Union Budget 2026 Updates: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is presenting the 9th Union Budget in Parliament today, February 1st. Parliament proceedings have begun. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has started her budget speech. She is presenting the budget for the ninth consecutive time today, February 1, 2026. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman began her budget presentation by mentioning Saint Ravidas. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has made a major announcement regarding income tax.

She announced ₹2000 crore for Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India). In addition, the income tax form will be simplified. The new law will be implemented from April 1, 2026. Revised ITRs can be filed until March 31st. The law proposes to change technical errors from penalties to fines. Furthermore, only fines will be imposed for minor tax offences. Taxes on foreign travel will be reduced. The TCS rate for foreign travel has been reduced to 5 per cent. Returns can be filed until July 31st. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the tax on stock market options trading has been increased.

Major Announcement for Women
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made a major announcement regarding women. In her speech, she said that SHE (Self-help Entrepreneur) Marts have been established as community-owned retail stores to help women entrepreneurs.

Tax Exemption for Companies Setting up Data Centres in India
The Finance Minister announced that a tax holiday will be given until 2047. Foreign companies can avail of this benefit if they set up data centres in India.

Exemption on 17 Cancer-Related Medicines
The Finance Minister announced an exemption for 17 cancer-related medicines. In addition, 7 more medicines for rare diseases will receive import duty exemption for specific medical purposes.

Connecting Small Businesses to E-commerce
Fishermen who catch fish in the sea will not be subject to duty. We want to connect small businesses and artisans to e-commerce. We are removing the ₹10 lakh limit. This will apply for 4 years. The Finance Minister introduced a 6-month scheme for taxpayers to disclose their foreign assets. Additionally, the last date for filing ITR-1 and ITR-2 has been set as July 31st. The TCS applicable to the health and education sectors has been reduced from 5% to 2%. Furthermore, the TDS rate on foreign travel has been reduced to 2 per cent.

The Finance Minister announced a comprehensive review of the Income Tax Act 1961. This process was completed in record time, and the Income Tax Act 2025 will come into effect from April 2026.

Two important decisions were made in this budget to provide relief to the common people. The government has reduced the TCS rate on overseas tour packages from the 5-20 per cent range to a flat 2 per cent. Along with this, the TDS on money sent for educational purposes under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) has also been reduced. This decision will provide significant relief to students studying abroad and their families.

How much will the government spend?
₹26.7 lakh crore in taxes. Expenditure is ₹49.6 lakh crore. Capital expenditure has been ₹11 lakh crore. The loan deficit is estimated at ₹36.5 lakh crore for 2026-27. Expenditure of ₹53.5 lakh crore has been announced.

Buddhist Circuit to be built in North Eastern states
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that a Buddhist Circuit will be built in the North-Eastern states. This circuit will be in Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, and Tripura.

Budget 2026 Key Highlights:

7 high-speed rail corridors will be built.
₹10,000 crore will be allocated to the biopharma sector.
Medicines for sugar and cancer will become cheaper.
Large textile parks will be built.
₹5,000 crore per year will be spent on urban economic zones.
Preparation to build 20 new waterways.
Mineral corridors in 4 states.
Construction of 3 chemical parks.
₹10,000 crore will be available for SMEs. Mahatma Gandhi Self-Employment Scheme announced
Mining corridor announced
250 million people lifted out of poverty
₹10,000 crore announced for MSMEs
Government allocates ₹10,000 crore for biopharma
Hiking and trekking to be developed in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir
Cashew and coconut farmers in coastal areas to receive assistance
Khelo India Mission proposed for promoting sporting talent