"As the industry looks toward India's Budget 2026, the wire and cable sector expects the government to deploy multiple growth-enabling levers to sustain momentum. A key expectation is a continued increase in capital expenditure on infrastructure development, including railways, airports, seaports, metro and urban utilities (power and communication), which directly drives demand for wires and cables. The industry also sees significant opportunity in higher spending on real estate and housing, supported by reforms in land acquisition processes and easier access to financing to create stronger consumer pull. By combining infrastructure expansion with targeted incentives for AI-led manufacturing and reinforcing the 'Make in India' vision, Budget 2026 can offer the stability and policy clarity needed for the manufacturing ecosystem to achieve long-term market leadership and economic resilience. " - Mahesh Vishwanathan, Deputy CEO & CFO, Finolex Cables Ltd.
Vivek Singh, CEO, Home Credit India-
India’s credit landscape is steadily maturing, with personal loans, EMI-led products, Loan against property, Two Wheeler loans etc playing an increasingly important role in supporting both essential needs and personal aspirations. Insights from our How India Borrows 7.0 study show that affordability and flexibility are central to borrowing decisions today—46% of borrowers prioritise manageable EMIs, 38% value quick disbursal, and 37% seek features such as early loan closure. This clearly reflects a growing preference for transparent, customer-centric credit solutions that align with real-life financial planning.
At the same time, consumers are becoming more mindful about borrowing, underscoring the importance of continued efforts around financial awareness and responsible credit usage as unsecured lending scales further.
As we look ahead to the 2026 Union Budget, we hope to see sustained focus on measures that strengthen responsible lending—through enhanced financial literacy initiatives, stronger transparency frameworks and continued investment in advanced credit infrastructure. Such steps can further empower consumers to access credit with confidence and clarity.
The 2025 Budget’s emphasis on boosting consumption, strengthening digital public infrastructure and advancing financial inclusion has already created a strong foundation for financial institutions focussing on consumer needs. Building on this momentum, the upcoming Budget can help credit evolve into a powerful enabler of financial independence and everyday resilience for Indian households.
Mr.Sanyam Gandhi, Whole-time Director, Chartered Speed limited and Mr. Abhishek Malik, Executive Director, Calcom Vision limited
Shared mobility is intended to improve connectivity across urban and inter-city corridors, especially as India's transport ecosystem is expected to enter a phase of sustained infrastructure investment. Institutions such as Convergence Energy Services Limited (CESL) have played a role in creating a structured framework for scaling electric bus adoption through Public-Private Partnerships, with the Payment Security Mechanism expected to emerge as a key enabler in building confidence among private operators. In parallel, investments in electric mobility, digital infrastructure, telematics, and advanced safety systems are expected to enhance operational efficiency and service reliability. Together, these measures are believed to support the expansion of multi-modal transport, improve commuter experience, and address rising travel demand as economic activity strengthens contributing to a more future-ready mobility ecosystem.
- Sanyam Gandhi, Whole-time Director, Chartered Speed limited
India's lighting and electronics manufacturing sector is entering a new phase of transition. Over the past few years, PLI-led investments have enabled capacity expansion and improved operational stability.
Within the lighting segment, the industry is gradually shifting from assembly-focused manufacturing toward greater value addition in areas such as design, optics, drivers, controls, and energy-efficient systems. Demand is moving toward smart and connected lighting solutions, supported by growth in commercial real estate, infrastructure development, and tighter energy efficiency norms. This shift highlights the importance of building deeper manufacturing and technology capabilities.
As the Union Budget approaches, policy measures that support component manufacturing, electronics, and system-level development could play a role in shaping the sector's next phase. Incentives for R&D, tooling, and backward integration may help reduce import dependence for critical components and improve supply chain resilience, while sustained focus on energy efficiency can support long-term competitiveness.
- Mr. Abhishek Malik, Executive Director, Calcom Vision limited
HRV Pharma: As India gets ready for the Annual Budget 2026, the pharmaceutical sector is focusing on long-term policy stability that encourages innovation, quality, and resilience rather than just short-term benefits.
It will be important to restore competitive R&D incentives, adjust GST on essential therapies, and increase support for API and biosimilar manufacturing.
Smart regulation, rather than strict regulation, can help Indian pharma shift from being volume-driven to being led by innovation.
