Incentivising setting up of cloud, data centres here means data to be stored here, says FM Sitharaman

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman speaks within the Lok Sabha
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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday strongly refuted the allegation that proposed tax vacation to international data centre will imply transporting data overseas. She additionally mentioned that States will get a further ₹2.7 lakh crore throughout FY27 via devolution.

Sitharaman was responding to the final dialogue on the Union Funds for the fiscal yr 2026-27.

 “Chief of the Opposition Shri Rahul Gandhi expressed considerations over Synthetic Intelligence and data. I need to underline that we’re incentivising setting up of Cloud and Data Centres in India, in order that the data is stored here and our youth will get employment alternatives,” Sitharaman mentioned. Additional, she mentioned, the India AI Mission has a devoted allocation of ₹1,000 crore for 2026-27.

In her Funds speech, the FM has proposed to present tax vacation until 2047 to any overseas firm that gives cloud companies to clients globally by utilizing data centre companies from India. It can, nevertheless, want to present companies to Indian clients via an Indian reseller entity, she mentioned. Later sources mentioned that any overseas firm offering cloud companies via a data centre in India will get tax exemption, topic to assembly 4 circumstances.

These circumstances embody the overseas firm should be notified. Second, the data centre firm in India from which companies are taken should be an Indian firm. Third, the data centre should be notified by MeitY. Fourth, the companies by the overseas firm to Indian customers should be supplied via an Indian reseller entity, being an Indian firm.

Taking about funds to States, Sitharaman mentioned that within the coming yr FY26-27, the States’ share is estimated at ₹25.44 lakh crore, which is able to be devolved to them — a rise of ₹2.7 lakh crore from final yr FY25-26. “The Finance Fee itself, after learning this intimately, has said in its report that the cash which has to go from the Centre to the States, taking the years 2018–19 to 2022–23 as examples and inspecting them, has clearly mentioned that no matter quantity has to go from the Central Authorities to the State Governments has been given. There isn’t a scope for any doubt on this for the States,” she mentioned.

She additionally emphasised that cess and surcharge collected by the Centre are given to the States for growth work in numerous sectors. “That is separate from the 41 per cent of funds allotted to the States,” she mentioned.

Debunking claims of a scarcity of fertilisers within the nation, she mentioned, there’s sufficient for farmers, and the federal government has made a budgetary allocation of ₹1.71 lakh crore for its import to assist farmers. Sitharaman additionally gave a point-by-point rebuttal to Rahul Gandhi’s claims that India has buckled beneath US stress whereas signing the interim commerce settlement with Washington.

“Chief of the Opposition Shri Rahul Gandhi additionally expressed considerations over geopolitics, power & weaponisation of finance. He mentioned that the funds acknowledges these challenges however he didn’t learn the funds and the steps introduced in it to deal with these challenges,” she mentioned whereas itemizing measures akin to Financial Stabilization Fund, Know-how in Nationwide Safety Fund (TNSF) beside others.

Revealed on February 11, 2026