High-speed rail corridors, medical hubs and tax reforms planned in Indian Union Budget

Business Sunday 01/February/2026 14:56 PM

By: Agencies

High-speed rail corridors, medical hubs and tax reforms planned in Indian Union Budget

New Delhi: The 2026 Indian budget presented on Sunday by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has offered a lot of incentives for individuals, corporates and even ordinary citizens.

The budget saw the unveiling of a host of interesting features from fiscal consolidation to increasing capital expenditure substantially, and from strengthening bond markets to announcing the launch of seven new high-speed rail corridors.

The Union Budget has outlined a major push for environmentally sustainable passenger transport, proposing the development of seven high-speed rail corridors across key urban and economic centres. These corridors will act as growth connectors, cutting travel time, reducing emissions, and supporting regional development.

The proposed routes include Mumbai-Pune, Pune-Hyderabad, Hyderabad-Bengaluru, Hyderabad-Chennai, Chennai-Bengaluru, Delhi-Varanasi, and Varanasi-Siliguri. Together, they will link India's financial hubs, technology centres, manufacturing clusters, and emerging cities through faster, cleaner mobility.

"In order to promote environmentally sustainable passenger systems, we will develop seven high-speed rail corridors between cities as growth connectors, namely Mumbai to Pune, Pune to Hyderabad, Hyderabad to Bengaluru, Hyderabad to Chennai, and Chennai to Bengaluru. Delhi to Varanasi, Varanasi to Siliguri," the FM said.

The Budget also highlighted eco-tourism and nature-based travel. The Finance Minister said, "India has the potential and opportunity to offer world-class trekking and hiking experience." The government will 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.

Sitharaman has also focused on helping midsized IT firms by raising the threshold for availing safe harbour benefits from Rs3 billion to Rs20 billion. The IT sector in the country has been facing problems in its biggest market, the US; consequently, the government wants to ease some of the difficulties by recognising the sector as a major growth driver.

The minister also announced measures to help the financial services sector by introducing reforms in the banking and investment sector. A high-level committee on banking is being set up for ‘Viksit Bharat’ (Developed India). The move aims to transform India to a $10 trillion economy by 2047 (when it celebrates its 100th Independence year) by boosting key sectors including the economy, education, healthcare, employment, technology and sustainability.

Interestingly, the finance minister has proposed providing “a tax holiday till 2047 to any foreign company that provides cloud services to customers globally by using data centre services from India. It will, however, need to provide services to Indian customers through an Indian reseller entity," she noted.

The budget has introduced a one-time, six-month, voluntary disclosure window for eligible taxpayers, including students, young professionals and returning NRIs, to regularise limited undisclosed foreign income or assets, within prescribed thresholds and with immunity from penalties and prosecution.

India will also see the setting up of five regional medical hubs with the government in partnership with the private sector, to promote the country as a medical tourism hub. "These hubs will serve as integrated healthcare complexes that combine medical, educational and research facilities,” said Sitharaman. “They will have Ayush centres, medical value tourism facilitation centres and infrastructure for diagnostics, post-care and rehabilitation. These hubs will provide diverse job opportunities for health professionals, including doctors.