Gandhinagar: Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel hailed the Union Budget 2026 as forward-looking, stating that it lays a strong foundation for building Viksit Bharat under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, based on three main pillars of duty.

Explaining these three duties, he stated that the budget reflects a commitment to accelerating economic growth with sustainable development, ensuring active public participation in the nation’s prosperity through capacity building while fulfilling people’s aspirations, and further advancing the vision of Sauno Saath, Sauno Vikas.

While welcoming the Union Budget 2026, the Chief Minister elaborated on the benefits Gujarat would receive from this budget at a press conference held in the state capital. He stated that the budget propels the reform express forward and delivers a quantum jump towards Viksit Bharat.

He said that through the Bio-Pharma Shakti Programme, with an allocation of Rs 10,000 crore for the pharma sector in the Union Budget, the aim is to make India a global bio-pharma manufacturing hub. Gujarat is a leader in the pharmaceutical sector, and the state’s pharma industry will also benefit from the Bio-Pharma Shakti Programme.

He added that the six schemes announced in this budget to further strengthen the textile sector will give a boost to the state’s textile industry.

Referring to the state’s more than 42.9 lakh MSMEs as the backbone of the economy, he said that the Union Government’s budget this year has announced an SME Fund of Rs 10,000 crore to build “Champion MSMEs”. This will directly benefit the MSME sector and enhance liquidity.

The Chief Minister stated that Gujarat is moving ahead in the direction of becoming the country’s semiconductor hub with four semiconductor plants, and it will benefit from the India Semiconductor Mission 2.0 announced in the budget.

He said that PM Gati Shakti and the DMIC freight route network have strengthened logistics support, and now, with the new dedicated freight corridor from Dankuni in the east to Surat, the state’s textile city, faster logistics services will be available for trade, industry, and the manufacturing sector.

Welcoming the announcement to extend the ten-year tax holiday in the country’s fintech hub GIFT City to 20 years, the Chief Minister explained that, as a result, investors will be attracted to make long-term investments in GIFT City with greater confidence.

Stating that the state’s cities have become growth hubs under the guidance of the Prime Minister, he expressed confidence that the announcement to develop Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities with populations of over five lakh as City Economic Regions will accelerate the development of smaller cities along with major urban centres.

He also added that, as Gujarat prepares to host the Commonwealth Games in the coming years, the sports sector will receive additional encouragement and strength from the Khelo India Mission announced in the budget.

Highlighting Gujarat’s significant contribution to national growth, the Chief Minister said that under the 16th Finance Commission, central devolution for Gujarat has been increased from 3.48 percent to 3.75 percent. As a result, infrastructure development, including in rural areas, will receive a boost in the state.

Speaking about a unique scheme that opens new avenues for job creation for youth, he said that, in line with changing times, the target has been set to prepare 20 lakh professionals in the AVGC (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics) sector by 2030, enabling youth to advance in the field of content creation through training. For this purpose, Content Creator Labs will be established in around 15,000 schools and about 500 colleges across the country, and he expressed hope that ambitious youth from Gujarat would benefit from this initiative.

He expressed confidence that, by leveraging the benefits of this development-oriented budget, Gujarat will take the lead towards Viksit Bharat with double speed under the double-engine government. DeshGujarat