As we head into Budget 2026, Indian agriculture needs more than comforting words. It needs capital reallocation, sharper priorities, and system-building. Below is a policy-forward set of realistic expectations for this year. PM-KISAN: From Safety Net to Transition Tool1️⃣ Allocation in Budget 2025-26: ₹63,500 crore Expectation for Budget 2026: ₹75,000–90,000 crore (if annual support moves from ₹6,000 to ₹9,000 or is better targeted) Any increase could be paired with productivity-linked interventions so income support 💡 enables transition, not dependence. Pulses & Oilseeds: Strategic Crops Need Strategic Money2️⃣ Current combined mission-style allocations (2025-26): ~₹3,500 crore Expectation for 2026: ₹6,000 crore with sharper design Fund the full chain—seeds, assured procurement, decentralised processing, and export 💡 enablement. Food Subsidy: Stabilise, Don’t Expand3️⃣ Allocation in Budget 2025-26: ~₹2.03 lakh crore Expectation for 2026: Broadly flat or marginal increase (₹2.05–2.10 lakh crore) Redirect incremental funds toward storage modernisation, logistics, and buffer management 💡 efficiency. Inflation control depends on physical capacity, not just policy switches. Fertiliser Subsidy: Reform the Architecture4️⃣ Allocation in Budget 2025-26: ~₹1.68 lakh crore Expectation for 2026: ₹1.70 lakh crore.
Budget 2026 should announce a clear reform roadmap—balanced nutrient use, support for 💡 biologicals, better targeting—while protecting farmers during transition. Soil health must become a fiscal objective. Crop Insurance (PMFBY): Underfunded for a Climate Era5️⃣ Allocation in Budget 2025-26: ~₹12,200 crore Expectation for 2026: ₹18,000 crore Increase adequacy and mandate tech-driven loss assessment & settlement. Insurance must 💡 evolve from delayed compensation to true risk mitigation. Storage, Warehousing & Post-Harvest Infrastructure6️⃣ Estimated public support in 2025-26: ~₹8,000 crore (across schemes) Expectation for 2026: ₹15,000 crore Treat storage as anti-inflation infrastructure. Scientific warehousing and warehouse-receipt 💡 financing reduce both farmer distress and consumer price shocks. Digital Agriculture Infrastructure7️⃣ Allocation in 2025-26: ~₹1,500 crore Expectation for 2026: ₹3,000 crore with multi-year commitment Digital crop estimation, land records integration, farmer databases, drones, and remote 💡 sensing should be funded like highways—core economic infrastructure, not pilots. Rural Demand Backstop (MGNREGA – Indirect but Critical)8️⃣ Allocation in Budget 2025-26: ₹86,000 crore Expectation for 2026: ₹90,000 crore (additional funds from states) Keep flexibility. Rural demand stabilisation supports food consumption, market arrivals, and 💡 price stability. The Big Picture Budget 2026 should not aim to be remembered for bigger numbers, but for better alignment: Less firefighting, more systems, Less uncertainty, more predictability, Less subsidy noise, more productivity signals. Indian agriculture has delivered stability to the economy. Now the economy must deliver capability to agriculture. The real test of Budget 2026 will not be how much is spent—but whether food, farmers, and markets finally start moving in the same direction.