NEW DELHI — Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday announced a slew of initiatives aimed at boosting rural employment, agriculture, women‑led enterprises and social empowerment as part of the government’s development agenda.
Addressing Parliament during the presentation of the Budget for 2026‑27, Sitharaman said the government is committed to strengthening animal husbandry, high‑value agriculture, technology integration in farming and social inclusion schemes to generate quality jobs and diversify incomes in rural and peri‑urban India.
📍 Animal Husbandry & Livestock Value Chains
Sitharaman said the Centre will support the animal husbandry sector through credit‑linked subsidy programmes, scaling up and modernising livestock enterprises, enhancing integrated value chains for dairy and poultry, and encouraging the formation of livestock farmer producer organisations.
“We will support entrepreneurship in animal husbandry, modernise livestock enterprises, and promote integrated value chains so that rural India sees quality employment and sustainable incomes,” the FM said.
📍 High‑Value Agriculture for Diversification
To boost productivity and farmer incomes, Sitharaman announced targeted support for high‑value crops such as coconut, sandalwood, cocoa, cashew in coastal belts, agar trees in the northeast, and walnuts, almonds and pine nuts in hilly regions.
India, she noted, is the world’s largest producer of coconuts, with nearly 30 million people — including about 10 million farmers — dependent on the crop for their livelihood. To enhance competitiveness, she proposed a Coconut Promotion Scheme aimed at replacing unproductive trees with new saplings, improving yields and expanding processing capacities.
She also outlined dedicated programmes to make India self‑reliant in raw cashew and cocoa production and processing, and to position Indian cashew and cocoa as premium global brands by 2030. The government will partner with states to promote focused sandalwood cultivation and post‑harvest processing.
📍 Technology Integration: Bharat Biostart
In a major push for farm technology, Sitharaman proposed “Bharat Biostart”, a multilingual AI‑enabled digital platform integrating AgriStack portals and ICAR agricultural advisories to provide personalised recommendations, enhance productivity and reduce risk for farmers.
📍 Women‑Led Enterprises: SHRI Marks
Building on the success of the Lakhpati Didi programme, the FM announced Self‑Help Entrepreneur SHRI Marks — community‑owned retail outlets within cluster federations designed to help rural women transition from credit‑linked livelihoods to enterprise ownership through innovative financing.
📍 Empowerment of Divyangjan
The Budget proposes the Divyangjan Kaushal Yojana to provide industry‑relevant training in IT, hospitality and food sectors, and the Divyang Sahar Yojana to ensure timely access to modern assistive devices. Sitharaman said support will be extended to Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India (LIMCO) for scaling production, and to strengthen PM Divyaarsha Kendras and assistive technology marts.
📍 Health and Trauma Care Expansion
Reiterating the government’s focus on mental health, Sitharaman said new national mental health institutes will be established in key regions including North India, Ranchi and Tezpur. She also announced the expansion of emergency and trauma care capacity in district hospitals by 50 percent, prioritising underserved and northeastern regions.
📍 Regional Development Initiatives
Sitharaman unveiled plans for an East Coast Industrial Corridor with a key node at Durgapur, creation of five tourism destinations in economically lagging states, and the deployment of 4,000 e‑buses. For the Northeast, she proposed a Buddhist Circuit development scheme covering Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura — focusing on heritage preservation, connectivity and pilgrim amenities.
📍 16th Finance Commission and Fiscal Support
Citing the recently submitted report of the 16th Finance Commission, the FM said the government has accepted its recommendations to retain the vertical share of devolution at 41 percent and allocated ₹1.4 lakh crore to states for 2026‑27 in the form of Finance Commission grants for rural, urban and disaster management purposes.
On fiscal discipline, Sitharaman reaffirmed the government’s commitment to maintaining responsible economic management while promoting inclusive growth and employment creation.
