India Inc hopes that the budget will lead to jobs, boost to EV sector, logistics and an overall development.
Hemant Jain, President, PHDCCI: The focus on Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) in infrastructure, along with 50-year interest-free loans for state projects, is expected to create a multiplier effect not only boosting India’s GDP but also strengthening the states’ economy. With a historic high of Rs. 50.65 lakh crore, the Union Budget prioritizes Agriculture, the Middle Class, Manufacturing, MSMEs, Women Empowerment, and Job Creation.
PHDCCI projects that the Budget’s strategic focus will contribute over 1% (100 bps) to India’s GDP growth in 2025-26, creating lakhs of new employment opportunities in the country
This Union Budget is in line with PHDCCI’s expectations, the budget has surpassed the Rs. 50 lakh crore mark first time.
The increased budget allocation is set to foster substantial growth across various sectors.
A significant reform in income tax, including the exemption for incomes up to Rs. 12 lakh and a 30% tax rate on incomes above Rs. 24 lakh, will stimulate consumption demand and expand industrial production.
The rise in disposable incomes will drive consumer spending, subsequently encouraging businesses to scale operations, increase investments, and expand production.
The Dhan Dhanya Krishi Yojna, benefiting 1.7 crore farmers in 100 districts, will significantly boost rural development, agricultural productivity, and farm incomes.
Moreover, the mission for self-reliance in pulses is set to reduce food inflation and curb dependence on imports, while a dedicated Makhana Board in Bihar will enhance processing and value addition, further benefiting farmers.
The transformative initiatives to empower MSMEs and bolster the Make in India manufacturing mission.
Enhanced focus of MSMEs will generate employment, accelerate economic growth, and strengthen India’s journey towards Viksit Bharat.
India is rapidly positioning itself as a global economic powerhouse, with ongoing reforms and initiatives attracting investments and fostering innovation.
Mrinal Kumar, Partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co: Warehousing is a key contributor to the growth of the logistics sector in India and drives demand for real estate assets. The Government’s initiative will further increase the demand in the logistics sector, leading to growth of employment opportunities and infrastructure development.
Alok K Singh, Founder CEO Of Travomint: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced initiatives to promote medical tourism and wellness in India, emphasizing private sector collaboration. Key component of this strategy is the easier visa norms to attract international travelers, which will directly boost job creation in the tourism sector. Along with this 22 key destinations will be developed with state governments, enhancing economic growth.
The UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) scheme aims to connect small and medium cities with major urban centers through affordable air services. This scheme has successfully helped to connect 1.5 crore middle-class travelers across 88 airports with 619 routes. Now, planning to expand to more 120 new destinations, along with the development of 50 top tourist destinations. For better regional connectivity and boost air travel. While these developments are promising, they present challenges that will require gradual and realistic progress to achieve their full potential.
Another regional expansion, the Patna airport, will be in process to increase passengers capacity and facilitate smoother travel. This upgrade will help boost regional tourism aligning with efforts to modernize infrastructure and enhance air travel.
The Finance Minister has also announced that hotels will be included in the harmonized scheme, and Mudra loans will be extended to homestays, benefiting local tourism and facilitating their upgrade. Certain foreign tourist groups will receive visa waivers, thereby indirectly bolstering India’s tourism infrastructure.
Another significant development is the establishment of greenfield airports in Bihar, further enhancing regional connectivity and stimulating both economic and tourism growth.
Maxson Lewis, Founder and CEO of Magenta Mobility: The Union Budget 2025 takes a big leap toward strengthening India’s economy while addressing the real challenges faced by SMEs and gig workers. MSMEs have long been the backbone of our EV industry, and this budget recognizes their role by offering targeted incentives, skill development programs, and infrastructure support—giving them the tools they need to scale and innovate.
At the same time, the expansion of the E-Shram scheme is a much-needed win for gig workers, ensuring they have access to social security, fair wages, and better upskilling opportunities. In today’s digital-driven world, these measures go a long way in creating a more inclusive workforce.
What’s particularly exciting is the boost for manufacturing—especially in electronics and EV battery production—along with fresh investment incentives for startups. By focusing on clean energy, self-reliance, and innovation, this budget isn’t just about numbers. It’s about empowering businesses, workers, and entrepreneurs to build a more sustainable and globally competitive India.
