New Delhi [India], February 1 : Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday proposed 'rare earth corridors' for mineral-rich states, including Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
Presenting the Union Budget 2026-27 in the Parliament, the Finance Minister said that the rare earth corridors will promote mining, processing, research and manufacturing.
FM Sitharaman said, "A scheme for rare earth permanent magnets was launched in 2025 November. We now propose to support mineral-rich states such as Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu to establish rare earth corridors to promote mining, processing, research and manufacturing."
In November last year, the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the 'Scheme to Promote Manufacturing of Sintered Rare Earth Permanent Magnets' with a financial outlay of Rs 7,280 crore.
This was a first-of-its-kind initiative to establish 6,000 Metric Tons per Annum (MTPA) of integrated Rare Earth Permanent Magnet (REPM) manufacturing in India, thereby enhancing self-reliance and positioning India as a key player in the global REPM market.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has proposed to push India's biopharma sector through a Biopharma Shakti programme, with an allocation of Rs 10,000 crore over the next five years.
Highlighting India's shift towards non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, the Finance Minister proposed Biopharma Shakti, with an outlay of ₹10,000 crore over five years, to develop India as a global biopharma manufacturing hub.
Bio Pharma Shakti is aimed at building at making ecosystem for biopharma and biosimilars, she said, presenting the Budget in the Parliament on Sunday.
Among other announcements, she proposed scaling up manufacturing in strategic and frontier sectors and developing city economic regions.
In her initial remarks, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that since her government assumed office, the Indian economic trajectory has been marked by fiscal discipline and sustained growth.
She stressed that the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has chosen action over ambivalence, and reform over rhetoric, keeping Atmanirbharta or self-reliance as a lodestar.
"Since we assumed office 12 years ago, India's economic trajectory has been marked by stability, fiscal discipline, sustained growth and moderate inflation," she said. She continued that India will balance ambition with inclusion going ahead.
Finance Minister Sitharaman presented her record ninth consecutive Union budget today in the Parliament.