‘Something Out Of The Ordinary’: Nirmala Sitharaman Meets 30 College Students Who Witnessed The Event After Budget 2026, Talks About Building A ‘Better India’

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday interacted with 30 university students who watched the Union Budget 2026–27 presentation live from the Lok Sabha gallery. The interaction took place after she presented her ninth consecutive Union Budget in Parliament.

Speaking at the Youth Dialogue on Budget 2026, Sitharaman said this interaction was a break from the usual post-Budget routine of interviews with television studios and newspapers. She explained that the idea came from her team, who wanted to try something different this year.

“This time my team thought of doing something out of the ordinary, saying, You go after presenting the budget to each one of the studios or each one of the newspapers and give them interviews” she said.

Youth Dialogue in Parliament After Budget Presentation

Instead, the team decided to bring college students directly to Parliament and hear their views. Sitharaman said they wanted to know how young people experienced sitting inside the House and listening to the Budget speech.

“Therefore, they thought that they would get in touch with universities and come with a group of students with whom they can do this interaction, and that’s how this has worked out… I would certainly like to know from you what the experience of sitting in the parliament and listening to a budget was like,” she said.

‘We Want a Better India’: FM Reflects on Past vs Present

During the interaction, the Finance Minister also spoke about India’s journey over the years and the kind of future the government wants to build for students today. She compared the India she grew up in with the India of today and the India of tomorrow.

“Every now and then, I can tell you what the country I was born in is, what the country I was brought up in is, and what this country is where I am living now. But that India, I wouldn’t want any of you all to remember. That’s not the India we want anymore in the future for anybody. We want a better India,” Sitharaman said.

She clarified that she does not see everything in the past as negative, but said growth had been slow for various reasons.

Union Budget Driven by ‘Yuvashakti’ and Three Kartavyas

“I’m not saying everything which happened in the past is bad, but because of the way in which economies grew after coming out of imperialism, our pace of growth, our type of growth, and our type of governance made it delayed. Everything was delayed,” she added.

Earlier in the day, Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2026–27 in the Lok Sabha. She said the Budget is driven by “Yuvashakti” and guided by “three kartavyas”.

As part of the Budget, she proposed seven high-speed rail corridors, new dedicated freight corridors, and the operationalisation of 20 national waterways over the next five years. The Budget also pushes for environmentally sustainable passenger transport.

Seven High-Speed Rail Corridors Announced

The proposed high-speed rail routes include Mumbai–Pune, Pune–Hyderabad, Hyderabad–Bengaluru, Hyderabad–Chennai, Chennai–Bengaluru, Delhi–Varanasi, and Varanasi–Siliguri. These corridors aim to reduce travel time, cut emissions, and support regional growth.

The Budget also focuses on ecotourism and nature-based travel. Sitharaman said, “India has the potential and opportunity to offer world-class trekking and hiking experiences.”

The government plans to 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.

(With inputs from ANI)

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