New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while presenting the Union Budget 2026-2027 on Sunday, February 1, announced the setting up of one girls’ hostel in every district of the country.
There are over 700 districts in the country.
She also proposed a loan-linked capital subsidy support scheme for veterinary colleges, hospitals, and diagnostics laboratories.
The minister also announced upgrading Ayush pharmacies and drug testing labs, the WHO (World Health Organisation) Traditional Medicine Centre at Jamanagar, Gujarat.
The Centre, she said, will support five university townships in the vicinity of major industrial logistics centres.
Over 1,000 accredited clinical trial sites, including Hyderabad
Sitharaman said the government will create a network of over 1,000 accredited Indian clinical trial sites.
Major clinical trial sites in the country are currently located in big cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, and Hyderabad.
She also proposed a credit-linked subsidy programme to encourage livestock farmer producer organisations to promote employment opportunities.
In her Budget speech, the finance minister announced the launch of Bharat Vistar, a multilingual AI tool to integrate the agri stack, and the setting up of ‘She Marts’ as community-owned retail outlets.
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