Rudra Kumar Pandey, Partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co: To further strengthen domestic manufacturing, the Indian government announced National Manufacturing Mission (NMM) capturing small, medium, and large industries, which aims to provide policy support, and monitoring framework for both centre and States in order to boost manufacturing in India. More importantly, as part of the Indian government’s commitment to promote clean energy, the NMM also aims at enhancing clean technology manufacturing in India. NMM, in addition to the PLI scheme, will improve domestic value addition in solar PV modules, electric vehicle (EV) batteries, high-voltage transmission equipment, wind turbines, and grid-scale batteries, and will project India as an effective counterpart to China which is a global leader in clean technology manufacturing.
Inder Mohan Singh, Partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co: In view of the increasing healthcare needs in the country, and to take care of the issue of students moving abroad for medical education, the Centre has announced that 10,000 additional seats will be added in medical colleges/hospitals, with the goal of adding 75,000 seats over the following 5 years. This is a welcome step, and will definitely aid in increasing the healthcare workforce of the country.
Suresh Kumar R, Managing Director, Allcargo Terminals Limited: The budget has set the roadmap for long-term economic growth by catalysing consumption, manufacturing as well as infrastructure development. Budget proposals to strengthen ease of doing business and relax regulatory reforms will further improve the investment prospect and boost private investments in logistics as well as other sectors. Additionally, the announcement of a ₹25,000 crore Maritime Development Fund for long-term financing in the maritime industry, with up to 49% government contribution and the remainder mobilized from ports and private sector, is a welcome step toward promoting competition and distributed support. Making PM Gati Shakti data accessible to private players is an excellent move which will drive superior project planning and execution synergy. In addition, by fostering an ecosystem for new-age innovation through AI and deep tech, the budget will usher the next phase of efficiency, resilience and capacity utilisation for the logistics industry.
Girish Hirde, Global Delivery Head at InfoVision: We appreciate the Union Budget 2025 announcement and believe that it balances that aspirational, futuristic growth with overall infrastructure development in the nation. The announcement of a Deeptech Fund of Funds to support technological advancements, while providing 10,000 Fellowships for tech research in IITs and IISc, under the PM Research Fellowship Scheme, is going to play a pivotal role in building national capabilities in the field of Deeptech & research. This, coupled with the establishment of Centre of Excellence for AI in Education, established with an outlay of INR 500 CR will prove to be another significant boost for indigenous capabilities and prowess. At InfoVision, we commend these developments and look forward to supporting India’s evolution as a global leader in Deeptech & AI.
Dr. Miniya Chatterji, CEO, Sustain Labs Paris: The Union Budget 2025 marks a good step towards a greener and more self-reliant India. By prioritizing domestic production of solar PV cells, wind turbine generators, and other clean energy technologies under the National Manufacturing Mission to reduce imports, India is moving toward self-reliance and climate resilience. The push towards promoting sustainable farming practices with the aim of reaching around 1.7 crore farmers through Prime Minister Krishi Yojana has the potential to have a big catalytic effect on mitigating India’s environmental challenges.
Additionally, the identification of MSMEs as an engine for growth can be a boost to employment, especially in the manufacturing sector. Finally, the target of 100GW nuclear energy by 2047 under the Nuclear Energy Mission will further add up to the country’s transition to net-zero. The budget for this year lays the groundwork for a more resilient India by promoting sustainable economic growth and self-sufficiency.
Hari Somalraju, MD & CEO – SYSTRA INDIA: We applaud the focus on urban infrastructure provided by the 2025 budget, in particular, ₹1 lakh crore Urban Challenge Fund. This will help drive the transformation of cities into growth hubs, support creative redevelopment, and enhance water and sanitation infrastructure. With PPP creating a 3-year pipeline of projects, this constitutes a major step toward modernizing urban transit and connectivity, consistent with SYSTRA’s mission to provide innovative and sustainable mobility solutions. Expansion of IITs and creation of Centre of Excellence in AI (India AI Mission) will help India develop as a Global Capacity Centre. This will support the consulting industry in continuing to deliver more from India. However, while the budget has met several key expectations, we still hoped for very specific support to the urban mass transit sector, such as incentives for electric mobility and development in smart city technology. Also, sectors such as renewable energy integration and smart transportation infrastructure hardly get a mention for having a crucial role in bringing about future-ready urban landscapes. We remain very hopeful that in coming initiatives, more direct mention will be made of such areas, in ensuring a more holistic and sustainable urban infrastructure development.
