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Budget 2026: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday presented the Budget for the 2026-27 financial year. While presenting the Union Budget in Parliament, Sitharaman said the government has proposed targeted interventions in six areas to accelerate and sustain economic growth. The Finance Minister said the government remains committed to continuing reforms and ensuring steady momentum in economic policymaking.
"The reform express is running on its way and will maintain its momentum to help us fulfill our Kartavya," Sitharaman said, adding that these six interventions together reflect the government's commitment to fulfilling its Kartavya and maintaining the momentum of reforms.
In her Budget speech, Sitharaman announced the creation of a "National Destination Digital Knowledge Grid", which aims to digitally document all places of significance across the country. In a push to boost connectivity and tourism, the finance minister announced seven high-speed rail corridors, dedicated freight links and operationalisation of 20 waterways over the next five years.
Major Infrastructure Push For Varanasi
Among the seven high-speed rail corridors, PM Modi's constituency, Varanasi, will get two corridors, including Delhi-Varanasi and Varanasi-Siliguri. The other high-speed rail corridors include,
- Mumbai-Pune
- Pune-Hyderabad
- Hyderabad-Chennai
- Hyderabad-Bengaluru
- Chennai-Bengaluru
The government will also develop sustainable mountain trails in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir, as well as in Araku Valley in the Eastern Ghats and Pudigai Malai in the Western Ghats. In addition, special trails will be created for wildlife tourism. These include turtle trails along nesting sites in Odisha, Karnataka and Kerala, and bird-watching trails around Pulicat Lake.