"The Union Budget sends a strong and reassuring signal for data centre and cloud investments in India. The proposed tax holiday till 2047 for foreign companies setting up data centres in the country provides long-term visibility and confidence for global players evaluating India as a strategic base for their cloud operations. The introduction of a defined safe harbour of 15% on cost for data services co-provided from India by related entities further brings clarity to cross-border operating models and reduces uncertainty around transfer pricing. Together, these measures simplify compliance, lower execution risk, and make it easier for companies to scale data centre and cloud-led services from India." - Mr. Umesh Shah, Director, New Age Technologies at Orient Technologies Limited
"The Union Budget 2026 clearly recognizes the Orange Economy, particularly the AVGC sector, as a strategic employment and growth engine for India. Measures such as setting up AVGC content creator labs across vocational training and specialized institutes, strengthening creative technology institutions, and the continued thrust under Skill India reflect a strong focus on industry-aligned, job-ready skilling. With the AVGC industry expected to require over 2 million skilled professionals by 2030, sustained hands-on training, curricula aligned with emerging technologies, and deep collaboration between government, academia, and skilling partners will be critical to building a globally competitive and future-ready creative workforce". - Mr. Sandip Weling, Whole-time Director and Chief Business Officer – Global Retail, Aptech Limited.
Mr. Sheetal Arora, Promoter & CEO, Mankind Pharma
"The Union Budget makes a clear and timely choice by placing biopharma at the centre of India's next manufacturing wave, alongside other frontier sectors. As India's disease burden shifts towards diabetes, cancer, and autoimmune disorders, and advanced NCD therapies gain wider adoption globally, the focus on biologics and biosimilars is both relevant and necessary. The Bio Pharma Shakti initiative recognises that longevity, quality of life, and affordability will define healthcare outcomes going forward.
The Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, has reinforced the Viksit Bharat vision through a ₹10,000 crore commitment to build a strong domestic biopharma ecosystem, strengthen institutions, upgrade the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization to global standards, and enable faster, predictable approvals. The full BCD exemption on 17 cancer drugs and targeted relief for rare diseases will further improve patient access while supporting innovation in high-need areas.
Over the coming years, the alignment of these reforms with the evolving **European Union–India trade framework will help Indian pharma move from scale to leadership, attract global investment, and strengthen India's position as a trusted manufacturing and innovation partner in advanced therapies."
Mr. Sanjiv Navangul, CEO, BSV ( A Mankind Group Company)
The Union Budget 2026 provides much-deserved momentum for India's biopharma journey. We welcome the government's intent to strengthen the biopharma ecosystem, and the Biopharma Shakti initiative is an encouraging step in this direction. The focus on building scale across strategic and frontier sectors creates the right environment for long-term improvements in health outcomes. The initiative recognises the need for innovation and research while creating a conducive ecosystem for good health through knowledge sharing and technology.
Alongside this, the emphasis on driving research by setting up new National Institutes of Pharmaceutical Education and Research will not only build talent but also augment the research capabilities of the country.
Strengthening the regulatory landscape through a robust biopharma-focused network, including enhanced capacity and faster approval timelines, will further support innovation and improve patient access.
Further, the proposed investment of Rs 10,000 crore over five years, along with the emphasis on domestic production, will go a long way in strengthening supply security and reducing dependence on imports. This aligns with the vision of BSV, as we remain committed to making in India for India and the world.
Additionally, the Budget's proposal to promote India as a global hub for sports goods is also encouraging. Improved access to quality sports equipment can help drive wider participation of women in sports while supporting healthier lifestyles."
Dr. Ankit Gupta, Managing Director, Park Medi World Limited
"The Union Budget 2026 presents a comprehensive roadmap for strengthening India's healthcare ecosystem at a time when the country's disease burden is shifting towards non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and autoimmune disorders, alongside a rapidly ageing population. The proposed addition of one lakh allied health professionals will help bridge workforce gaps across hospitals, rehabilitation centres, and community-based care settings. This is complemented by plans to train 1.5 lakh caregivers through NSQF-aligned, multi-skilled programmes, strengthening long-term, elderly, and post-acute care services.
The establishment of five regional medical tourism hubs in partnership with the private sector reinforces India's ambition to emerge as a preferred global healthcare destination. For hospital networks such as Park Hospitals, these initiatives create meaningful opportunities to scale specialised allied services, strengthen geriatric and rehabilitation care, and contribute to medical value tourism aligned with national healthcare priorities."
