In the run-up to the Budget, the Finance Minister conducted extensive pre-Budget consultations with a wide range of stakeholders. These included economists, industry representatives, trade unions, experts from the education and healthcare sectors, MSMEs, trade and services bodies, as well as participants from the financial sector and capital markets. Separately, Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan held detailed consultations on agriculture and rural development and submitted a consolidated set of recommendations to the Finance Minister.
With today’s presentation, Nirmala Sitharaman will deliver her ninth consecutive Union Budget, a record since assuming office in 2019. The Budget speech is expected to outline the government’s revenue and expenditure plans for the next financial year, while also setting out its broader economic strategy. Key focus areas are likely to include economic growth, job creation, and fiscal consolidation.
Ankit Virmani, Director, Esskay Beauty Resources
"The Union Budget 2026 is a positive step for India's beauty, personal care and salon industry, with a strong focus on MSMEs, skilling and entrepreneurship. The proposed SME Growth Fund and easier access to credit can be a real boost for new salons and independent beauty professionals, helping them grow sustainably and become part of the formal economy.
Support for domestic manufacturing, including chemical parks and reduced import dependency, will benefit the beauty and cosmetics sector by improving access to quality raw materials, stabilising supply chains and encouraging innovation.
The continued emphasis on education and industry-aligned skilling will help create a more job-ready workforce and open long-term career opportunities across salons, retail and manufacturing."
Sanket S, Founder, Scandalous Foods
"The Union Budget 2026 brings practical positives for the frozen food and manufacturing sector. The focus on cold chain infrastructure and reducing post-harvest wastage, along with the ₹10,000 crore SME Growth Fund, will help brands like Scandalous Foods scale distribution while maintaining quality.
Doubling the startup credit guarantee limit to ₹20 crore and strengthening invoice discounting through TReDS will ease both capex expansion and cash flow challenges. The recognition of mental health through the NIMHANS 2.0 initiative, along with measures like raising the rental TDS threshold, makes this a balanced Budget that supports both business growth and the people behind it."
Anant Bengani, Co-Founder & Director, Zell Education
"The Union Budget 2026 makes a strong statement about linking education directly with employability and enterprise. The proposed 'Education to Employment and Enterprise' framework, focus on services-led growth, and emphasis on modular, industry-aligned professional courses signal a clear intent to make India's youth job-ready and globally competitive. Initiatives that promote skill development, professional certifications, and university-industry collaboration will significantly strengthen the talent pipeline for sectors like finance, accounting and business services. We believe these measures will accelerate demand for outcome-driven education and career-focused learning, helping learners transition seamlessly from classrooms to the workforce."
Shivendra Nigam, CFO, Cantabil Retail India Ltd
"We welcome the Union Budget 2026's strong and much-needed focus on the textile and apparel ecosystem. The Government's push towards modernising traditional clusters, setting up Mega Textile Parks, supporting technology upgradation, and strengthening skilling through initiatives like Samarth 2.0 will significantly enhance India's competitiveness as a global manufacturing hub. The extension of export timelines and improved infrastructure will also ease supply chain challenges for organised apparel brands. These measures not only encourage domestic production but also create large-scale employment and consumption growth, which are critical for the retail sector."
Pavan Kushwaha, CEO of Threatcop & Kratikal
We see the Union Budget 2026 as a strong, forward-looking step toward building a resilient, technology-first India. The push for AI adoption, industry-led research, and large-scale skilling—along with simpler tax and compliance frameworks for IT services creates a more enabling environment for faster digital innovation. As enterprises and government systems digitise at scale, secure, trusted infrastructure will become non-negotiable. In that context, the Budget's focus on strengthening digital capabilities and modernising systems aligns directly with the growing need for cybersecurity, risk management, and People Security Management because technology is only as secure as the people using it. Overall, this Budget reinforces India's ambition to become a global technology powerhouse, while keeping security and human risk reduction as core pillars of sustainable growth.
"The real estate and urban development industry is feeling more hopeful about the future thanks to Budget 2026. The government is focusing on expanding infrastructure, speeding up approvals, and giving more assistance to sustainable urban planning. This makes it much easier for developers to come up with new ideas and build areas that are ready for the future.
As India grows, making it easier for people to connect, get to homes, and speed up development at the city level will be very important for molding modern urban living. This year's budget makes that objective even clearer and more committed.
These changes give developers like us at Alliance City Developers both the direction and the confidence to move on with big projects that improve quality of life and make a real difference in India's fast changing cityscapes."— Ankita Luharuka, CEO, Alliance City Developers.
Mr. Shikhar Aggarwal, Chairman, BLS E-Services Pvt Ltd
"Presenting the Union Budget 2026, Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman outlined a vision for 'Viksit Bharat,' balancing ambitious growth with inclusion, and announced a high-level committee to futuristically align the banking sector with India's next phase of development. Highlighting that nearly 25 crore people have emerged from multidimensional poverty, the Finance Minister increased capital expenditure to Rs 12.2 lakh crore, framing the budget around inclusive 'Kartavyas' (duties).
