Union Budget 2026: From “Big Announcements” to Execution—What Industry Really Wants This Year

New Delhi [India], January 30: As the Union Budget 2026 nears, the loudest demand across sectors isn't for another headline-grabbing scheme, it's for execution-grade policy. Whether its infrastructure delivery, manufacturing competitiveness, cloud sovereignty, preventive healthcare, MSME compliance, or India's GCC talent push, the mood is consistent: reduce friction, fund capability, and make systems work on the ground.

This isn't a Budget season driven by optimism alone. It's shaped by the reality that India is simultaneously chasing capex-led growth, manufacturing scale, digital trust, job creation, and climate-aligned infrastructure, all while managing fiscal constraints. The trade-offs are unavoidable. But industry leaders argue that the right levers can unlock outsized returns without inflating long-term burdens: stable rules, faster clearances, smarter incentives, and capacity-building rather than patchwork announcements.

Infrastructure & Construction: The Capex Story Needs a Delivery Engine

India's infrastructure momentum is visible, but delays and cash-flow stress still drag delivery. Mayank Pathak, Founder & Managing Director of Translite Formwork & Scaffolding (TSL), puts it bluntly: the sector loses "months-sometimes years" to approvals, working-capital strain, and uneven safety enforcement.

"In this Budget, we are looking for three practical moves: faster and more transparent clearance systems, improved credit flow for contractors and MSME suppliers, and a serious policy push toward safety compliance and mechanisation on construction sites... Infrastructure growth is not just about scale-it is about speed, safety, and sustainability." - Mayank Pathak, Translite (TSL)
The subtext: capex allocation matters, but payment cycles, clearances, and site productivity decide whether that capex becomes assets on time.

Advanced Manufacturing: Compete on Precision, Not Just Volume

For India's manufacturing ambition to shift from assembly to advantage, advanced engineering has to move mainstream. C3D's perspective stresses that the next leap depends on R&D, prototyping access, and skills-not just output targets.

"India's next manufacturing leap will be driven by advanced engineering-3D technologies, automation, and faster design-to-production cycles... This Budget should prioritise R&D incentives, reduce import friction for critical prototyping and industrial components, and invest in skill development for advanced manufacturing roles." - C3D (Advanced Engineering & 3D Tech)

The industry's worry is that without policy support for digital manufacturing adoption, India risks being competitive on cost but lagging on time-to-market and innovation throughput.

Cloud & Digital Infrastructure: Productivity Infrastructure, Not IT Spend

Cloud is no longer a CIO line item-it's national productivity infrastructure. Ishan Talathi, Founder & CEO of CloudPe, argues Budget 2026 should convert India's policy frameworks into execution capacity-especially around DPDP compliance, cybersecurity readiness, and domestic compute build-out.
"Cloud and data-centre infrastructure are no longer discretionary IT spend; they are productivity infrastructure... Budgetary support for capital formation-through infrastructure status, access to long-tenure financing, and incentives for green power-can significantly lower the cost of building domestic compute and data-centre capacity." - Ishan Talathi, CloudPe

He adds that adoption needs demand-side nudges too, especially for MSMEs-along with procurement reforms that make government a catalyst, not a bottleneck.

MSMEs & Compliance: Make Compliance a Growth Enabler

Small businesses don't need complex policy choreography. They need simpler compliance, stable frameworks, and tech that reduces friction. Sumit Agarwal, Co-Founder & CEO of Vyapar, frames it as a competitiveness issue: digitised compliance can improve creditworthiness, accelerate disbursals, and unlock working capital.

"This Budget presents an opportunity... by accelerating digital adoption in invoicing, bookkeeping, GST compliance, and tax management-ensuring that technology reduces friction rather than adding to regulatory burden. A shift toward simpler, technology-driven compliance will... allow tax professionals to play a more strategic role." - Sumit Agarwal, Vyapar

That tax-professional angle matters: when compliance is unnecessarily complex, advisory bandwidth gets consumed by paperwork-hurting MSME growth outcomes.

Education & Skills: NEP Needs Labs, Not Just Screens

India's future workforce pipeline won't be built by device distribution alone. Abhineet Sharma, Founder of RoboSpecies, argues NEP outcomes will depend on hands-on learning infrastructure and teacher enablement-especially outside metros.

"Digital access alone is not enough. This Budget should fund hands-on STEM infrastructure-robotics labs, AI learning environments, and tinkering spaces... Equally important is teacher enablement... A Budget that invests in practical STEM education today will directly impact employability." - Abhineet Sharma, RoboSpecies

The point is sharp: experiential STEM is not an "extra." It is employability infrastructure.

