The Union Budget 2026, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, has led to mixed reactions in the stock markets, with major impact on several sectors. The budget aims at boosting infrastructure growth and economic stability throughout the country with several strategic measures. Here is a look at how the budget has impacted key sectors.

Stock Market Overview

The stock market saw major volatility on the day of the budget announcement, benchmark indices initially rising before turning sharply lower — the BSE Sensex ended down over 1,800 points and the NSE Nifty50 closed below 25,000, reflecting investor concern over key measures such as the STT hike and other policy actions.

The Sensex and Nifty eroded early gains on February 1 with investors booking profits at higher levels amidst Budget Day volatility.

The Sensex increased to an intra-day high of 82,726.65 (a rise of 457 points or 0.55%) ahead of the Budget announcement, while Nifty moved up to 25,440.90, gaining about 0.47% or 120.25 points.

By 12.30 PM, however, profit booking pulled the benchmarks off their highs. The Sensex slipped down by 1,338.37 points or 1.63% at 80,931.41, while the Nifty came down by 1.95% or 494.90 points to 24,826.25

Biopharma Sector

The biopharma and biologics sectors are expected to benefit considerably from the 2026 Union Budget.

Biopharma Shakti: With an aim to develop the country as a leading global biopharma manufacturing hub, the Biopharma Shakti initiative has been proposed, with a total outlay of ₹10,000 crores in the coming five years to build the entire ecosystem.
NIPERS- Three new national institutes of pharmaceutical education and research, known as NIPERS, will be set up along with seven existing ones being upgraded.
Clinical Trials Sites- 1,000 accredited clinical trials sites will be built up as a network.
CDSCO Initiative- The Central Drug Standard Control Organisation will be strengthened for meeting global standards, while approving timeframes via dedicated scientific review and specialists.

Semiconductors

The Budget 2026 also contained specific provisions for the Indian semiconductor industry.

ISM 2.0- This scheme has been launched to manufacture materials and equipment, along with design full stack, Indian IP, and boost supply chains.
Research and training centers- There will be focus on industry-driven research and training centers to develop a skilled workforce and technology.

Rare Earth & Mining

These sectors are expected to benefit from the provisions outlined in the 2026 Union Budget.

State-wise support- The mineral-rich states of Kerala, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh will be supported on setting up dedicated rare earth corridors. These will promote processing, mining, manufacturing and research.
Chemical arks- To boost the production of domestic chemicals and lower import dependence, a scheme will be launched for supporting states in setting up three dedicated chemical arks via the challenge route. This will be done based on the cluster-based plug-and-play system.

Real Estate, Infrastructure, and Logistics

These sectors found a mention in the 2026 Union Budget, with some key strategic measures outlined for the same.

Higher public capital expenditure- Public capital expenditure has been proposed to increase to ₹12.2 lakh crores in FY2026-27 from ₹11.2 lakh crore in BE2025-26.
Infrastructure risk guarantee fund- To boost private developer confidence on risks during developing infrastructure and during phases of construction, an infrastructure risk guarantee fund has been proposed. It will enable prudentially calibrated public credit guarantee for lenders.
CPSE Asset Recycling- The recycling of considerable real estate assets of the CPSEs has been proposed, via the establishment of dedicated rights.
Eco-Friendly Cargo Movement- To enable environmentally sustainable cargo movements, new dedicated freight corridors have been proposed, linking Dankuni in the east to Surat in the west.
Container manufacturing scheme- A new scheme has been proposed to encourage container manufacturing targeting the development of an ecosystem that is globally competitive. The budgetary allocation for the sector is ₹10,000 crore spread over five years.
New Waterways- 20 new waterways will be set up over the next five years.
City Development- Temple towns and Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities will be developed with an allocation of ₹5,000 crore (City Economic Regions)
Coastal Cargo Promotion Scheme- It will target the increase in the share of inland waterways and coastal shipping to 12% from 6% by 2047.
High-speed rail corridors- 7 high-speed rail corridors have been proposed as growth connectors for the economy.
Mission Purvodaya- This will boost infrastructure in the Northeastern regions of India. An East Coast industrial corridor will be developed in an integrated manner, including a road at Durgapur, five destinations for tourism in Purvodaya states, and 4,000 e-buses.

Textiles

The Indian textile sector has been focused on in the Union Budget 2026. Some of the key provisions include:

National Fibre Scheme- This will ensure self-reliance in natural fibres like jute, wool, and silk, along with new-age fibres and man-made fibres.
Textile Expansion and Employment Scheme- This will modernize conventional clusters with adequate capital support for technology upgrades, machinery, and common certification and testing centers.
National Handloom and Handicraft Programme- It will integrate and boost existing schemes, while enabling targeted support for artisans and weavers.
Text-ECON- It will encourage globally sustainable and competitive apparel and textiles.
SAMARTH 2.0- This will upgrade and modernize the whole skilling ecosystem for textiles via collaborations with academic institutions and industry.
Mega textile parks- They will be set up in the challenge mode, while offering value additions for technical textiles.
Mahatma Gandhi Gram Swaraj initiative- It will boost handicrafts and handloom sectors, while helping with global branding and market linkages. This will also support and streamline skilling, training, and quality processes for production.

MSMEs

The MSME sector may benefit from major announcements in the 2026 Union Budget:

SME Growth Fund- A ₹10,000 crore SME Growth Fund has been proposed for backing job-creating future enterprises.
Self-Reliant India Fund- There will be a top-up of ₹2,000 crore for micro-enterprise risk capital.
New Liquidity Package- There is a key liquidity package being bolstered with mandatory usage of TReDS for CPSE purchases, integrated TReDS and GeM, credit guarantee backing for invoice discounting, and development of secondary markets for trade receivables.
Corporate Mitras- Professional institutions will offer training to corporate Mitras for enabling MSMEs to meet compliance requirements, particularly in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities.

Other Sectors

Here are some of the provisions included for other sectors in the 2026 Union Budget.

Healthcare & Pharma- Three new All India Institutes of Ayurveda have been proposed in the budget. Also, five regional hubs for medical tourism will be established as integrated healthcare complexes with educational, medical, and research facilities.
AVGC- The Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics sector will be boosted with the proposal to back the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies, Mumbai, in establishing AVGC Content Creator Labs across 15,000 secondary schools and colleges.
Travel & Tourism- TCS has been lowered on overseas tour program packages. At the same time, the VGF Seaplane scheme has also been proposed to boost tourism. A National Institute of Hospitality will be set up, while a pilot scheme for upskilling 10,000 guides across iconic tourist sites has also been proposed. Ecologically sustainable mountain trails will be developed in strategic locations, along with turtle trails and bird-watching trails. Several archaeological sites will also be developed to offer immersive experiences.
Agriculture- The credit-linked subsidy programme has been launched to back livestock farmer producer organizations, aimed to generate employment. Bharat Vistar, a multilingual AI tool has been introduced for agri-stack integration. She Marts will be created, which are community-owned retail outlets for empowering local entrepreneurs.
Electronics- There is an outlay of ₹40,000 crore for the Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme.

IT & ITeS- AI Missions- An outlay of ₹25 crore has been proposed for building AI missions, along with the national quantum mission, Anusandan National Research Fund, and the Research and Development and Innovation Fund.

To conclude, the Union Budget 2026 is anticipated to bring about major market dynamic changes, with several sectors like infrastructure, tourism, textiles, and MSMEs emerging as clear winners.

Disclaimer: This content is solely for educational purposes.

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