Union Budget 2026: Cancer drugs cheaper, AI push, defence boost and MSME support

As many as 17 cancer drugs along with medicines and food for special medical needs for seven rare diseases are set to become cheaper with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announcing cuts in customs duty in the Union Budget 202627In her speech Sitharaman said ldquoTo provide relief to patients particularly those suffering from cancer I propose to exempt basic customs duty on 17 drugs or medicinesrdquo Moreover the Budget has also proposed setting up 1000 clinical trial sites and strengthening the Central Drugs Standard Control OrganisationAI boosterThe Budget proposed a tax holiday till 2047 for foreign companies that provide cloud services to customers globally using data centres located in India signalling the governmentrsquos push to make the country a major hub for AI and digital infrastructureThe big push on data centres comes at a time when India is gearing up to take the centrestage in global discourse on AI It is expected to position India not just as a consumer of global cloud and AI services but as a thriving base for the worldrsquos digital backboneWith AI cloud computing and digital payments growing data centres are becoming as critical as roads and power plants forming the backbone of Indiarsquos digital economy India is eyeing a leading role in global AI conversations with New Delhi all set to host the India AI Impact SummitDefence gets major boostIndia on Sunday set aside Rs 784678 crore as defence outlay for 202627 over the current fiscalrsquos allocation of Rs 681 lakh crore with a major increase in capital expenditure as the military focuses on modernisation in the face of security challenges from China and Pakistan The increase in the defence outlay against the backdrop of ldquohistoric success of Operation Sindoorrdquo has further strengthened our resolve to make Indiarsquos defence system even more robust Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said The overall defence budget has seen a hike of 15 per cent over last yearrsquos outlayIndiadeveloped Pinaka missiles REPRESENTATION PICISTOCKOut of the total allocation Rs 219306 crore has been earmarked for capital expenditure to the armed forces that largely includes purchasing new weapons aircraft warships and other military hardware The revenue expenditure has been put at Rs 553668 crore that includes Rs 171338 crore for pensions The budgetary allocation to the Defence Research and Development Organisation DRDO has been increased to R29100 crore from Rs 2681682 crore in 202526 Out of this allocation Rs 1725025 crore is allocated for capital expenditureDefence Minister Rajnath Singh said the ldquomost importantrdquo aspect of the budget is the modernisation of the three services ldquoI express my heartfelt gratitude to our Prime Minister Modi ji for allocating R785 lakh crore for the defence sectorrdquo he said ldquoComing after the historic success of Operation Sindoor this budget has further strengthened our resolve to make the countryrsquos defence system even more robustrdquo he addedSingh said a provision of Rs 219 lakh crore has been made for the overall capital expenditure of the armed forcesRs 10K cr for biopharmaREPRESENTATION PICISTOCKSitharaman proposed Rs 10000 crore investment over the next five years to develop India as a biopharma manufacturing hub set up 1000 clinical trial sites and strengthen the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation Biopharmaceuticals or biologics are complex medicines manufactured from living organisms cells or tissues rather than through chemical synthesis Indiarsquos disease burden is observed to be shifting towards noncommunicable diseases like diabetes cancer and autoimmune disorders Biologic medicines are key to longevity and quality of life at affordable costs Sitharaman statedlsquoChampionrsquo MSMEsThe FM on Sunday proposed a threepronged strategy including a Rs 10000 dedicated fund to help MSMEs grow as lsquoChampionsrsquo Sitharaman said the Modi government has undertaken comprehensive economic reforms towards creating employment boosting productivity and accelerating growth The ldquoReform Expressrdquo is well on its way and will maintain its momentum to help fulfil ldquoour kartavyardquo she said Earlier the Budget used to be prepared in the North BlockRecognising MSMEs as a vital engine of growth Sitharaman outlined a threepronged approach mdash Equity Support Liquidity Support and Professional Support mdash to help MSME grow as lsquoChampionsrsquo She also proposed to top up the SelfReliant India Fund set up in 2021 with Rs 2000 crore to continue support to micro enterprises and maintain their access to risk capitalThe minister also said the government will set up an lsquoEducation to Employment and Enterprisersquo Standing Committee to recommend measures focusing on the services sector The cadre of ldquocorporate mitrasrdquo will help MSMEs to meet their compliance requirements at affordable costsOpposition reacts to the budgetlsquoLacklustre disappointingrsquoRahul Gandhi LoPldquoUnion Budget as totally lacklustre and blind to Indiarsquos real crises and did not offer any solution to the countryrsquos economic social and political challenges This Budget offers no solutions not even slogans to hide the absence of policy Youth without jobs Falling manufacturing Investors pulling out capital Household savings plummeting Farmers in distress Looming global shocks all ignored It is a Budget that refuses course correctionrdquolsquoNo solution BudgetrsquoMallikarjun Kharge Congress chiefldquoThe Modi Government has run out of ideas Budget 2026 does not provide a single solution to Indiarsquos many economic social and political challenges lsquoMission Mode is now Challenge RoutersquordquolsquoNothing to offerrsquoMamata Banerjee Bengal CMldquoThis Budget is directionless visionless actionless and antipeople It is also antiwomen antifarmer antieducation and against the SC ST and OBC There is nothing on offer for Bengal in the BudgetrdquoBudget 2026 What gets cheaper what gets costlierCheaperCancer drugsTV equipmentLeather goodsCamerasFootwearLiquor scrap empty bottles expired productsForeign educationOverseas tour packagesImports of goods for nuclear power projects till 2035Video gamesrsquo manufacturing partsEnergy transition equipmentMicrowave ovens Costliergtgt Coffee and vending machinesgtgt Income tax misreporting Penalty equal to 100 per cent of the tax amountgtgt Nondisclosure of movable assetsgtgt Stock options and futures tradinggtgt CoalThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever