Lucknow, 11 February. Tuesday was an important day in terms of politics and economy of Uttar Pradesh. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, while addressing the journalists in the assembly auditorium, presented the budget for the year 2026-27 in detail. The government described this budget of more than Rs 9,12,000 crore as a decisive step towards the state becoming an “Unlimited Potential State”.

The Chief Minister said that in the last nine years, Uttar Pradesh has come out of the image of “policy paralysis” and established itself among the leading economies of the country. He claims that this budget is a reflection of the same changed perception and financial discipline.

Budget size tripled, no new taxes

According to the Chief Minister, the state budget has increased more than three times in the last nine years. This time an amount of more than Rs 43,565 crore has been proposed for new schemes, while more than Rs 2 lakh crore has been allocated for capital expenditure.

The government considers capital expenditure as the main basis for employment generation and infrastructure creation. The Chief Minister also underlined that no new taxes have been imposed in the last nine years. It was claimed to bring the state out of the image of a “sick state” through control over tax evasion and revenue leakage and better financial management.

According to the government:

• In 2017, the state's indebtedness was more than 30 percent.
• It was reduced to 27 percent
• Target to bring it up to 23 percent in the current financial year

According to the guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India, debt of more than 30 percent of GSDP is considered worrying for the states. The government says that UP has maintained fiscal discipline by staying within the FRBM limit and is now among the top three economies of the country.

Focus on employment and youth: State Data Authority and AI Mission

The Chief Minister claimed that the unemployment rate of the state has come down from 17-19 percent (before 2017) to 2.24 percent. Provision for new investment schemes to promote MSMEs, startups, ODOP and local enterprises has been made in the budget.

A major institutional step is the announcement of the formation of a “State Data Authority”. The government says that this will make real-time data monitoring and accurate policy-making possible.

Under Emerging Technology:

• Data Center Cluster for Artificial Intelligence
• AI Mission for MedTech and DeepTech
• Special scheme for skill development for youth

The government believes that digital infrastructure and AI based models will make UP competitive in the future job market.

Promotion of women and self-help groups

The theme of the budget has been kept as “Safe women, capable youth, happy farmers and work for every hand”. A plan has been announced to promote women entrepreneurship through self-help groups and develop 'She-Mart' marketing centres, so that the products of rural and urban women can get market.

Agriculture, Irrigation and Energy: Strategy to make farmers entrepreneurs

The government has talked about taking agriculture towards income based and value addition model. Major Announcements:

• Electrification of 16 lakh tube wells
• Plan to connect 23 lakh diesel tube wells with solar
• Link to PM Kusum Yojana
• Up to 90% grant to SC-ST, women and small marginal farmers
• 80% subsidy to other farmers

Along with this, a target has been set to develop additional food grain storage capacity of 2 lakh metric tonnes. Special subsidy will be given for warehouse construction. Under the Livestock Insurance Scheme, the government will pay up to 85 percent of the premium. State of the art wholesale fish market and fish processing center will be established for the fishermen.

It has also been announced to take forward the process of developing Noida International Airport as an Agri Export Hub, so that the agricultural products of UP can reach the global market.

Infrastructure and industrial expansion

Several announcements were made regarding the expansion of Ganga Expressway:

• Hardoi-Farrukhabad connectivity
• Extension from Prayagraj, Mirzapur, Varanasi to Sonbhadra
• Plan to take it to Meerut-Haridwar
• Provision to connect Purvanchal Link Expressway to Shaktinagar and Ghazipur.

It has been announced to set up skill development centers in every district, which will be developed on the “hub and spoke” model. There is also a proposal to establish Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Employment Zone in 50 to 100 acres.

Leap in ease of doing business

The Chief Minister said that in the year 2017, the ease of doing business ranking of UP was around 13-14, which is now at second place in the country. The government claimed to establish itself as the “Chief Achiever State”.

Referring to the employment of more than 3 crore youth in the MSME sector, the Chief Minister said that investment proposals worth more than Rs 50 lakh crore are an indication of the changed law and order and investment environment.

This budget for the year 2026-27 is ambitious in terms of size, theme and announcements. The government has presented it as a balance of fiscal discipline, infrastructure expansion, digital transformation and agriculture-based income growth.

However, the actual success of the budget will depend on how effective the on-ground implementation of the announced schemes is, how well the claims on employment and income growth match up with independent data, and how fast the investment proposals materialize.