<figure id="attachment_3272227" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3272227" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-3272227 size-full" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/41dbadcc-india-infrastructure-epa-01_02_26.webp" alt="" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3272227" class="wp-caption-text">An elevated coastal road under construction in Mumbai. The world’s most populous country banks on massive infrastructure spending to sustain growth, boost manufacturing and create millions of jobs. (EPA Images pic)</figcaption></figure>
NEW DELHI: India will spend a record US$133 billion on infrastructure, the finance minister unveiled on Sunday in her national budget speech, with plans for new high-speed train links and tech investments.
The figure is an almost nine percent jump from last year&#8217;s budget.
Data centres, artificial intelligence, and the mining and processing of rare earths will also receive government support, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told parliament.
She said public expenditure had increased significantly from around US$21 billion (2 trillion rupees) in 2014-15 and that it was now at an &#8220;all-time high&#8221;.
The world&#8217;s most populous country sees massive infrastructure spending as key to sustaining its high growth rate by boosting domestic manufacturing and creating millions of new jobs.
&#8220;India is not content with simply being the fastest-growing economy,&#8221; Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after the budget.
&#8220;India wants to become the world&#8217;s third-largest economy. This year&#8217;s budget presents an ambitious roadmap to give new momentum to&#8221; domestic manufacturing and self-reliance.
Sectors including textiles, pharmaceuticals, electronics and chemicals are primary targets to boost exports, Sitharaman said.
She promised the development of three chemical business parks, as well as mega textile hubs.
Around US$5 billion will also be allocated to boost domestic electronics manufacturing, she said.
It is the first budget since US President Donald Trump imposed 50 percent tariffs on most Indian imports in August.
New Delhi and Washington are in the process of negotiating a long-delayed trade agreement.
But relations have soured over India&#8217;s purchases of Russian oil, which Washington says is helping bankroll Moscow&#8217;s war in Ukraine.
New Delhi signed a major trade deal with the European Union last month, with many crediting Trump&#8217;s tariffs for helping finalise the deal.
&#8220;Today, we face an external environment in which trade and multilateralism are imperilled, and access to resources and supply chains are disrupted,&#8221; Sitharaman said in parliament.
&#8220;India will continue to take confident steps towards &#8216;Vikasit Bharat&#8217; (developed India) by balancing ambition with inclusion&#8221;.
The budget touted plans for seven high-speed rail corridors between some of India&#8217;s most important cities, including Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, and Chennai.
It also puts forward a scheme to build &#8220;dedicated rare earth corridors&#8221; in four mineral-rich states in southern and eastern India.
Several global corporations, including technology giants such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, announced last year investments worth billions of dollars in artificial intelligence and data centres across India.
&#8220;I propose to provide a tax holiday till 2047 to any foreign company that provides cloud services to customers globally by using data centre services from India,&#8221; Sitharaman said in her speech.
The government also announced financial support to expand India&#8217;s recent push to develop its domestic semiconductor industry.

MatchPoint Times

India budget pledges record US$133 billion to infrastructure

Beyond heavy infrastructure investment, the Indian government will also back data centres, artificial intelligence, and the mining and processing of rare earths.

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