturing capabilities in seven strategic and frontier sectors and rejuvenating legacy industrial sectors.
Structural Reforms and Financial Sector Resilience
Sitharaman emphasized that a supportive ecosystem and the momentum of structural reforms—continuous, adaptive, and forward-looking—are crucial. She pointed out that a robust and resilient financial sector is central to mobilizing savings, allocating capital efficiently, and managing risks. Additionally, she highlighted the role of artificial intelligence applications as a force multiplier for effective governance, enhancing decision-making and operational efficiency.
Slew of Reforms and Economic Projections
The reform drive builds on significant past measures, such as income tax and GST cuts, opening up the nuclear power sector, allowing full foreign ownership in insurance, pausing indiscriminate quality control orders affecting industry, and ongoing labour and bankruptcy reforms. These efforts aim to unlock the economy's unrealized potential and transition India into an advanced economy.
The Economic Survey 2025-26, presented in Parliament on Thursday, upgraded India's potential growth rate over the medium term to 7%, up from the 6.5% estimated three years ago. It projected India's economy to grow between 6.8% and 7.2% in FY27, following a projected 7.4% growth for the current year, as per the statistics ministry's first advance estimate.
Sitharaman revealed that the government has rolled out more than 350 reform measures and is collaborating with states to reduce compliance requirements. She affirmed, "The reform express is well on its way and will maintain its momentum to help us fulfil our kartavya (duty)." Reports indicate that Budget FY27 will include additional reforms aimed at deregulating industries, building on the initiatives launched in FY26.
