Presenting the Budget in Parliament, Sitharaman said the initiative is aimed at creating a robust ecosystem for biopharma and biosimilars, strengthening domestic capabilities and boosting India’s global competitiveness in high-value pharmaceutical manufacturing
Nirmala Sitharaman. Pic/PTI
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday announced a major push to position India as a global biopharmaceutical hub, unveiling a Rs 10,000-crore outlay over five years under a new Bio Pharma Shakti programme in the Union Budget 2026.
Focus on biopharma, biosimilars and high-value manufacturing
Presenting the Budget in Parliament, Sitharaman said the initiative is aimed at creating a robust ecosystem for biopharma and biosimilars, strengthening domestic capabilities and boosting India’s global competitiveness in high-value pharmaceutical manufacturing. The programme is expected to support research, innovation, manufacturing scale-up and supply-chain development across the biopharma sector.
Union Budget 2026 highlights: Key announcements by FM Nirmala Sitharaman
Manufacturing push, city economic regions proposed for growth
Alongside 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 creation.
Sitharaman highlights decade of stability, reforms and Atmanirbharta
In her opening remarks, Sitharaman said India’s 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 (self-reliance) serving as the guiding principle of policy-making.
“Since we assumed office 12 years ago, India’s economic trajectory has been marked by stability, fiscal discipline, sustained growth and moderate inflation,” the Finance Minister told the House. She added that going forward, India would continue to balance ambition with inclusion as it pursues long-term development goals.
Economic Survey projects strong growth, low inflation outlook
The Union Budget 2026–27 marks Sitharaman’s ninth consecutive Budget presentation, a record in itself and a testament to continuity in India’s fiscal leadership.
Earlier this week, Sitharaman had tabled the Economic Survey of India for the 2025–26 financial year in Parliament, following the established convention of outlining the state of the economy ahead of the Budget. The Survey provided a detailed, data-driven assessment of economic performance over the past year and offered a broad roadmap for future policy direction.
According to the Economic Survey, India’s real GDP growth for 2026–27 is projected to be in the range of 6.8 to 7.2 per cent, reflecting strong medium-term 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 1.7 per cent during April–December 2025, driven largely by easing food and fuel prices.
The inflation outlook, the Survey noted, remains favourable, supported by strong supply-side conditions and the gradual pass-through of GST rate rationalisation—factors that are expected to provide additional macroeconomic stability in the coming year.
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