Dr. Vikram Kumar, Founder & Managing Director at SRV Media:
"Union Budget 2026 goes beyond allocations to architect ecosystems - linking education, healthcare, creativity, and industry at scale. From university townships and regional medical hubs to content creator labs and design institutes, the focus is clearly on future skills and employability. For brands and institutions, this marks a shift from transactional communication to purpose-led narratives rooted in impact and innovation. As policy enables new talent pipelines and digital-first learning, strategic communication will be critical in building credibility, attracting stakeholders, and translating policy vision into measurable public trust and growth."
Budget Reaction quotation from Revathi Kant, Chief Design Officer, Titan Company Ltd.
"Today's Budget recognizes the power of design-led growth, from strengthening India's handloom and handicrafts ecosystem to building AVGC capabilities in schools and colleges. These measures, if executed well, can sharpen India's creative supply chain and create sustained demand for homegrown design talent. The acknowledgement that India's design industry is expanding rapidly, even as the availability of trained designers has not kept pace, is particularly significant. In this context, the proposal to establish a new National Institute of Design through the challenge route, with a focus on the eastern and north-eastern region, is a timely step towards addressing structural talent gaps and widening access to quality design education.
Building a strong design ecosystem in India is imperative to the success of the Make in India initiative, and it is encouraging to see this Budget acknowledge that linkage through concrete interventions. The integrated push for handloom and handicraft development, spanning skilling, cluster modernisation and textile value-chain support, reinforces the role of design as an economic multiplier for artisan livelihoods and global competitiveness. Early exposure through AVGC and content-creator labs further strengthens the talent pipeline by embedding creativity, technology and storytelling skills at the school level.
The focus must now shift decisively to execution. Over the next 12–18 months, success will depend on converting policy intent into working capital access, cluster-level design incubation, and clear market pathways for artisans, designers and creators. A sharper emphasis on regional delivery, faculty depth and industry collaboration will be essential to translate these announcements into durable capacity for India's design ecosystem."
Neeti Sharma, CEO, TeamLease Digital:
"Unemployability has been a bigger challenge than unemployment in India. Education integrated with skills leading to employment is the only way to improve employability and employment for the youth of our country. The education to employment enterprises standing committee is a good move to bring all stakeholders together and ensure that the ecosystem works jointly towards a better employable future for our youth. This will help bring higher value jobs to India from global organizations and will further strengthen our presence across sectors such as IT, GCCs, BPMs, KPOs, Engineering, Healthcare amongst others. The link between school education, apprenticeships, internships and work integrated learning are key to our success and that should be this committee's key agenda."
Balasubramanian A, Senior Vice President, TeamLease Services: "Union budget establishes a robust framework for future-ready employment, leveraging a ₹40,000 crore semiconductor surge and 7 PM MITRA Mega Textile Parks to turn newly signed FTAs with the EU, UAE, and Australia into local manufacturing power. With investments for the textile sector, where job creation density is at its highest and launching the High-Powered 'Education to Employment' (E2E) Standing Committee, the government is bridging the gap between classroom and career. This unified roadmap is set to create a vast pipeline of high-value career opportunities, ensuring our youth are equipped to lead in the digital era and capture a 10% share of the global services market by 2047."
Neeti Sharma, CEO, TeamLease Digital:
"Lower TCS on manpower services and clear TDS treatment finally address long-standing ambiguity for the staffing industry. By easing cash-flow pressure and improving cost predictability, this will create the conditions for IT staffing firms to scale formal tech employment, support project-based digital hiring, and absorb demand from AI-led transformation without compromising compliance or workforce stability."
Balasubramanian A, Senior Vice President, TeamLease Services, "Today's budget signals a renewed emphasis on the services sector as a cornerstone of a Viksit Bharat, highlighted by the establishment of the High-Powered 'Education to Employment and Enterprise' Standing Committee. This committee will bridge the gap between classroom and career, ensuring our youth are future-ready to capture a 10% share of the global services market by 2047 up from <5% presently. This roadmap has the potential to drive a significant volume of job creation in the coming years, fueled by a surge in Global Capability Centres (GCCs) and digital exports.
By this, the budget ensures that our trade deals with the EU, UAE, Oman, UK, New Zealand, and Australia translate directly into millions of high-value jobs for a skilled India on our road to Viksit Bharat."
Mr. Avinash Ojha, Managing Director- RG Hospitals-
"The Budget 2026–27 masterfully lays the groundwork for a more inclusive and resilient healthcare system, weaving together infrastructure, affordability, and workforce skilling to address India's dual burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases, where NCDs drive a rising share of deaths and healthcare costs. By establishing five regional AYUSH medical hubs, it decentralises specialised care, from oncology to cardiology, bridging urban-rural divides and advancing health equity; these hubs could serve as telemedicine anchors, easing access for underserved regions like Bihar, Odisha, and the Northeast.