Divyesh Savaliya, Chairman & MD, Onix Renewable Limited: The Union Budget 2025 has set the stage for the self-reliance-led growth in the country’s renewable energy sector in line with the goal to achieve 500 GW of non-fossil fuel energy by 2030. With a strong emphasis on domestic value addition, the government’s focus on solar PV cells, EV batteries, motors, and controllers will significantly reduce reliance on imports and foster self-sufficiency in critical clean technologies. The introduction of the National Manufacturing Mission to support domestic production of EV batteries and solar panels is a strategic move that will not only enhance India’s manufacturing capabilities but also drive cost efficiencies, supply chain resilience, and global competitiveness.
By encouraging backward integration and technology-driven advancements, these measures will catalyze innovation, attract investments, and create a robust ecosystem for clean tech manufacturing. As India moves towards its net-zero goals, such initiatives will play a crucial role in accelerating renewable energy adoption, ensuring energy security and diversifying the renewable energy portfolio.”
Rudra Kumar Pandey, Partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co: In line with the increased focus and commitment towards clean energy, the Indian government also announced the introduction of Nuclear Energy Mission (NEM). NEM aims to develop at least 100 GW of nuclear power by 2047. To encourage research and development in relation to small module reactors, the Indian government proposed a budgetary allocation of INR 20,000 crores – with the target of minimum five domestically developed small module reactors by the year 2033. Further, the Indian government also proposed to amend laws in order to increase private sector players in the nuclear energy segment. These initiatives will increase more involvement of private players and present more growth opportunities in the nuclear energy sector in India.
Rajat Bose, Partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co: On the regulatory front, the introduction of a definite timeline to complete provisional assessment within a maximum period of three years is welcome as it removes uncertainty in business. However, the introduction of voluntary disclosure of mandatory information to self-pay duty and interest by importers and exporters, before any audit or SCN, seems to be old wine in a new bottle as similar provisions already exist in the Customs Act. Ignoring a Customs Amnesty Scheme for litigation is again a major miss, qua the extant budget expectations.
Ashoo Gupta, Partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co.: The National Geospatial Mission will improve urban planning and infrastructure by providing accurate geospatial data. It will modernize land records, reducing property disputes and making land ownership more transparent. By supporting PM Gati Shakti, it will help streamline logistics, transport, and urban expansion. Reliable spatial data will also help the government make better decisions for infrastructure and development projects
Mrinal Kumar, Partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co The Government of India under its Digital India initiative already aims to establish end to end geo-spatial electronics digital systems and envisages ‘National GIS Mission’ as a core foundation of location based electronic delivery of services for planning and governance. The National Geospatial Mission will further contribute to building a robust digitized land record system in India and will improve investor confidence and transparency in the real estate sector.
Mrinal Kumar, Partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co: GCCs are already contributing substantially to the growth of the real estate sector. The focus on setting up GCCs in the budget in tier 2 cities, coupled with availability of land at cheaper rates in such cities, will result in creation of infrastructure and ultimately, growth of employment opportunities in such cities.
Mrinal Kumar, Partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co: The rate of urbanization in India has been growing year on year and the above initiatives for urban development in this budget will drive further growth of the real estate sector in urban and semi-urban areas, while ensuring transformation of the existing infrastructure of cities.
Inder Mohan Singh, Partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co: In order to provide our young people with the skills necessary for “make for India, for make for the world,” five National Centres of Excellence for Skilling will be established for international expertise and collaboration. Program design, trainer training, skill certification framework, and periodic evaluations will all be covered in the program.
Abhishek Guha, Partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co.: This year’s Union Budget puts the ordinary Indian front and centre. This is especially apparent in the announcements relating to the healthcare and pharmaceutical sector where the common person is the direct beneficiary. A major relief for patients comes with exemptions or reductions in the basic customs duty on life saving drugs, making essential medicines more affordable. The Budget also focusses on accessibility of healthcare with the establishment of day care cancer centres in all district hospitals over the next three years – 200 of these are targeted to be set up in 2025-26.
