Jammu, February 1, 2026: Lieutenant Governor Shri Manoj Sinha on Sunday hailed the Union Budget 2026–27, describing it as pragmatic and forward-looking, with a strong focus on accelerating economic growth, building future-ready infrastructure, and sustaining the country’s development momentum. He said the budget charts a clear path towards achieving the $5 trillion economy milestone within the next few years while balancing growth aspirations with social welfare priorities.
The Lieutenant Governor expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Union Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, particularly for initiatives such as the development of ecologically sustainable mountain trails in the Jammu and Kashmir Union Territory. He said the initiative would generate new employment opportunities and give fresh impetus to the tourism sector.
Highlighting key features of the budget, LG Sinha said the 2026–27 financial blueprint emphasizes faster economic expansion, robust infrastructure development, and the strengthening of manufacturing across seven strategic sectors, alongside a continued commitment to welfare measures. He noted that the budget would have a transformative impact on emerging industries and provide renewed momentum to semiconductor development through the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) 2.0. According to the News Service Associated News Bureau ANB,The Lieutenant Governor further observed that the budget takes a significant step towards reducing India’s dependence on imports of rare earth elements by proposing specialized rare earth zones. He added that focus on Artificial Intelligence, job creation, and service sector enhancement would further strengthen India’s competitive edge across economic domains.
Stating that the budget presents an ambitious vision for achieving developed economy status in less than two decades, LG Sinha said it promises unprecedented empowerment for youth, women, and farmers. With manufacturing, infrastructure, MSMEs, healthcare, urban development, electronics, and supply chains forming the backbone of the future growth strategy, he expressed confidence that domestic production would expand substantially and large-scale employment generation would be ensured.
The Lieutenant Governor said the progressive budget lays a strong foundation for comprehensive sectoral growth and positions India for greater global prominence in the coming years. ANB
