Union Budget 2026 Prioritizes Women's Empowerment & Youth

By: WE Staff | Sunday, 1 February 2026

• Union​‍​‌‍​‍‌ Budget 2026 aims at empowering women, youth and people with disabilities.
• To facilitate female education, one girls' hostel will be set up in every district.
• Women-led SHGs will manage She-Marts and the service sector will facilitate inclusive opportunities in STEM and ​‍​‌‍​‍‌employment.

In​‍​‌‍​‍‌ an effort to foster inclusive growth and economic empowerment, the Union Budget 2026 presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today on February 1, 2026 has unveiled a set of measures for education, employment and entrepreneurship to support women, youth and people with disabilities.

A major component of the plan is a girls’ hostel in every district of India. This move is intended to facilitate the access of female students to higher education, especially in the regions that lack educational facilities and the number of girls going to and staying in college is likely to increase as a ​‍​‌‍​‍‌result.

On​‍​‌‍​‍‌ the employment side, the government has decided to redeploy the service sector as the main source of new jobs to meet the expectations of the youth while ensuring a wide participation base. Women in STEM and people with disabilities will be the main focus to guarantee that these groups which have been traditionally overlooked get access to education and employment opportunities.

One of the most significant elements of Budget 2026 is the introduction of 'She-Marts', community-owned retail outlets operated by women-led self-help groups (SHGs). Based on the success of the Lakhpati Didi scheme, She-Marts will give women entrepreneurs an opportunity to take ownership of cluster-level businesses, get better market access, and create more sustainable livelihoods.

Besides, women will be able to take advantage of the new financing instruments which will help them increase their yearly income and at the same time, strengthen the spirit of entrepreneurship at the community level in both rural and urban ​‍​‌‍​‍‌India.

Moreover,​‍​‌‍​‍‌ the government has decided to set up a powerful 'Education to Employment and Enterprise' Standing Committee. This committee will concentrate on turning the services sector into a main source of growth while at the same time ensuring that the participation of the youth in STEM, services and technology sectors is wide and deep.

All these steps are meant to give more power to women, create more job opportunities for the youth, and facilitate growth that is fair in all parts of the country, thus showing that the authorities have made a pledge to inclusive and sustainable ​‍​‌‍​‍‌development.