Union Budget 2026: Rs 10,000 crore allocated to make India biopharma hub

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday announced a major push to position India as a global biopharmaceutical hub unveiling a Rs 10000crore outlay over five years under a new Bio Pharma Shakti programme in the Union Budget 2026Focus on biopharma biosimilars and highvalue manufacturingPresenting the Budget in Parliament Sitharaman said the initiative is aimed at creating a robust ecosystem for biopharma and biosimilars strengthening domestic capabilities and boosting Indiarsquos global competitiveness in highvalue pharmaceutical manufacturing The programme is expected to support research innovation manufacturing scaleup and supplychain development across the biopharma sectorUnion Budget 2026 highlights Key announcements by FM Nirmala SitharamanManufacturing push city economic regions proposed for growthAlongside this the Finance Minister proposed measures to expand manufacturing in strategic and frontier sectors while also announcing plans to develop city economic regions to drive regional growth and job creationFollow the live updates of Union Budget 2026 with realtime coverage of major announcements tax reforms economic priorities and policy decisionsSitharaman highlights decade of stability reforms and AtmanirbhartaIn her opening remarks Sitharaman said Indiarsquos economic journey over the past decade has been characterised by stability fiscal discipline and sustained growth She underlined that the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has consistently prioritised decisive action and structural reforms with Atmanirbharta selfreliance serving as the guiding principle of policymakingldquoSince we assumed office 12 years ago Indiarsquos economic trajectory has been marked by stability fiscal discipline sustained growth and moderate inflationrdquo the Finance Minister told the House She added that going forward India would continue to balance ambition with inclusion as it pursues longterm development goalsEconomic Survey projects strong growth low inflation outlookThe Union Budget 2026ndash27 marks Sitharamanrsquos ninth consecutive Budget presentation a record in itself and a testament to continuity in Indiarsquos fiscal leadershipEarlier this week Sitharaman had tabled the Economic Survey of India for the 2025ndash26 financial year in Parliament following the established convention of outlining the state of the economy ahead of the Budget The Survey provided a detailed datadriven assessment of economic performance over the past year and offered a broad roadmap for future policy directionAccording to the Economic Survey Indiarsquos real GDP growth for 2026ndash27 is projected to be in the range of 68 to 72 per cent reflecting strong mediumterm growth potential despite a challenging global environment The Survey also highlighted that India recorded its lowest inflation rate since the start of the CPI series with average headline inflation at 17 per cent during AprilndashDecember 2025 driven largely by easing food and fuel pricesThe inflation outlook the Survey noted remains favourable supported by strong supplyside conditions and the gradual passthrough of GST rate rationalisationmdashfactors that are expected to provide additional macroeconomic stability in the coming year