Call it the coconut bit of the Budget — inside the outer shell of a long speech was some soft stuff that summed up the politics of this Budget. Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Bengal (all going to the polls early this year), Andhra Pradesh (governed by BJP ally TDP), Gujarat (the ‘home state’ of BJP’s big two, Modi and Shah) are among the major beneficiaries this time.
Budget 2026's Political Calculus and Economic Rationale
To give the Finance Minister credit, the politics was mostly twinned with economic rationale. She announced a promotion scheme that’ll help coconut growers in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Gujarat. This is good policy because coconut, which faces high demand, can be a major income earner for farmers in these regions.
Strategic Focus on Rare Earths and Fishing Communities
India needs its own supply of rare earths, if only to depend less on capricious Chinese sources. States in focus include Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Odisha (governed by BJP), and Andhra Pradesh, highlighting a push for domestic production and reduced import reliance.
A significant help was the move to make fish catch in Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) and high seas free of duty and classifying the sale of this catch in any foreign port as exports. This means higher income for the fishing community, benefiting states with some of the biggest fishing populations such as Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Bengal, and Gujarat.
High-Speed Rail Corridors: A Modern Twist on Budget Politics
Trains, that old favourite of Budget politics, except these days it’s high-speed trains, and the more of them India has, the better it is. The Finance Minister promised 7 high-speed rail corridors, with places to be connected including Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Siliguri (Bengal), and Varanasi, aiming to boost connectivity and economic growth in these areas.
