‘We are ready moment’: PM Modi says Budget 2026 reflects India’s yearning to become a developed nation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday hailed the Union Budget 2026 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, saying that “It was not a ‘now or never’ moment born out of compulsion but a ‘we are ready’ moment born out of preparation and inspiration”.

“This Budget reflects this yearning to become a developed nation,” Modi said in an interview with a news agency.

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The Prime Minister stated that India’s character has revealed itself in times of different kinds of challenges and that the country is a bright spot of growth even in difficult global circumstances.

“Therefore, this budget should not be seen just as Budget 2026 but as the first budget in the second quarter of the 21st century,” he said.

The Prime Minister further added that Budget 2026 consolidates the gains India has made since his government first came to power in 2014.

“Just as the decisions and initiatives taken in the 1920s laid the foundation for Independence in 1947, the decisions we are taking now are laying the foundation for Viksit Bharat by 2047,” he said.

Modi said none of his government’s budgets are run-of-the-mill ‘bahi-khata’ documents. “That’s not our approach.”

“It is my privilege that people’s blessings have been with me for a long time, and I have served for 25 years as the head of government, first at the state level and now at the national level. If one takes a closer look at my approach in the last 25 years, it becomes clear that our work doesn’t happen in bits and pieces,” he said.

The PM further elaborated, “There is a broader strategy, a plan of action and an effective implementation that reflects the ‘whole of the nation’ thinking, continuity of purpose and a long-term vision, progressively unfolding step by step, year after year.

He said that each of his government’s budgets since 2014 has contained intent, a clear roadmap with stated timelines and focused on implementation.

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Congress calls Modi’s late budget interview ‘headline management’ tactic

Reacting to the Prime Minister’s remarks on the Union Budget, the Opposition Congress claimed that the markets and the investors were not impressed with the budget and that is why the PM felt the need to give an interview nearly 15 days after it was presented.

“The Prime Minister knows that this year’s budget has been a dull budget, and it clearly shows signs of intellectual fatigue. The markets’ reaction has also been negative, and investors have not been impressed by it. This is precisely why, nearly 15 days after the budget was presented and just a few days after the opposition tore it apart in Parliament, the Prime Minister felt the need to give an interview. As always, it includes some Modi-style one-liners that have nothing to do with the truth,” said Congress leader Jairam Ramesh.

He said that after being surrounded on all sides over his alleged surrender in the trade deal with the US, the Prime Minister has resorted to his favourite strategy of headline management.

“He is trying to divert attention from the betrayal of millions of farmers and other concessions. This so-called interview is not really an interview at all, but a carefully planned and desperation-filled PR exercise. The Prime Minister is both bowed and weary,” Ramesh added.