Prelims Worthy Gems

Chemical Compounds

Sodium antimonate Proposed to exempt basic customs duty on its import for use in the manufacture of solar glass.

Monazite Basic customs duty reduced to Nil for this critical mineral.

Alpha pinene Customs duty exemption for this substance is being lapsed with effect from 02.02.2026.

Artificial plasma Customs duty exemption for this substance is being lapsed with effect from 02.02.2026.

Ammonium phosphate / Ammonium nitro-phosphate Customs duty exemption for use as manure or for the production of complex fertilisers is being lapsed.

Potassium sulphate Customs duty exemption for this compound (containing not more than 52% by weight of potassium oxide) is being lapsed.

Maltol Customs duty exemption for its use in the manufacture of deferiprone is being lapsed from 01.04.2026.

Deferiprone Mentioned in the context of lapsing customs duty exemption for Maltol used in its manufacture.

Ethylene – Propylene – Non-Conjugated Diene Rubber (EPDM) Customs duty exemption for its use in the manufacture of insulated wires and cables is being lapsed.

Zeolite Customs duty exemption for its use in the manufacture of wash coat for catalytic converters is being lapsed.

INVAR Customs duty exemption for this alloy is being lapsed with effect from 02.02.2026.

Disease Names

Diabetes, Cancer, Autoimmune disorders Mentioned as non-communicable diseases towards which India's disease burden is shifting, necessitating the Biopharma SHAKTI strategy.

Rare diseases 7 more rare diseases are proposed to be added for the purposes of exempting import duties on personal imports of drugs and medicines.

Technologies

Bharat-VISTAAR A multilingual AI tool proposed to integrate AgriStack portals and ICAR packages to provide customised advisory support to farmers.

Customs Integrated System (CIS) To be rolled out in 2 years as a single, integrated and scalable platform for all customs processes.

AgriStack Portals to be integrated with the new Bharat-VISTAAR AI tool.

TReDS To be mandated as the transaction settlement platform for all purchases from MSMEs by CPSEs; to be linked with GeM.

Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS) Technologies to achieve higher readiness levels in end-use applications across five industrial sectors with an outlay of ₹20,000 crore.

National Destination Digital Knowledge Grid To be established to digitally document all places of significance (cultural, spiritual, heritage) creating a new ecosystem of jobs.

Lithium-Ion Cells Basic customs duty exemption extended for capital goods used for manufacturing these for battery energy storage systems.

Loco simulators Customs duty exemption for these is being lapsed.

Procedures

Advance Pricing Agreement (APA) Proposal to fast track Unilateral APA process for IT services and conclude it within 2 years; facility extended to associated entities for filing modified returns.

Safe Harbour Threshold for IT services enhanced to ₹2,000 crore; to be approved by an automated rule-driven process without tax officer examination.

Block assessment Procedure in search cases; proposed to limit the period of block in case of 'other person' where undisclosed income pertains only to one tax year.

FAST – DS (Foreign Assets of Small Taxpayers – Disclosure Scheme), 2026 A one-time 6-month foreign asset disclosure scheme for small taxpayers to disclose income or assets below a certain size.

Non-intrusive scanning Utilization of advanced imaging and AI technology for risk assessment to scan every container across all major ports.

Places

Kartavya Bhawan Mentioned as the location where this first Budget was prepared.

Dankuni (East) to Surat (West) Endpoints for the proposed new Dedicated Freight Corridors.

Talcher, Angul, Kalinga Nagar, Paradeep, Dhamra Locations in Odisha connected by the proposed operationalisation of National Waterways-5 (NW-5).

Varanasi and Patna Locations where a ship repair ecosystem catering to inland waterways will be set up.

Mumbai-Pune, Pune-Hyderabad, Hyderabad-Bengaluru, Hyderabad-Chennai, Chennai-Bengaluru, Delhi-Varanasi, Varanasi-Siliguri Seven specific routes identified for developing High-Speed Rail corridors as 'growth connectors'.

Jamnagar Location of the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre to be upgraded.