Signaling a major review of financial architecture, the Finance Minister proposed a 'High Level Committee on Banking for Viksit Bharat' to ensure the sector supports India's growth ambitions while safeguarding stability, inclusion, and consumer protection. To empower women entrepreneurs, the Budget introduced the 'She-Marts' initiative, aimed at improving access to credit and innovative financial instruments.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's Budget 2026 aims for a 'Viksit Bharat,' launching a high-level banking review, a Rs 10,000 crore SME fund, and new initiatives like 'She-Mart' to support inclusion and future-ready growth."
Mr. Ayush Lohia, CEO, Zuperia Auto
"The Union Budget 2026 sends a strong and timely signal to India's EV and clean mobility ecosystem. The continuation of customs duty exemptions on capital goods and lithium-ion cell components, along with incentives for critical mineral processing, will significantly reduce manufacturing costs and strengthen domestic value chains. These measures will help accelerate scale, improve global competitiveness, and reinforce India's ambition to emerge as a self-reliant hub for advanced battery and EV manufacturing.
From a startup and MSME perspective, the ₹10,000 crore SME Growth Fund and enhanced liquidity through TReDS and GeM integration will ease access to capital and enable young enterprises to focus on innovation and expansion. This will be particularly impactful in Tier-2 and Tier-3 markets, where mobility and clean-energy solutions can drive both economic growth and employment. Overall, the Budget reflects a holistic approach towards sustainable industrial development and positions India firmly on the path to leadership in green mobility and entrepreneurship".
Ankit Kumar, CEO & Founder, Skye Air Mobility
Union Budget 2026 clearly marks India's transition from drone experimentation to infrastructure-led adoption, creating strong momentum for the drone, aviation, and logistics sectors. With a record ₹11 lakh crore public capex and sustained focus on Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, the Budget significantly expands opportunities for drone-enabled logistics in regions where road infrastructure remains inefficient. For drone sectors, this directly translates into higher demand for healthcare, essential, and time-critical deliveries, as well as district-level and enterprise logistics.
Enhanced support for MSMEs and SMEs through the ₹10,000 crore SME Growth Fund, Self-Reliant India Fund, and GeM–TReDS integration improves liquidity and shortens payment cycles, accelerating adoption of drone logistics. Strategic investments in bio-pharma and semiconductors, alongside incentives for data centres, IT services, and skilling, strengthen the technology. Collectively, these measures position drones as a strategic national capability and enable to scale as a sustainable, reliable, and ESG-aligned aerial logistics backbone across first-, mid-, and last-mile delivery.
Saurabh Rai, Chief Strategy & Growth Officer NeoGeoInfo Technologies Limited
The 2026–27 Budget sends a strong pro-growth and pro-employment signal through massive infrastructure investment, advanced manufacturing, MSME financing, and a clear focus on skilling for emerging technologies like AI. These measures can create sustainable jobs across sectors and strengthen India's long-term competitiveness. However, the absence of a direct policy or investment push for strategic domains such as geospatial intelligence and the space ecosystem is a missed opportunity, especially when these technologies are increasingly central to infrastructure planning, climate resilience, defence and digital governance. A targeted thrust here could have significantly amplified India's innovation and high-skill employment potential.
Chandresh Vithalani, Director- Palladian Partner Advisory Limited.
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" Today's Union Budget 2026-27 strikes the right chord for the real estate industry by underscoring the pivotal role of Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities in India's growth story. The renewed policy momentum — backed by sustained infrastructure investment and reforms that target urban expansion — will unlock demand across key micro-markets and support broader investment flows into both residential and commercial segments. This focus, aligned with the government's Viksit Bharat vision, lays the groundwork for healthier real estate absorption, stronger developer confidence, and vibrant urban futures in emerging cities."
"This year's Budget takes meaningful steps toward making India's tax ecosystem more transparent, predictable, and investor-friendly. For a country where millions are stepping into formal financial planning for the first time, clarity and simplicity in taxation are not just administrative improvements — they are confidence builders.
The overall framework has stayed the same, but it's good to see that the government is still working to make tax processes easier and less stressful for individual taxpayers. A tax system that is cleaner and clearer has a direct effect on how people save, invest, and prepare for the future.
As someone who had high hopes for tax reforms I think this Budget shows progress in the right direction especially when it comes to making compliance easier and filing easier. There is still opportunity for greater incentives for investors in the future, but the goal of enhancing financial discipline and giving taxpayers more authority is clear.
At MIRA Money, we remain committed to helping individuals navigate their taxes and investments in a way that brings them closer to financial freedom."— Anand K. Rathi, Co-Founder, MIRA Money.
