- Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a committee to review AI's impact on India's services sector
- The committee will focus on optimizing growth potential in the services industry
- Sitharaman emphasised "reforms over rhetoric" in the Union Budget 2026 speech
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today announced a new committee to review the impact of new technology like Artificial Intelligence (AI) on India's services sector.
"To provide a pathway to fulfilling aspirations of a youthful India with the following measures, I propose to set up a high-powered Education to Employment and Enterprises Standing Committee to recommend measures that focus on services sector as a core driver of economic growth," she said.
Sitharaman, in her speech, said that for the Union Budget 2026, the government has chosen the path of reforms over rhetoric. She added that India will continue to take steps towards becoming a Viksit Bharat.
"The committee will prioritise areas to optimise potential for growth in the services space," Sitharaman said.
The Union Budget 2026 is Sitharaman's ninth consecutive Budget, bringing her closer to former Prime Minister Morarji Desai's record of 10 budgets.
Before the Budget was tabled, India's biggest technology firms expected it to push for the development of the AI ecosystem, including innovation and digital infrastructure, across sectors, and provide liquidity in the market for its adoption.
The Economic Survey tabled in Parliament on January 29 has recognised Artificial Intelligence (AI) as an economic strategy rather than a prestige technology race. It made a strong case for a bottom-up, multiple sector-specific approach grounded in open and interoperable systems to promote collaboration and shared innovation.
Additionally, the Finance Minister announced an increase of about 9 per cent in capital expenditure for the coming financial year, raising the allocation to Rs 12.2 lakh crore in the Union Budget 2026-27.