Araku Valley (Eastern Ghats) / Podhigai Malai (Western Ghats) Locations where ecologically sustainable mountain trails for trekking and hiking will be developed.

Pulikat lake Location in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu where bird watching trails will be developed.

Ranchi and Tezpur Locations where National Mental Health Institutes will be upgraded as Regional Apex Institutions.

Durgapur A well-connected node in the proposed development of an integrated East Coast Industrial Corridor.

Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura States covered under the Scheme for Development of Buddhist Circuits.

People & Roles

Guru Ravidas The Budget was presented on his birth anniversary.

Corporate Mitras A cadre of accredited para-professionals to be developed by institutions like ICAI/ICSI to help MSMEs meet compliance requirements.

Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) A new range of skilled career pathways; 100,000 to be added over the next 5 years.

Species & Agriculture

Agar trees To be supported in the North East under High Value Agriculture initiatives.

Sandalwood Government to partner with States to promote focused cultivation and post-harvest processing to restore the ecosystem.

Coconut Proposal for a Coconut Promotion Scheme to replace old and non-productive trees.

Cashew / Cocoa Dedicated programme to make India self-reliant in these and transform 'Indian Cashew' and 'Indian Cocoa' into premium global brands.

Walnuts, Almonds, Pine nuts Support for high-density cultivation in hilly regions.

Heritage Sites & Parks

Lothal, Dholavira, Rakhigarhi, Adichanallur, Sarnath, Hastinapur, Leh Palace 15 archeological sites including these to be developed into vibrant, experiential cultural destinations.

Pulikat lake Bird watching trails to be developed along this lake in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

Other Notable Entities

Biopharma SHAKTI Strategy for Healthcare Advancement through Knowledge, Technology and Innovation; outlay of ₹10,000 crores.

India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) 2.0 To be launched to produce equipment and materials, design full-stack Indian IP, and fortify supply chains.

Rare Earth Corridors To be established in Odisha, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu to promote mining and processing.

Hi-Tech Tool Rooms To be established by CPSEs at 2 locations as digitally enabled automated service bureaus.

Tex-Eco Initiative To promote globally competitive and sustainable textiles and apparels.

Samarth 2.0 To modernize and upgrade the textile skilling ecosystem.

Mahatma Gandhi Gram Swaraj initiative To strengthen khadi, handloom and handicrafts.

SME Growth Fund A dedicated ₹10,000 crore fund to create future 'Champion' MSMEs.

Infrastructure Risk Guarantee Fund To provide prudently calibrated partial credit guarantees to lenders for infrastructure projects.

City Economic Regions (CER) A new concept to map cities based on growth drivers; ₹5000 crore allocation per CER.

High Level Committee on Banking for Viksit Bharat To be set up to comprehensively review the banking sector.

Education to Employment and Enterprise Standing Committee High-Powered committee to recommend measures focusing on the Services Sector.

Regional Medical Hubs Scheme to support States in establishing five of these in partnership with the private sector.

Indian Institute of Creative Technologies, Mumbai To be supported in setting up AVGC Content Creator Labs.

University Townships 5 to be created in the vicinity of major industrial and logistic corridors.

National Large Solar Telescope / National Large Optical-infrared Telescope / Himalayan Chandra Telescope / COSMOS-2 Planetarium Telescope Infrastructure facilities to be set up or upgraded.

National Institute of Hospitality To be set up by upgrading the existing National Council for Hotel Management and Catering Technology.

Khelo India Mission To be launched to transform the Sports sector over the next decade (distinct from the existing programme).

SHE Marts Self-Help Entrepreneur Marts to be set up as community-owned retail outlets for women-led enterprises.

Divyangjan Kaushal Yojana Skill training scheme for Divyangjans in IT, AVGC, and Hospitality sectors.

Divyang Sahara Yojana Scheme to support ALIMCO and strengthen PM Divyasha Kendras for assistive devices.

NIMHANS-2 A new national institute for mental healthcare to be set up in north India.

Income Tax Act, 2025 A new Act completed in record time, to come into effect from 1st April, 2026.