Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday proposed a major push to India’s biopharmaceutical sector through a new Bio Pharma Shakti programme, with an allocation of ₹10,000 crore over the next five years.
Presenting the Union Budget in Parliament, the Finance Minister said the initiative aims to build a strong ecosystem for biopharmaceuticals and biosimilars, strengthening domestic manufacturing and innovation capacity in the sector.
Among other announcements, Sitharaman proposed scaling up manufacturing in strategic and frontier sectors, alongside the development of city economic regions to support long-term growth.
In her opening remarks, the Finance Minister said that since the government assumed office, India’s economic trajectory has been defined by fiscal discipline and sustained growth. She said the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has chosen “action over ambivalence and reform over rhetoric,” with Atmanirbharta, or self-reliance, as its guiding principle.
“Since we assumed office 12 years ago, India’s economic trajectory has been marked by stability, fiscal discipline, sustained growth and moderate inflation,” Sitharaman said, adding that the government would continue to balance ambition with inclusion.
The Finance Minister presented her ninth consecutive Union Budget in Parliament.
Earlier, on Thursday, Sitharaman tabled the Economic Survey of India for the financial year 2025–26. The survey, traditionally presented ahead of the Budget, outlines the state of the economy and provides a data-backed assessment of performance over the previous year, along with a broad policy roadmap.
According to the Economic Survey, India’s real GDP growth for 2026–27 is projected in the range of 6.8 to 7.2 per cent, indicating sustained medium-term growth capacity despite a challenging global environment.
The survey also noted that India recorded its lowest inflation rate since the beginning of the CPI series, with average headline inflation at 1.7 per cent during April–December 2025. The moderation was attributed to easing food and fuel prices. The inflation outlook remains benign, supported by favourable supply-side conditions and the gradual pass-through of GST rate rationalisation.
-ANI