The sharp focus on cost-effective treatments for chronic and autoimmune diseases, including subsidised biologics and generics via the ₹10,000 crore Bio Pharma Shakti mission, pivots towards a preventive-care paradigm through early diagnostics and lifestyle interventions. Meanwhile, enhancing the WHO Traditional Medical Centre in Jamnagar and upgrading allied health training institutions will forge a hybrid ecosystem blending Ayurveda's holistic strengths with allopathic precision, scaling skilled manpower to support integrated care models nationwide.
Overall, these initiatives catalyse a future-proof healthcare engine, boosting productivity via healthier demographics, attracting private investments, and positioning India as a global leader in affordable, culturally attuned medical innovation."
Nikita Kumawat, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Brandworks Technologies
"Union Budget 2026 marks a significant change in India's electronics and semiconductor journey, shifting the focus from capacity creation to long-term capability development. The introduction of the Indian Semiconductor Mission 2.0 and the launch of the Shakti initiative, coupled with an enhanced financial outlay of Rs 40,000 crore, further strengthen the ecosystem and reflect the government's commitment to building a future-ready ecosystem across equipment, materials, full-stack IP, and resilient supply chains.
The focus on domestic component manufacturing, R&D, and workforce upskilling is a critical step towards strengthening India's position in the global electronics value chain. These measures will reduce import dependence and create the foundation for innovation-led, sustainable growth.
India's next phase of progress will be driven by companies that integrate design, engineering, and advanced manufacturing at scale, for which Budget 2026 lays the groundwork. This transition reinforces India's ambition to emerge as a global hub for electronics and semiconductor innovation."
Mr. Rajesh Rokde, Chairman, All India Gem & Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC)
"The Union Budget 2026–27 reflects a stable and sensitive approach towards the Gems & Jewellery industry. The absence of any increase in customs duty or GST, continued policy certainty, strong MSME and cluster support, ease-of-doing-business measures, and litigation-reducing income-tax reforms together provide confidence to the trade and reinforce the Government's recognition of our sector as a key contributor to employment, exports, and economic growth."
Mr. Avinash Gupta, Vice Chairman, All India Gem & Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC)
"The Gems & Jewellery trade welcomes the Union Budget 2026-27. The absence of any increase in customs duty, combined with strong MSME support, improved access to finance, simplified income-tax compliance, and enhanced ease-of-doing-business measures, will enable jewellers across the value chain to plan confidently and focus on sustainable growth amid global uncertainties."
“The Union Budget 2026 strongly reinforces a manufacturing-first, 'Make in India' approach, which is encouraging for companies that are deeply invested in domestic production and local supply chains. The continued push on infrastructure, with capital expenditure raised to ₹12.2 lakh crore, will directly benefit beverage manufacturers by improving logistics efficiency, distribution reach, and last-mile connectivity across markets. The focus on localisation across bottling, packaging and allied inputs supports greater cost stability and resilience, while sustained support for MSMEs remains critical given their integral role in our vendor and transport ecosystem. Although there were no direct tax incentives for non-alcoholic beverages, the broader pro-manufacturing and pro-consumption policy environment, along with ongoing discussions on GST rationalisation, provides a positive foundation for volume-led growth and long-term expansion of India's packaged beverage sector.”Mr. Paritosh Ladhani, Joint Managing Director of SLMG Beverages.
By Abhishek Tharwani, Director, Tharwani Realty
The proposal in the Union Budget 2026 to unlock and recycle the underutilized CPSE real estate assets is a welcome move in the right direction to accelerate the pace of urban development. The government's initiative to bring idle land and properties into the mainstream economy through a structured monetization process will not only create value but also help alleviate land bottlenecks in major urban hubs. This move has the potential to create a major multiplier effect in the real estate and construction sector and will help accelerate housing and infrastructure development, among others. If implemented efficiently, the CPSE asset recycling initiative has the potential to transform city skylines and help achieve affordable housing goals.
By Dhiren Tharwani, Director, Tharwani Realty
The emphasis on CPSE real estate asset recycling in the Union Budget 2026 is a progressive change in the perception of public land resources as growth facilitators, rather than dormant assets. The need to redevelop these assets can help close the demand-supply gap between the increasing demand for land in urban areas and the scarcity of land, particularly in metro and Tier I cities. This is an opportunity for the real estate sector to develop land in a planned and mixed-use manner, which meets the needs of the modern city. The success of this project will depend on its transparency and a collaborative approach between the government and private developers.
