Tax stability, capex support, AI and energy reforms sought
MUMBAI, Jan 24 (The CONNECT) – With the Union Budget 2026 approaching against a backdrop of global volatility and domestic growth expectations, industry leaders across finance, technology, manufacturing, energy, consumer and defence sectors are calling for policy stability, targeted fiscal support and clearer long-term signals. Executives say the Budget must move beyond headline announcements to focus on execution—through tax simplicity, infrastructure-led demand creation, technology and AI adoption, energy reliability, and sustained support for domestic manufacturing—to reinforce investor confidence and economic resilience.
Across sectors, the common refrain is the need for predictability and scale. From capital markets and fintech to steel, renewables, defence and consumer industries, stakeholders are seeking measures that reduce cost pressures, improve access to long-term capital, accelerate innovation and strengthen India’s competitiveness. As the economy navigates external uncertainty, industry expects Budget 2026 to balance fiscal prudence with growth-enabling reforms that support consumption, investment and long-term wealth creation.
Here is what the business capgtains have to say:
Anand K Rathi, Co-Founder, MIRA Money: As the Union Budget approaches, investors should focus less on headline announcements and more on policy signals around stability, taxation and long-term wealth creation. A simple and predictable tax framework, particularly for capital gains and debt instruments, enables confident planning and portfolio construction aligned with real, inflation-adjusted returns. For high-net-worth and serious investors, efficient capital allocation across asset classes matters far more than short-term incentives. A Budget that simplifies compliance, reduces uncertainty and rewards patient, goal-based investing will deepen household participation in markets and support sustainable wealth creation over time.
Seema Prem, Co-Founder & CEO, FIA Global: Public spending can meaningfully complement private AI investment to improve rural banking productivity. Budgetary support through grants, co-investment funds or guarantees can accelerate adoption of AI for vernacular interfaces, fraud detection and alternative credit models in rural financial services. To scale AI across Bharat, the focus should be on shared intelligence rather than isolated pilots—AI that makes the Bank Mitra channel cheaper to operate, safer to trust and easier for customers to use. This requires targeted public investment in common AI rails such as vernacular voice interfaces, real-time fraud and grievance intelligence, and alternative cash-flow models tailored to rural livelihoods, with NABARD playing a key enabling role across cooperative banks, RRBs and livelihood missions.
Shobit Rai, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Prozeal Green Energy Limited: India’s renewable journey has delivered strong capacity addition, but generation alone does not guarantee transition. Renewables already account for over 40 percent of installed capacity, yet grid-scale storage remains negligible relative to system needs. Without storage, flexibility and firm green power, clean energy cannot fully displace fossil fuels. Strategic Budget support for battery energy storage, pumped hydro and green hydrogen is essential to convert intermittent power into reliable, round-the-clock industrial energy. Equally important is strengthening domestic manufacturing of electrolysers, battery cells and power electronics to reduce import dependence, manage forex risk and generate high-quality jobs. The energy transition is now about reliability, not capacity alone.
Dr Manoj Jhawar, CMD, PTC India Limited: The forthcoming Union Budget presents a critical opportunity to reinforce power market reforms as India scales renewable energy and moves towards a more market-driven electricity ecosystem. Stronger power trading frameworks, expansion of green and real-time markets, and faster rollout of transmission and storage infrastructure will be key to balancing reliability with sustainability. Measures that improve liquidity, transparency and long-term visibility in power markets will strengthen grid resilience and accelerate investment across the value chain.
Suvankar Sen, MD & CEO, Senco Gold Ltd: Despite volatility in gold and silver prices, consumer demand has remained resilient, though more carefully budgeted, reaffirming gold jewellery’s enduring role in heritage and long-term wealth creation. With prices expected to remain elevated, policy measures that enhance affordability and demand stability are critical. Regulated small-ticket EMI options, a review of the 3 percent GST structure and support for old-gold exchange—which already accounts for nearly 45 percent of transactions—can deepen formal participation. Given household gold holdings of around 24,000 tonnes, innovative mobilisation mechanisms, vocational training for karigars, technology adoption and a review of the 6 percent import duty can significantly strengthen the organised jewellery sector’s contribution to jobs, consumption and exports.
Paul Alukkas, Managing Director, Jos Alukkas: As the Union Budget approaches amid global macro uncertainty, currency volatility and rising working-capital needs, gold prices have hit record highs driven by safe-haven demand and a weaker rupee. The industry is seeking clear regulation of digital gold to enhance consumer protection and market formalisation. Demand for natural diamonds remains steady, and the BIS move to clearly differentiate natural from lab-grown diamonds brings much-needed clarity and trust. Consistent, forward-looking policies will strengthen the sector and reinforce India’s position in the global gems and jewellery value chain.
Ranjit Batra, CEO, Ventive Hospitality Limited: The hospitality sector looks to Union Budget 2026 to drive tourism growth through infrastructure upgrades, streamlined regulations and higher FSI in emerging cities and leisure destinations such as Andaman & Nicobar and the North-East. Access to long-tenure financing, viability gap funding and targeted incentives for luxury assets is essential to offset rising costs and attract sustained FDI-led demand. Rationalising GST, including treating services to foreign nationals as deemed exports, alongside skilling incentives and green building benefits, can strengthen competitiveness, job creation and sustainability.
