Artificial Intelligence took centre stage in the Union Budget 2026, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman mentioning the technology eleven times in her budget speech—the highest ever in any Indian budget address. An analysis by The Hindu highlights this as a clear signal of the government’s intent to position AI as a core driver of India’s economic and technological transformation.

The Budget outlines AI as a key enabler of better governance, describing it as a force multiplier to improve the reach, efficiency, and quality of public service delivery. Major national initiatives such as the AI Mission and the National Quantum Mission are expected to anchor India’s adoption of emerging technologies.

A strong emphasis has been placed on the future of work, with AI-powered tools proposed to study how technology is reshaping employment, job roles, and skill requirements. AI-enabled platforms will also help connect workers with relevant jobs and training opportunities, supporting large-scale upskilling and reskilling.

Sector-wise, the Budget details extensive AI adoption:

Agriculture: Integration of AI with AgriStack portals and ICAR-developed packages to improve farm practices.

Healthcare & Accessibility: R&D support for AI-enabled assistive devices for persons with disabilities, including products by ALIMCO.

Education: Introduction of AI modules in school curricula and AI-focused teacher training programmes, along with professional upskilling for engineers and tech workers.

Customs & Security: Use of AI-driven risk assessment supported by non-intrusive scanning and advanced imaging systems.

The Budget also introduces Bharat-VISTAAR (Virtually Integrated System to Access Agricultural Resources), a multilingual AI tool aimed at improving linguistic accessibility nationwide.

In terms of fiscal support, Sitharaman announced a tax holiday until 2047 for foreign companies offering global cloud services using data centres based in India, along with a 15% safe harbour provision for related-entity data centre services. These measures are expected to strengthen India’s position as a global digital infrastructure hub.

Infrastructure investments further reinforce the AI push. The Budget references Google’s planned $15 billion investment in an AI-focused data centre campus in Visakhapatnam and proposes rare earth corridors across Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh. Additionally, a ₹40,000 crore allocation under India Semiconductor Mission 2.0 aims to develop semiconductor equipment and materials built on full-stack Indian intellectual property.

Overall, Union Budget 2026 reflects a decisive shift from AI as a policy concept to AI as a foundational pillar of India’s growth strategy, spanning governance, industry, infrastructure, and human capital development.

moneycontrol.com

Union Budget 2026 sets record for AI focus as FM Sitharaman mentions tech eleven times

The budget also introduces Bharat-VISTAAR (Virtually Integrated System to Access Agricultural Resources), described as a multilingual AI tool aimed at improving linguistic accessibility across the country.