Budget 2026-27: From biopharma to semiconductors, Sitharaman proposes 7 strategic & frontier sectors

In the Union Budget 2026-27, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday proposed seven strategic and frontier sectors ranging from Rs 10,000-crore ‘Biopharma Shakti’ to India Semiconductor Mission 2.0 (ISM 2.0) and rare earth corridors and sports.

The seven sectors that Sitharaman announced are: Biopharma Shakti, ISM 2.0, rare earths corridor, chemical parks, strong capital goods, textiles, and sports.

In the Biopharma Shakti, Sitharaman announced an outlay of Rs 10,000 crore over the next five years.

“India’s disease burden is observed to be shifting towards non-communicable diseases like diabetes, cancer and auto-immune diseases. Biological medicines are key to longevity and quality of life at affordable costs. To develop India as a global bio-pharma manufacturing hub, I propose the bio-pharma, Shakti, with an outlay of 10,000 crore over the next five years,” said Sitharaman.

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As for the ISM 2.0, Sitharaman said the government will launch ISM 2.0 to produce equipment and materials, design full-stack Indian IP, and fortify supply chains.

Sitharaman said, “We will also focus on industry-led research and training centers to develop technology and skilled workforce. The electronics components manufacturing scheme launched in April 2025 with an outlay of 22,919 crores already has investment commitments at double the targets. We propose to increase the outlay to 40,000 crores to capitalise on this momentum.”

Sitharaman further proposed a textile programme with five sub-parts.

This is a developing story.