Budget 2026: On Sunday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India plans to build seven high-speed rail corridors linking major cities.
While presenting the Union Budget for 2026-27 in Parliament, she called these new train lines “growth connectors” and said they’ll help create greener ways for people to travel.
The new routes will connect Mumbai and Pune, Hyderabad and Pune, Hyderabad and Bengaluru, Chennai and Bengaluru, Delhi and Varanasi, and Varanasi and Siliguri.
Nirmala Sitharaman announced seven high-speed rail corridors proposed, namely:
Mumbai-Pune
Pune to Hyd
Hyd-Bluru
Hyd to Chennai
Chennai to Blore
Blore to Varanasi
and Varanasi to Siliguri
About Budget 2026
On Thursday, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the Economic Survey of India in Parliament for the financial year 2025-26.
The tabling of the Economic Survey ahead of the Budget follows the long-standing tradition of outlining the state of the economy before detailing future fiscal plans.
The document provided a comprehensive, data-backed review of the economy’s performance over the previous year and offers a broad roadmap for future policy direction. As the government’s flagship annual report, it reviews key economic developments over the past 12 months.
India’s real GDP growth for 2026-27 is projected in the range of 6.8-7.2 per cent, reflecting sustained medium-term growth capacity amid a challenging global environment.
India recorded the lowest inflation rate since the beginning of the CPI series, with April-December 2025 average headline inflation coming in at 1.7 per cent, attributing to general disinflationary trend in food and fuel prices.
Looking ahead, the inflation outlook remains benign, supported by favourable supply side conditions and the gradual pass-through of GST rate rationalisation.
