Budget lays roadmap for Viksit Bharat by 2047: Pralhad Joshi

Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Friday said the Union Budget 2026-27 envisions India’s future in 2047, when the country will mark 100 years of Independence.

Addressing reporters, Joshi said the budget lays the foundation for the next quarter-century.

He said India was among the “fragile five” economies in 2013 — emerging markets heavily dependent on foreign capital to fund growth — but has since moved towards realising the vision of a Viksit Bharat (Developed India) by 2047.

“There will be a change in the world order, and India will be at the forefront. We are the fastest-growing economy and the fourth-largest economy, and we are going to become the third-largest economy,” Joshi said while speaking on the Budget. The Union Government has released due funds to all states, he said, adding that the Budget speech focuses primarily on long-term vision and future-oriented programmes.

Describing artificial intelligence as a transformative revolution comparable to electricity and the internet, Joshi said the Centre has announced an AI mission and allocated budgetary support for it.

He also said that despite decades of Congress rule, there was limited awareness of the importance of critical minerals in the country.

The NDA Government has launched a Critical Minerals Mission to support key sectors such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, renewable energy, and green hydrogen, he added.

Further, Joshi said electronics manufacturing in the country had increased sixfold between 2016 and 2025.

Referring to the Biopharma SHAKTI scheme announced in the budget, Joshi said the initiative envisions strengthening domestic biopharmaceutical manufacturing capacity.

The scheme aims to establish India as a global biopharma manufacturing hub.

Joshi said logistics costs in the country — covering the movement and storage of goods across the supply chain — had begun to decline under the Modi Government, but the Centre aims to bring them down to the global benchmark of around six per cent.

For Telangana, the Modi Government has contributed Rs 12 lakh crore over the past 12 years through tax devolution and investments in highways and other infrastructure projects, he said.

He also highlighted budgetary allocations and initiatives for railways, national highways and other sectors in the Budget.