Healthcare: Prevention + MedTech Manufacturing = Economic Logic

Healthcare spending remains skewed toward late-stage treatment. Scanbo's Founder & CEO Ashissh Raichura calls for a prevention-first policy shift-pushing early detection, digital diagnostics, and Made-in-India medtech cost competitiveness.

"This Budget should prioritise digital diagnostics, non-invasive screening, and AI-led early detection... Equally important is strong support for Made in India medical devices through targeted incentives, reduced GST, and rationalised import duties on critical components." - Ashissh Raichura, Scanbo
This is one of the most fiscally rational asks: prevention reduces downstream treatment costs and productivity loss.

Food, Wellness & Public Health: Treat Nutrition as Preventive Health Policy

If prevention is the frame in healthcare, food becomes the first intervention. Ravi Somani, Founder of Qoot Food, says consumers are already moving toward clean-label, functional foods-but policy and regulatory clarity hasn't kept pace.

"The shift towards healthier eating... is structural... We hope to see targeted incentives for clean-label food innovation, clearer... regulations around health and nutrition claims, and stronger support for domestic food processing startups... A Budget that recognises food as a preventive health lever... will help create a more sustainable, health-conscious economy." - Ravi Somani, Qoot Food

The demand here is not subsidies-it's clear standards, compliance simplicity, and processing infrastructure that makes nutrition scalable and affordable.

GCCs, Talent & AI: India Wants the "Brain Trust" Narrative to Be Policy-Backed

The GCC story is moving from cost arbitrage to innovation delivery-but that shift needs policy coordination and talent investment. Anuj Agrawal, Founder & CEO of Zyoin Group, calls for a Central GCC policy, Tier-2 expansion incentives, and a serious AI/ML skilling push.

"We're no longer the back office-we're the brain trust... The expectation is clear: a Central GCC Policy... incentives to push growth into Tier-2 cities, and serious investment in AI/ML skilling... Nano GCCs are knocking-we need single-window clearances to let them in fast." - Anuj Agrawal, Zyoin Group
This is also about speed: global companies set up where friction is low and talent is ready.

Markets & Household Wealth: Growth Needs Trust and Stability

In markets, the ask is less about cheerleading and more about trust-led participation. Prasenjit Paul of Paul Asset argues that long-term capital formation depends on policy stability, predictable taxation signals, and stronger investor literacy.

"Long-term wealth creation still depends on policy stability and investor trust... The Budget should encourage disciplined investing through clarity in tax treatment, stronger investor education, and supportive policies that deepen market participation responsibly." - Prasenjit Paul, Paul Asset
In a retail-heavy market cycle, the distinction between participation and speculation becomes critical.

Independent Talent & the Gig Economy: Make High-Skill Flex Work Easier to Engage

Deepak Malkani, Co-Founder of IndusGuru, points out that India's independent professional economy is becoming a serious growth engine-especially for MSMEs needing specialised expertise without heavy overheads. The Budget, he argues, can help by reducing compliance friction and enabling simpler digital contracting.

"The Budget has an opportunity to recognise independent professional work as a serious growth engine... by improving clarity around compliance for independent consultants, enabling easier digital contracting... A policy framework that reduces friction... will unlock a more agile, high-skill economy." - Deepak Malkani, IndusGuru

This is a productivity argument: better access to expert talent improves execution quality across the economy.

Energy Transition: The Next Phase Is Grid, Transmission, and Integration

Renewables are scaling, but the execution bottleneck is now grid integration and transmission readiness. Shalin Sheth, Founder & Director of Advait Energy Transitions, wants the Budget to shift from optics to implementation-especially on grid upgrade and ESG-aligned financing.

"India's energy transition has reached a decisive execution phase... the next stage... will depend on how effectively we modernise grids, strengthen transmission infrastructure, and enable seamless renewable integration." - Shalin Sheth, Advait Energy Transitions

The message is clear: capacity addition means little if the system can't absorb and transmit it reliably.

EV Logistics: Fleet Electrification Delivers Immediate Returns

Finally, sustainability meets economics in commercial EV adoption. Rahul Kanuganti, Founder & CEO of Flytta, says fleet electrification is where India can get immediate environmental and operating-cost gains-if charging infrastructure and financing are designed for fleets.

"This Budget should actively support commercial EV adoption, charging infrastructure tailored for fleet operations, and incentives for green logistics providers... commercial logistics adoption delivers immediate environmental and economic returns at scale." - Rahul Kanuganti, Flytta
Passenger EVs build sentiment; fleet EVs build measurable impact.