Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman dribble her ninth Budget in a row—that’s a record—and then jumped into the press convention in Delhi to shatter it down. She was super intelligible: this one’s all about firing up implementation and going hard on tech to drive real, lasting growth for India. No big flashy tax cuts for the middle class or anything that grabbed headlines, but a solid plan to build stuff that creates jobs and makes us more competitive globally.
She called it a “Yuva Shakti-driven Budget,” situate the youth front and core. The vibe is turning India’s massive young population into actual skilled workers and entrepreneurs. She talked about setting up this high-level standing committee on “Education to Employment and Enterprise” to supercharge the services sector. Goal? Get India to a 10% global portion in services by 2047. That means figuring out how AI and new tech will swap jobs, upskilling engineers big time, and using AI tools to connect people with training and gigs. It’s like prepping the next gen for what’s coming.
On the tech front, she went all in. AI keeps coming up as this “force multiplier” for everything—governance, industry, you name it. Big moves include launching India Semiconductor Mission 2.0 (ISM 2.0) to build out the full chain: equipment, materials, even Indian-designed IP. The Electronics Components scheme got a huge jump to ₹40,000 crore because investments are already rolling in. Then there’s shove rare earth corridors in states like Odisha, Kerala, Andhra, and Tamil Nadu to ditch heavy imports for censorious minerals.Biopharma gets ₹10,000 crore to make India a hub for vaccines and biologics.
Employment-wise, she’s betting on scaling manufacturing in seven key areas—semiconductors, rare earth magnets, textiles, and more—to pump out jobs and make us tougher in global markets. MSMEs are getting treated like real title-holder with special funds and help.
Infrastructure is enormous: record ₹12.2 lakh crore in capex, which she said will keep the engine running and create heaps of direct and indirect work in building, roads, rails, logistics. Think sustainable high-speed rail corridors and dedicated consignment lines to make everything smoother and inexpensive.
In the presser, she handled questions like a pro. On customs duty cuts (lots of zeros on electronics, clean energy stuff, medical devices), she straight-up said no US trade drama pushed it—this has been in the works for years as part of ongoing customs reforms. Fiscal side? Deficit immerse to 4.3% of GDP (from 4.4%), showing they’re spending big but linger disciplined. She tied it back to over 350 reforms since the PM’s last Independence Day talk, always circling back to helping the poor, women, youth, and disadvantaged.
She paused a bit when someone asked about middle-class goodies—viral moment—but overall, she kept it real: this Budget is about long-game stuff, turning aspirations into real wins, pushing toward Viksit Bharat by 2047. In a shaky world, focusing on tech, jobs, and infra feels smart. If they pull it off, it could really open doors for young folks in high-growth spots.
Sources:
Press Information Bureau
The Hindu
Hindustan Times
Times of India
India Budget official website
Invest India
Economic Times
