Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present Budget 2026 on February 1. From the common people to the business world, all eyes are on this budget. However, the recent speech given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi indicates that the reform express in the budget will continue i.e. the budget will be in the direction of reform. In such a situation, this time it is expected to increase government expenditure in the healthcare sector, promote indigenous production in defense and give new impetus to infrastructure projects. The real estate sector is also hopeful of announcements related to cheaper interest rates, tax relief and affordable housing, which can boost demand and create new employment opportunities.
Expectation from budget 2026
The government can take steps in the budget to promote infrastructural development through PPP model in the field of road, rail and aviation and to encourage the private sector. Whereas on defense budget especially, the government can increase the allocation more than usual. Apart from this, the government can make announcements to improve the existing schemes to promote the agriculture sector. Also, in order to strengthen the domestic market in view of the global conditions, some relief can be given to the middle class at various levels.
Every year the biggest wait is for the decisions related to income tax. This time also the middle class hopes that there will be relief in tax slabs, standard deduction will increase and the new tax system will be made more attractive. Such decisions can also be taken in the budget to maintain liquidity in the market and promote purchases in the domestic market. Experts believe that if the government takes steps to increase consumption along with tax relief, it will strengthen the economy and can provide new support to growth.
Gold and silver may become cheaper due to budget
It is believed that buying gold and silver may become cheaper after the budget to be presented on February 1. The government can reduce the custom duty on it from 6% to 4%. If this happens then gold can become cheaper by about Rs 3 thousand per 10 grams and silver by Rs 6 thousand. In 2025, gold has increased by 75% and silver by 167%. Currently i.e. in January 2026, 10 grams of 24 carat gold is available for Rs 1.50 lakh and one kg silver is available for Rs 3.50 lakh.
Finance Minister can make these 5 big announcements in the budget
Income Tax: Income up to Rs 13 lakh is tax free
In the new income tax regime, standard deduction can be increased from Rs 75 thousand to Rs 1 lakh. With this, income of Rs 13 lakh of salaried people will become tax-free. Currently, income up to Rs 12.75 lakh is tax free.
Why can it be announced?
• Industry organization Confederation of Indian Industry i.e. CII has suggested to the government that it is necessary to leave more money in the hands of people to increase consumption. Increasing tax exemption will increase the purchasing power of the people. The economy will benefit from this. • The government wants to replace the old tax regime with a new tax regime. For this, it is important to keep the new tax regime beneficial. For this purpose, standard deduction can be increased for salary earners in the new regime.
Benefit: The money coming into the hands of the middle class will increase. A few thousand rupees can be saved in a month. This will be useful in spending, saving or investing.
Kisan Samman Nidhi: Annual amount may increase by 50%
The amount of PM-Kisan scheme can be increased from Rs 6 thousand to Rs 9 thousand annually. There is talk of increasing it for the last 3 years.
Why can it be announced?
• There has been no change since the scheme was launched in 2019. In 2024, the Parliamentary Standing Committee had recommended doubling the amount to Rs 12,000 annually. • Farmer organizations say that the price of Rs 6 thousand being received since 2019 has reduced to Rs 5 thousand due to inflation. It should be increased to Rs 12 thousand. • In November 2025, Bihar government had announced to give extra Rs 3 thousand. With this, the farmers there will get a total of Rs 9 thousand. The Center can implement it all over India.
Mathematics of expenditure: At present about 11 crore people are getting Kisan Samman Nidhi. The central government spends 60 thousand to 65 thousand crore rupees every year on this. By increasing it to Rs 9 thousand annually, this expenditure will increase to around Rs 95 thousand crore annually.
Benefit: About 11 crore farmer families of the country will benefit from this. With the extra amount of Rs 3 thousand, farmers will be able to meet their minor farming needs.
Rail Infrastructure: 300+ new Amrit Bharat and Vande Bharat trains
The government wants to eliminate the reservation waiting list by 2030 by running new trains. In such a situation, more than 300 Amrit Bharat and Vande Bharat trains can be announced. In the last budget, Rs 2.65 lakh crore was allocated for Railways. This is the largest railway fund so far. This time also it is expected to increase.
Why can it be announced?
• The government wants to eliminate waiting list in train reservation by 2030. At present, there is a difference of about 20-25% between demand and seat availability in the peak season. For this, along with increasing trains, track expansion will also have to be done.
Benefit: About 2 crore people traveling in trains daily will benefit from it.
PM Surya Ghar Yojana: ₹ 80 thousand subsidy on 2 KW solar panel
In the budget, it may be announced to increase the subsidy on solar systems up to 2 kilowatt (KW) from Rs 30 thousand per kilowatt to Rs 40 thousand. According to the current rules, on installing a 2 KW solar system, a total subsidy of Rs 30 thousand per kilowatt is available. If the subsidy is increased by Rs 10 thousand per kilowatt in the budget, then a total subsidy of Rs 80 thousand will be available on 2KW solar system. That means saving of Rs 20 thousand. Whereas for systems between 2 to 3 KW, the subsidy is Rs 18 thousand per kilowatt. For systems above 3 KW, the subsidy is capped at Rs 78 thousand.
Why can it be announced?
• The central government aims to connect 40 lakh houses to the solar grid by March 2026 and 1 crore houses by 2027. This scheme will help the government to achieve its target faster. By December 2025, more than 19.45 lakh panels have been installed.
Benefit: Due to increase in subsidy, families installing 2 KW system will directly save additional Rs 20 thousand. This will not only provide free electricity to the families, but they will also be able to earn money by selling the extra electricity to the grid.
