BUDGET
Focus on poll-bound states with industrial, freight corridors
This story was originally published at 16:35 IST on 1 February 2026
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--BUDGET: To develop industrial corridor in east with connection in Durgapur
--BUDGET: Propose supporting Odisha, Kerala for rare earth corridors
--BUDGET: Propose supporting Andhra, Tamil Nadu for rare earth corridors
--BUDGET: To develop 3 dedicated chemical parks to cut import dependence
--BUDGET: To operationalise 20 new waterways over next 5 years
--BUDGET: To connect mineral-rich areas in Odisha via waterways
--BUDGET: To set up training institutes to train youth for waterways
--BUDGET: To set up ship repair ecosystem at Varanasi, Patna
NEW DELHI – The Union Budget for 2026-27 (Apr-Mar) threw some light on poll-bound states with several infrastructure develoment related announcements for these regions. The Budget proposed the development of an east coast industrial corridor across five Purvodaya states, with a well-connected node at West Bengal's Durgapur. It also proposed to establish new dedicated freight corridors connecting Dankuni in West Bengal to Surat in Gujarat.
Assembly elections in West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Assam are expected to be held in the first half of 2026.
Delivering the Budget speech in Lok Sabha Sunday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, "I propose the development of an integrated east coast industrial corridor with a well-connected node at Durgapur, creation of five tourism destinations in Purvodaya states, and the provision of 4,000 e-buses." The Purvodaya initiative aims to accelerate development in five eastern states of Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh.
The finance minister also proposed to support mineral-rich states of Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu to establish dedicated rare earth corridors to promote mining, processing, research and manufacturing of rare earth minerals.
The finance minister also proposed to operationalise 20 new national waterways over the next five years in order to "promote environmentally sustainable movement of cargo". The first of these waterways will start in Odisha to connect mineral rich areas of Talcher and Angul, and industrial
centres like Kalinga Nagar to the ports of Paradeep and Dhamra.
She also said training institutes will be set up for development of the required manpower. This will benefit youth in the entire stretch of the waterways to train and acquire skills. A ship repair ecosystem catering to inland waterways will also be set up in Varanasi and Patna, she said.
"To enhance domestic chemical production and reduce import dependency, we will launch a scheme to support states in establishing three dedicated chemical parks, through challenge route, on a cluster-based plug-and-play model," she said.
She also proposed to develop seven high-speed rail corridors to promote environmentally sustainable passenger systems. These corridors are proposed between Mumbai-Pune, Pune-Hyderabad, Hyderabad-Bengaluru, Hyderabad-Chennai, Chennai-Bengaluru, Delhi-Varanasi, and Varanasi-Siliguri.
She proposed to develop ecologically sustainable mountain trails in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Jammu and Kashmir; Araku Valley in the Eastern Ghats, and Podhigai Malai in the Western Ghats, "to offer world-class trekking and hiking experience". Besides, turtle trails along key nesting sites in the coastal areas of Odisha, Karnataka and Kerala; and bird watching trails along the Pulikat lake in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu will also be set up, she said.
Sitharaman proposed to launch a scheme for development of Buddhist circuits in Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, and Tripura. The scheme will cover preservation of temples and monasteries, pilgrimage interpretation centres, connectivity and pilgrim amenities. End
Reported by Asim Khan
Edited by Tanima Banerjee
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