Alok Dubey, Chief Financial Officer, Acer India & Venkatesan Vijayaraghavan, Chief Operating Officer, Virtusa: As the technology sector moves from recovery to scale, the Union Budget 2026–27 has a vital role in strengthening India’s position in the global digital and AI economy. Deeper support for domestic electronics manufacturing, component ecosystems and PLI-led value creation, combined with sharper focus on AI through investments in compute infrastructure, data centres, R&D and large-scale skilling, will enable responsible and widespread adoption. Improving device affordability and reducing input cost pressures will further accelerate digital inclusion across emerging markets.
Venkatesan Vijayaraghavan, Chief Operating Officer, Virtusa: Sustained focus on digital capability building and talent development is creating a future-ready workforce. Continued investments in skills across AI, data, cloud and digital engineering are enabling India to support complex global enterprise transformations. Budget provisions that help scale enterprise-led training, apprenticeships and collaboration with educational institutions will reinforce India’s role as a global hub for digital services delivery.
Satyam Vyas, Founder, Climate Asia: The real test of this year’s Budget is not allocation size but delivery on the ground. India will need over USD 2.4 trillion by 2050 to build climate-resilient infrastructure, far beyond current financing levels. The next phase of climate action will be decided at the district level—by how quickly decisions close, funds flow and outcomes are verified. Strengthening district planning capacity and coordination is essential to close gaps highlighted by uneven sub-national climate performance.
Kaushlendra Sinha, CEO, IAGES: With global gold prices surging beyond USD 4,500 per ounce and domestic prices touching ₹1.35–1.45 lakh per 10 grams, the industry is at a critical juncture. Policymakers must balance fiscal prudence with social realities by maintaining moderate import duties, incentivising domestic refining and recycling, and strengthening governance to protect investors. Promoting ethical, transparent practices will align India’s gold ecosystem with global standards and reduce import dependence.
Avanish Agarwal, Founder, Nutriiya: As India’s startup ecosystem crosses one lakh recognised startups, Budget 2026–27 is a crucial opportunity to strengthen AI-led health-tech solutions. With the digital health market projected to cross USD 70 billion, targeted incentives for AI adoption, R&D and data infrastructure can help startups scale personalised nutrition and preventive care while advancing the vision of a healthier Viksit Bharat.
Sumit Govind Sharma, Founder, Aurafest: The wellness products industry stands at an inflection point, driven by rising demand for authentic, natural solutions but constrained by policy gaps. Rationalising GST, improving infrastructure for sourcing and testing, export incentives and dedicated support for artisan communities are critical. Recognising wellness as a priority sector can unlock capital, generate employment and position India as a global leader in genuine wellness solutions.
Chetan Thadeshwar, Chairman & Managing Director, Shringar House of Mangalsutra Ltd: Strengthening domestic consumption should be a core Budget priority as it remains the primary growth engine for the jewellery sector. Rationalising import duties, ensuring tax stability and enhancing affordability can revive discretionary spending and generate strong multiplier effects across manufacturing, retail and exports. Predictable policies, better access to working capital and skill development aligned with Make in India will support sustainable industry growth.
Sanjay Lodha, CMD, Netweb Technologies:
India stands at a critical inflection point in its digital journey, with Artificial Intelligence and high-end computing clearly identified by the government as strategic growth engines. The Hon’ble Prime Minister’s sustained focus on AI reflects a rare and timely opportunity window for the country. As India moves from AI readiness to AI adoption, large-scale consumption of AI will become the true multiplier of growth. When Indian enterprises deploy AI at scale, they create globally relevant use cases, products and operational efficiencies that can be exported worldwide, strengthening India’s competitiveness across sectors. Priority should be to accelerate AI adoption through sovereign, secure and Made-in-India compute infrastructure. This includes targeted fiscal support for indigenous, data-localised GPU clusters to ensure that India’s data, models and intellectual property remain onshore, particularly for regulated sectors and AI-native enterprises that require trust, auditability and compliance by design. A National Compute Credit programme for MSMEs and startups, offering redeemable vouchers on India-hosted AI and HPC infrastructure, can significantly lower entry barriers and stimulate experimentation. Incentivising private enterprises through enhanced tax deductions for deploying Make-in-India AI infrastructure, rationalising GST on high-end AI servers and cooling technologies, and supporting green, energy-efficient data centres through a dedicated Green Compute Fund will together help position AI compute as core national infrastructure while enabling secure, scalable and globally competitive growth.
Jignesh Mehta, MD & Founder, Divine Solitaires: Geopolitical volatility and price fluctuations will continue to impact the natural diamond industry, making policy stability critical. Supporting Indian-origin consumer brands through duty rationalisation and easier access to financing can help scale global presence. Reducing import duty on cut and polished diamonds and coloured gemstones to 2.5 percent will boost exports, jobs and manufacturing, while BIS differentiation between natural and lab-grown diamonds strengthens transparency and trust.