Anirudh Damani, Director, Artha India Ventures
"The announcement of Semiconductor Mission 2.0 is a timely and well‑structured step that builds continuity and execution depth into India's semiconductor ambitions. What stands out is the clarity it provides across manufacturing, design and supply‑chain enablement, which is critical for long‑cycle capital and serious industrial participation. This reinforces India's intent to emerge as a credible global semiconductor hub and meaningfully improves long‑term confidence for investors and operators alike.
That said, deep tech as a category did not receive a specific mention in this year's Budget, despite its growing strategic importance. In particular, the space ecosystem represents a missed opportunity. Globally, space technologies are seeing rapid private participation, strong downstream commercial use cases and increasing strategic relevance. A clearer policy signal here would have strengthened India's positioning in another frontier sector where it already has foundational strengths."
Kareena Bulchandance, Founder of Mokai Cafe a well known spot in the heart of Mumbai - Bandra-"This Budget's continued focus on services, tourism, skilling and ease of doing business is encouraging for the food and beverage sector. Measures around hospitality education, MSME support and improved urban infrastructure will help café and restaurant brands like ours scale more sustainably, create jobs and deliver better consumer experiences. A stronger services ecosystem directly strengthens India's dining and café culture."
Nakul Kundra, CEO & Co-Founder, Devnagri
"The Union Budget 2026 strengthens the Government's initiative to make technology, especially AI, a core driver of India's next growth phase. Equally encouraging is the Budget's emphasis on applied technology adoption, from AI-driven customised advisory tools and multilingual platforms like Bharat Vistar, to the use of AI for more efficient, transparent along with data-driven governance and is highly celebrated and reflects a strong commitment to integrating such initiatives at scale. Initiatives such as the ₹10,000 crore MSME Growth Fund and the renewed focus on cities as growth engines can meaningfully democratise AI beyond large enterprises, particularly across manufacturing and public services. That said, real impact will depend on execution, specifically lowering compute costs, expanding domestic data-centre capacity, enabling language-first AI systems, and building high-quality Indian datasets anchored in data dignity, consent, and trust."
Nikita Kumawat, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Brandworks Technologies
"Union Budget 2026 marks a significant change in India's electronics and semiconductor journey, shifting the focus from capacity creation to long-term capability development. The introduction of the Indian Semiconductor Mission 2.0 and the launch of the Shakti initiative, coupled with an enhanced financial outlay of Rs 40,000 crore, further strengthen the ecosystem and reflect the government's commitment to building a future-ready ecosystem across equipment, materials, full-stack IP, and resilient supply chains.
The focus on domestic component manufacturing, R&D, and workforce upskilling is a critical step towards strengthening India's position in the global electronics value chain. These measures will reduce import dependence and create the foundation for innovation-led, sustainable growth.India's next phase of progress will be driven by companies that integrate design, engineering, and advanced manufacturing at scale, for which Budget 2026 lays the groundwork. This transition reinforces India's ambition to emerge as a global hub for electronics and semiconductor innovation."
Raghav Gupta, Founder & CEO, Futurense.
"Budget 2026–27 reinforces India's intent to lead in the AI age by putting talent and capability building at the centre of national progress. The government's three Kartavya - driving growth, strengthening people's capacity and ensuring opportunity for all align strongly with the direction in which the technology ecosystem is moving.
The introduction of the Capacity Building AI Missions for 25 crore people, along with support for the National Quantum Mission, Anusandhan Research Fund, and the R&D and Innovation Fund, signals a long term commitment to creating both the talent and the infrastructure required for an AI-native economy. This is not just an investment in technology but an investment in people. By expanding access to advanced learning and accelerating innovation pathways, the Budget lays the groundwork for a workforce that can build, deploy and lead with AI across global industries. It opens the door for deeper industry, academia collaboration and a future defined by capability, confidence, and opportunity."
Kishan Sundar, SVP and Chief Technology Officer, Maveric Systems
"Union Budget 2026 makes it clear that AI and IT services will play a central role in shaping the next phase of India's banking and financial services growth. As credit demand remains strong and banks operate under tighter funding and regulatory conditions, the emphasis on digital infrastructure, AI-led innovation and technology-enabled productivity is both timely and necessary.
The Budget's focus on strengthening IT services and deepening digital capabilities provides added momentum for banks to accelerate AI adoption across credit decisioning, risk management, compliance and customer engagement. With increasing system complexity and scale, AI-driven automation and data-led decisioning are becoming essential for banks to grow responsibly while improving efficiency and resilience. Overall, the Budget reinforces technology as a foundational pillar for sustainable growth in the banking ecosystem."
