India, Feb. 1 -- This budget is about building capacity, not chasing short-term consumption. It focuses on aligning talent with industry, strengthening advanced manufacturing, and reducing friction for technology-led services. The direction is clear: build depth, improve execution and let productivity compound over time.

The most important shift is that education is being treated as an economic engine rather than a standalone social spend. By linking universities to industrial corridors and explicitly connecting education to employment and enterprise, the budget recognises that skills, research, and jobs must move together.

The emphasis on electronics, semiconductors, rare earths, chemicals, and aerospace shows a clear intent to move ma...