-Hari Kiran Chereddi, MD & CEO, HRV Pharma
Mr. Yoda- We are hopeful that Budget 2026 will further cement India's leadership in health tech and AI-driven healthcare through smart investments in digital infrastructure and prevention-first models. Targeted support for AI R&D, upskilling tech-enabled clinical teams, and deploying AI-led screening in primary healthcare can enable early detection and accessible preventive care. At the same time, investment in foundational AI infrastructure, such as large-scale DNA mapping and genomic intelligence, can shift India from reactive treatment to predictive, preventive healthcare, helping to set global benchmarks for affordable, technology-enriched healthcare for all.
-Aditi Ohri - Mr. Yoda, Co-Founder
Shri Mahavir Goel, Chairman of Venkateshwar International School (VIS), on Education:
"With Budget 2026 on the horizon, the education sector is looking forward to policy measures that meaningfully enhance learning quality. With nearly 40% of India's population under the age of 25, upcoming reforms must prioritise robust digital infrastructure, encourage a culture of deep research, and enable a futuristic curriculum rooted in AI, data science, and emerging technologies. This calls for increased public investment in digital learning, teacher development, and infrastructure that can genuinely strengthen and future-proof India's education ecosystem."
Mr. Deepak Chand Thakur, Chairman and Managing Director of NPST
As India continues its digital transformation, the Union Budget 2026–27 comes at an important moment for the payments ecosystem. With UPI processing over 228.3 billion transactions in 2025, digital payments have become deeply embedded in everyday economic activity. They also reflect India's leadership in building digital public infrastructure at scale.
As the ecosystem matures, there is an opportunity to strengthen the economic foundations that support this growth. The zero MDR framework has played a critical role in accelerating adoption and inclusion. At the same time, rising transaction volumes and system complexity point to the need for funding models that allow payment service providers to continue investing in infrastructure, security, and innovation. This is especially important for expanding reach in rural and underserved areas.
Recent reductions in incentive allocations, alongside higher performance expectations, highlight the importance of predictable and balanced support mechanisms. Providers continue to invest significantly, with annual costs estimated at ₹4,000 to ₹5,000 crore. They also meet stringent benchmarks on uptime, reliability, and technical performance. These standards are essential to maintaining trust in the system and deserve strong fiscal alignment.
Budget 2026 presents an opportunity to reinforce the long-term sustainability of digital payments. Options such as a calibrated MDR for high-turnover merchants or a structured multi-year reimbursement framework could help create a more resilient operating model. Such approaches can preserve affordability while enabling continued investment.
Continued focus on core payment infrastructure will also be critical. Scalable platforms, automated reconciliation, advanced risk management, and strong cybersecurity capabilities underpin real-time payments. Strengthening these areas will support banks, fintechs, and ecosystem partners in delivering secure and high-quality services across India.
With thoughtful policy choices, the Union Budget can help shape the next phase of growth. It can ensure that India's payments ecosystem remains inclusive, resilient, innovative, and globally trusted.
Siddhartha Abburi, Director, Avantel Limited
"As India approaches the Union Budget, we anticipate a sharper policy emphasis on building sovereign technology capabilities across strategic communications, defence electronics, and satellite-enabled systems. Sustained investment in defence modernisation, space-based connectivity, and secure digital infrastructure will be essential to creating resilient, mission-critical platforms that are designed, developed, and manufactured domestically.
For the defence and space communications ecosystem, focused support for design-led R&D, domestic production of advanced communication technologies, and long-term procurement clarity can enable Indian enterprises to play a deeper and more predictable role in national security and strategic infrastructure. Policy measures that accelerate indigenisation across high-value electronics, system integration, and software-defined communication architectures will be increasingly critical as operational requirements scale in both sophistication and complexity.
A strong emphasis on R&D incentives, advanced skills in communications and embedded systems, and an improved ease-of-doing-business environment for technology manufacturers can position India to deliver globally competitive, indigenous solutions, thereby strengthening strategic self-reliance while generating high-value employment and innovation-led growth."
Sameer Kanodia, Managing Director and CEO of Lumina Datamatics Limited
As India prepares for the Union Budget, we expect a sharper policy focus on strengthening digital and AI-led infrastructure that underpins knowledge services, publishing, and the fast-growing retail and e-commerce ecosystem. Continued investments in advanced technologies such as AI, automation, and cloud platforms will be critical to improving productivity across content creation, digital publishing workflows, and large-scale retail operations.
