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Informist, Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026

NEW DELHI – The Union Budget emphasises structural reforms while significantly boosting allocations for villages, poor, and farmers, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the minister of agriculture and farmers welfare, told reporters in a press conference post the Union Budget 2026-27 (Apr-Mar) presentation on Sunday.

The new SHE-Mart platform will empower rural women by offering a digital marketplace for their produce, Chouhan said. Self-Help Entrepreneur Marts, or SHE-Marts, will be set up as community-owned retail outlets within the cluster level federations through enhanced and innovative financing instruments, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said while presenting the Budget. The scheme, built on the success of the Lakhpati Didi Programme, will help women take the next step from credit-led livelihoods to being owners of enterprises, Sitharaman said.

Fertiliser subsidies are fully funded, while an integrated textiles programme and thrust on high-value crops like coconut and cashew aimed to enhance farmer incomes and drive holistic rural progress, Chouhan said.

In her Budget speech, Sitharaman announced that the government will have a pronounced emphasis on high-value crops such as coconut, sandalwood, cocoa and cashew to diversify farm outputs, increase productivity, enhance farmers' incomes, and create new employment opportunities. The finance minister also proposed an integrated programme for the labour-intensive textile sector, which includes the National Fibre Scheme, Textile Expansion and Employment Scheme, a National Handloom and Handicraft programme, Tex-Eco Initiative, and Samarth 2.0. 

"Rural spending has surged 21%, with Gram Swaraj Abhiyan receiving over INR 55,600 crores (INR 560 billion) directly from the Centre—exceeding INR 1,51,000 crores (INR 1.5 trillion) when including state contributions—targeting grassroots development," Chouhan said.  End

Reported by Pallavi Singhal

Written by Shreya Shetty

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

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