Nihar Jayesh Thakkar, Founder, The Mandate House: Real estate has seen steady momentum driven by improved buyer confidence and institutional participation. Budget measures that enhance transparency, simplify transactions and improve ease of doing business—through stamp duty rationalisation, tax clarity and simplified compliance—will benefit both end users and investors, while infrastructure-led growth and redevelopment support will unlock high-value opportunities.
Rohan Dewan, Founder, LeafyBus: India’s next phase of electric mobility must move beyond pilots and focus on scale, especially in intercity and highway transport. Electric buses should be treated as core infrastructure, supported by interoperable charging, rational GST structures and long-tenure financing aligned with fleet life cycles to unlock private capital and accelerate clean mobility.
Anuj Chahal, Founder, Maverick Simulation Solutions: Budget 2026–27 should prioritise GST and duty rationalisation for medical devices and APIs, expand production-linked incentives and strengthen R&D and digital health innovation. Investment in simulation-based training and skills infrastructure is essential to ensure quality healthcare expansion while positioning India’s MedTech sector as globally competitive.
Mandar Patil, Senior Vice President – Sales, Cyble: As India’s digital economy expands, cybersecurity risks are growing in parallel. Budget 2026 should deepen investments in advanced threat intelligence, cyber talent development and security-first innovation through public-private collaboration to protect national infrastructure, citizen data and digital trust.
Rohit Mahajan, Founder & Managing Partner, plutos ONE: Fintech should be treated as core economic infrastructure, not merely a startup category. Strengthening payment rails, cybersecurity and interoperability, while enabling MSME credit through data-led products, will prepare India for the next phase of financial innovation and global competitiveness.
Ravi Gosain, President, Indian Association of Tour Operators: Inbound tourism holds immense potential as a foreign exchange and employment generator, but focused support in 2026 is essential. Elevating global marketing of Brand India, rationalising GST on tourism services, expanding e-visa access and improving international air connectivity to Tier-2 and Tier-3 destinations are critical to competing globally.
Vivek Gupta, Managing Director, Oswal Pumps: Budget 2026 should deepen the renewable transition through decentralised and storage-linked solutions alongside large projects. Support for distributed solar, energy storage and indigenous manufacturing can strengthen grid resilience, support agriculture and advance inclusive, low-carbon growth.
Nikul Shah, Co-Founder & CEO, IndieSemiC: Fabless semiconductor startups need policy support focused on design and IP creation, not manufacturing alone. Simplifying design-linked incentives, reducing prototyping costs and creating shared national testing infrastructure will accelerate indigenous chip innovation and strengthen global competitiveness.
Dipu Bose, Head – Medical Technology, ZEISS India & Neighbouring Markets: Raising public health spending beyond 2.5 percent of GDP, expanding PLI schemes and aligning GST for essential medical devices are critical to improving access and affordability. Simplifying import procedures and incentivising hospital investments in advanced equipment can bridge healthcare gaps and strengthen India’s MedTech ecosystem.
Gaurav Bawa, Senior Vice President, WIKA India: Smart manufacturing will define the next phase of industrial growth. Budget support for IIoT-enabled solutions, advanced measurement technologies and sustainable practices can drive efficiency, predictive maintenance and global competitiveness.
Harsh Bansal, Managing Director, BMW Industries Limited: India’s steel sector ended FY25 strongly, but a surge in imports has intensified price pressure on domestic producers. Budget 2026–27 should address this through GST rationalisation on inputs, improved scrap availability and recycling, and easier access to long-term financing to support sustainable growth.
Dhiraj Agrawal, Chief Business Officer, Mufin Green Finance: Accelerating EV adoption requires risk-aligned financing frameworks. Priority-sector lending for EV loans, partial credit guarantees and clarity on battery ownership through a national battery passport can lower borrowing costs and unlock sustainable growth.
Shrinivas Rao, FRICS, CEO, Vestian: Budget 2026 should strengthen economic fundamentals by accelerating Tier-2 city development, granting industry status to real estate, monetising government land and refining affordable housing definitions. A central GCC policy is essential to sustain long-term growth of global capability centres.
Amit Goyal, Managing Director, India Sotheby’s International Realty: As India navigates a shifting global order, the Budget must balance fiscal discipline with growth support. Sustaining real estate momentum requires strong equity markets, FDI inflows and meaningful urban development allocations to improve liveability and long-term investment confidence.
Tanuj Shori, Founder & CEO, Square Yards: The housing market is shifting towards a value-driven phase led by mid-income buyers. Budget 2026 should enhance affordability through tax relief, higher interest deductions and infrastructure investment, while encouraging supply in affordable and mid-market segments.
Abdulkader Bengali, Managing Director, Hansgrohe India: Rising aspirations in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities are driving demand for premium yet sustainable living. Policy frameworks that strengthen infrastructure, skills and responsible construction can elevate standards across residential and hospitality segments while ensuring long-term value.
Amit Mahajan, Director, Paras Defence and Space Technologies Limited: Budget 2026 must deepen industry-led defence R&D through scaled capital support, design-linked incentives and long-term funding visibility. Clear procurement frameworks and strong support for drones, aerospace, space and strategic technologies are essential to build a self-reliant defence ecosystem.