For the publishing sector, targeted support for technology-enabled content production, research digitisation, and global content services exports can help Indian companies deepen their role in the international knowledge economy. Similarly, policy measures that encourage data-driven retail operations, catalogue automation, and digital supply chains will be vital as e-commerce scales in complexity and volume.
Aligned with our expectations, a strong emphasis on AI-focused skill development, R&D incentives, and ease of doing business for technology-driven service providers that can enable companies to continue building globally competitive solutions from India, while creating high-value employment and accelerating innovation across publishing and commerce."
Nagesh Basavanhalli, Transformation & Growth Partner-
"India has built a strong base for long-term economic growth through steady focus on manufacturing, mobility, and digital infrastructure. As we approach the 2026 Budget, maintaining policy stability along with focused reforms can help sustain this momentum.
Greater support for micro mobility especially two- and three-wheelers and public transport fleets along with a practical push for EV and hybrid vehicles, can make clean and affordable last-mile mobility more accessible at scale. Strengthening the PLI framework to improve manufacturing competitiveness across mobility, electronics, and components will also help India deepen its role in global supply chains.
Investing in skill and talent development across manufacturing, technology, and mobility services is equally critical. When combined with support for Global Capability Centres for technology-led businesses, these steps can encourage innovation, enable efficient growth, and attract long-term investment as India moves from growth to leadership."
Mr. Shiozawa Kazuyuki, Managing Director, TOTO India of Japanese Luxuryware brand, TOTO Global-
Quote: “As a manufacturer with a strong production footprint in Gujarat, TOTO India looks to the Union Budget to further strengthen India’s manufacturing ecosystem. Continued focus on infrastructure development, water conservation, and incentives for sustainable and energy-efficient manufacturing will help global companies like ours deepen Domestic production, enhance supply-chain resilience, and create long-term skilled employment. Policy support that encourages innovation, green technologies, and ease of doing business will be critical in accelerating India’s journey towards becoming a global manufacturing hub and further aligning with the ‘Make in India’ push.”
Dr Geetanjali Chopra, Founder and President, Wishes & Blessings NGO said "As the Union Budget approaches, we expect policies that strengthen India's ecosystem of giving. Clearer and more beneficial tax incentives for donors, along with simpler and more transparent compliance rules for NGOs. Ambiguity around what counts as tax-eligible donations often creates unnecessary challenges for both donors and civil society organisations. In addition, predictable CSR partnerships, greater regulatory clarity and exemption of NGOs from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) would help organisations plan better and scale their impact. We hope the Budget recognises NGOs as true partners in nation-building—where policy supports purpose and social impact becomes a national priority."
"For the Media and Entertainment industry, Union Budget 2026 should focus on a few practical steps. A single, lower GST rate for digital subscriptions, tax incentives for original Indian content, and easier compliance for small and mid-size OTT platforms will make an immediate difference. Budget support for regional content and clearer rules for digital advertising can help the industry grow sustainably, create jobs, and scale Indian storytelling globally."-Pratap Jain - Founder and CEO at ChanaJor.
"We need to uniquely position India to lead in the next wave of global protein demand. In the 1960s, we fought for calorie security (Green Revolution). In 2026, we must aim for protein sovereignty. If we don't own the protein chain, we will keep exporting commodities and importing value.
Seafood is India's proof-of-concept that we can climb the agri-value chain. It sits within a $600 billion global protein economy and has already demonstrated that India can produce at scale for some of the world's most demanding markets. The next unlock is downstream.
The Union Budget 2026–27 can accelerate this shift with three levers. One, a brand India fund to make India-origin seafood a premium label. (Think, Norwegian salmon!) Two, a value-added processing PLI to move from frozen raw to table-ready formats, where pricing power sits. Three, incentivising AI-led traceability and preventive quality at source can strengthen access to high-compliance markets while improving realisation per tonne.
As India tracks toward a $5 trillion economy by FY 2028–29, value-added protein exports can become a strategic engine to build foreign exchange strength and employment density in the agri-food sector. Recognising protein as a strategic export category within India's roadmap, we can become a premium nutritional partner to the developed economies. We should not approach this as just trade; it is an industrial policy by design." - Utham Gowda, Founder and CEO, Captain Fresh.
