In a significant move to democratise the budget-making conversation, ET NOW and its Hindi channel ET NOW Swadesh have announced the launch of Budget Bharat Yatra 2026. This ambitious initiative is designed to move beyond the typical metropolitan discourse and tap directly into the economic pulse of India's industrial corridors and emerging business hubs.
What is Budget Bharat Yatra 2026?
The Budget Bharat Yatra 2026 is conceived as a month-long, multi-city series that will travel across the length and breadth of the country. Its core mission is to create a grassroots-driven budget expectation series. The focus will be squarely on how the upcoming Union Budget can unlock new opportunities and address the challenges faced by businesses, youth, MSMEs, and the next generation of entrepreneurs.
According to an official press release, the yatra aims to bring voices from beyond the major metros to the forefront of the national budget conversation. It seeks to ensure that the aspirations and concerns of India's real economic engines are heard loud and clear by policymakers in New Delhi.
A Pan-India Journey to Capture Diverse Voices
The initiative will not be confined to studio discussions. Instead, it will physically travel to key economic centres. The planned itinerary includes a diverse set of cities: Indore, Chennai, Bengaluru, Kanpur, Lucknow, Meerut, Vishakhapatnam, Surat, Hyderabad, Baroda, and Ahmedabad.
In these cities, the yatra will actively engage with a wide cross-section of stakeholders. The goal is to capture raw, on-ground insights from:
- Entrepreneurs and industry leaders
- MSME owners and startup founders
- Workers and trade professionals
- Young professionals and first-time taxpayers
The discussions will revolve around critical themes that impact the common citizen and business owner alike. Growth, employment, taxation, investment, and government policy expectations have been identified as special focus areas for these interactions.
Impact and Expected Outcomes
The ultimate aim of Budget Bharat Yatra 2026 is to provide policymakers, the business community, and viewers with a comprehensive, 360-degree view of India's economic pulse. By systematically collecting expectations from tier-2 and tier-3 cities as well as major industrial clusters, the initiative hopes to present a more holistic and representative picture of the nation's economic needs.
This ground-up approach is expected to enrich the budget formulation process, making it more inclusive and responsive to the realities on the ground. For businesses and entrepreneurs, it offers a direct channel to voice their expectations regarding simplified regulations, easier access to credit, and supportive policies for growth.
For the youth and first-time taxpayers, it is a platform to highlight issues related to job creation, skill development, and a fair tax structure. The insights gathered from this extensive yatra are poised to play a central role in shaping the national budget dialogue in the lead-up to the Union Budget 2026.