Ayushman Bharat: Benefit to all elderly people above 60 years of age
The government can increase the scope of Ayushman Bharat (PM-JAY) scheme. At present, elderly people above 70 years of age are getting the benefit of this scheme, which can be reduced to 60 years. Also, the annual free treatment limit of ₹ 5 lakh can be increased to cover the expenses of serious diseases like cancer and heart surgery.
Why can it be announced?
According to a report by Outlook, 82% of the elderly aged 60+ in India do not have any health insurance. However, those aged 70+ are covered under Ayushman. Elderly people between 60 and 70 years of age who do not have health insurance are forced to spend their savings for serious diseases. In such a situation, the government can give them relief.
Benefit: Since the coverage of treatment is 60 years, crores of new families will join the scheme. At the same time, due to increase in the treatment limit, families will not have to take loans for major operations. Patients will be able to get free treatment even in big and specialist hospitals.
Expectations of every class from the budget
1. Middle Class: The biggest hope of this class is from exemption in income tax and change in tax slab. Besides, it is also expected to increase the limit of deduction available on home loan interest so that buying a house can become cheaper.
2. Women: Women hope that the scope of schemes like Ujjwala Yojana will increase and cheap loans will be available for women entrepreneurs. Apart from this, there is also a demand for special tax exemption for working women.
3. Youth: The youth are mainly eyeing new employment opportunities and government support for startups. They are expecting reduction in interest rates on education loans and a big budget for skill development.
4. Farmers: Farmers are expected to increase the amount of PM-Kisan scheme and continue subsidy on fertilizers and seeds. Also, they want concrete steps to guarantee minimum support price (MSP) for crops and expansion of irrigation facilities.
5. Investors expect cut in long term capital gains tax rates.
6. Hope to bring liquidity in the stock market by removing Securities Transaction Tax i.e. STT.
7. Expected to update the system to eliminate the double whammy of tax on retirement funds.
8. Green signal may be given to make NPS deduction mandatory in private sector, if this happens then employees will get pension security on a large scale.
9. Expectation of increase in tax benefit on health insurance premium.
10. The lock-in period of tax saving FD is expected to be reduced to three years.
11. Expectation of relaxation in rules for tax exemption on sale of agricultural land.
12. Emphasis will be on fiscal discipline, there is little hope for major tax reforms.
13. Expectation of relief in real estate and home loans.
14. Expecting concessions on investment, savings and LTCG.
15. Allocation in the budget may increase on the demand of increasing health and medical expenditure.
Operation Sindoor is not over, there is a demand to increase the budget allocation to 20 percent…
After the strategic success of the first phase of Operation Sindoor against terrorism, the government is going to present the most action-oriented defense budget this time. This will not just be a military allocation, but an economic manifesto of India’s offensive-defense policy, which will make it clear that Operation Sindoor is not over yet and the forces are technically fully prepared for any future strike. In this context, this time the Defense Ministry has prepared a roadmap for 20 percent more allocation on military modernization. According to recent indications from Defense Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, some technical shortcomings of the forces have come to light during Operation Sindoor. There will be special provisions in the budget to remove these. The government’s focus is on manufacturing GPS-free drones that can deliver accurate strikes despite enemy jamming. Building a strong indigenous eco-system for electronic warfare technology and anti-drone systems will be a priority.
Four priorities for indigenous drone eco-system: Fund for manufacturing GPS-less and jamming-free drones
Anti-Drone Technology: Expansion of smart fencing and electronic surveillance on the borders.
Data Grid: Ability to strike quickly by connecting all three armies through a single digital network.
Future Weapons: Directed Energy Weapons (DEW) and AI based defense systems.
Year of Data Centricity and Networking- The Army has decided to celebrate the coming two years as the Year of Networking and Data Centricity. Its impact will be visible in the budget, where data will be considered a strategic resource. Sensors, drones, satellites and soldiers deployed in the field will be connected to a single digital grid, so that commanders can take accurate decisions within a few moments. Investment on advanced defense systems will be the highlight of the budget.
Where can you see the budget
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget 2026 in Parliament on February 1 at 11 am. This is not only important for the country’s economy but will also be a historic moment as Nirmala Sitharaman will become the first Finance Minister of India to present the budget for the 9th consecutive time. This will be a new record.
budget 2026 program
This time the budget day is a bit special because despite February 1 being a Sunday holiday, the budget is being presented. If we talk about time, from the year 2017 itself the time of budget was changed from 5 pm to 11 am. This year’s budget program has started from 28th January and ‘Economic Survey’ was released on 29th January, which is in a way a report card of the economic condition of the country. This report card prepares the foundation for the upcoming budget. Now taking this trend forward, the Finance Minister will present the keynote speech of the budget on 1st February at 11 am.
Budget 2026: Where to watch live telecast and updates?
You can watch the budget speech live in many ways. If you are watching TV, then switch on Sansad TV or DD News. To watch on the internet, you can go to the official website of the government (indiabudget.gov.in), where along with the video, budget files will also be available. Apart from this, there will also be live telecast on Sansad TV and PIB channels on YouTube. Also, all the big private news channels will also show it. As soon as the speech is over, complete information about taxes and government expenditure will be uploaded on the budget website.
Why is Budget 2026 special?
This is the second big budget of the third term of the Modi government, which is very important for the country’s economy. Nirmala Sitharaman is presenting the budget for the 9th consecutive time, which means that the government is strongly carrying forward its old policies and way of working. Another interesting thing is that usually the budget comes on working days (Monday to Friday), but this time it is being presented even after February 1 being a Sunday. The same thing happened last year too, when the budget for 2025 came on a Saturday holiday.
What is Union Budget?
The government presents the budget as per the rules of Article 112 of the Indian Constitution. This budget is a complete account of the government’s expenses and earnings for one year (which starts from April 1). There are three main things in this in simple language. How much tax will the government take from us, how much money will it spend on development works and what will be its new plans for the future.