The Centre plans to set up a National Institute of Hospitality by upgrading the existing National Council for Hotel Management and Catering Technology, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Sunday while presenting Union Budget 2026. The institution will function as a bridge between academia, industry and government, the FM said.
India has the potential and opportunity to offer world-class trekking and hiking experiences. "We will develop ecologically sustainable mountain trekking in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu & Kashmir," Sitharaman said. An ecologically sustainable mountain trail will be created in Tamil Nadu's Pothigai Malai, she added.
Turtle trails along key nesting sites in the coastal areas of Odisha, Karnataka and Kerala will be developed, along with three birdwatching trails along Pulicat Lake in Andhra Pradesh. Sitharaman also declared that under the International Big Cat Alliance, India will host the first Big Cat Summit in 2026, where 19 countries will meet for conservation.
The government will create five tourism destinations in five Purvodaya states and will make provisions for 4,000 e-buses, before proposing to set up five hubs for medical tourism and a £1,000-crore (Rs 10,000-crore) outlay for the Biopharma Shakti programme over the next five years. Also mentioned was the plan to develop 15 archaeological sites across the country, including Lothal, Hastinapur, and Sarnath, to enhance heritage conservation and the visitor experience.
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Presenting the Union Budget, she said, "I propose to launch a scheme to support states in establishing five regional medical hubs." She said these hubs will serve as integrated healthcare complexes that combine medical, educational and research facilities.
She said, "I propose the Biopharma Shakti with an outlay of Rs 10,000 crore over the next five years; this will build the ecosystem for the domestic production of biologics and biosimilars."
The strategy will include a biopharma-focused network with three new National Institutes of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, popularly known as NIPERs, and the upgrading of seven existing ones, she added.
"It will also create a network of 1,000 accredited Indian clinical trial sites. We propose to strengthen the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation to meet global standards and improve approval timeframes through a dedicated scientific review cadre and specialists," she said.