Nirmala Sitharaman delivers a short Budget 2026 speech, lasts 81 minutes

UNion finance government minister Nirmala Sitharaman on lord's day presented the Budget for the financial twelvemonth 2026-27 in a comparatively unawares speech, by her own standards.According to the official Press Information Bureau video of the Budget 2026 speech, Sitharaman’s proposals lasted around 81 minutes or 1 hour 21 minutes. It is notable that she holds the record for the longest Budget speech in India’s parliamentary history. During the 2020 Union Budget presentation, Sitharaman's address lasted 2 hours and 42 minutes.Follow Budget 2026 LIVE updates here.This is the third budget of the BJP-led NDA government in its third term in office and Sitharaman's ninth straight budget. Her first Budget speech in 2019 lasted 2 hours and 17 minutes, and was her second-longest budget address. So by her standards, Sitharaman's 2026 Budget speech was relatively short.The longest Budget speech in India's history by word count was delivered by Dr Manmohan Singh, while presenting the landmark 1991 Budget under the then-Prime Minister Narasimha Rao. The speech was a whopping 18,700 words.Follow reactions to the Budget 2026 LIVE here.Budget 2026 highlightsIn her Budget 2026 speech, Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the capex target will be raised to ₹12.2 lakh crore for FY27, up from ₹11.2 lakh crore earmarked for the current fiscal year.She also announced a slew of measures to boost infrastructure in the country, including in tier-2 and tier-3 cities.The budget came against the backdrop of global uncertainties, trade frictions, US tariffs, and a slowdown in exports. Sitharaman proposed a special one-time measure to facilitate sales by eligible manufacturing units in special economic zones (SEZs) to the domestic tariff area at concessional duty rates. It was a demand from the industry, as they were facing issues with capacity utilisation in SEZ units due to high tariffs in the US.Nirmala Sitharaman made a push for ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’, making a series of announcements expected to boost the economy and provide relief to consumers and common taxpayers. One of the key highlights of the Budget address was the list of items which are set to get cheaper, while a few others are set to become costlier.The government reduced tariffs and customs duties on several products, including essential drugs, electric vehicles, and leather products, making them cheaper. On the other hand, luxury goods, including watches and alcoholic drinks, are set to face higher taxes, making them more expensive.