Budget Expectations Highlights: Sectors seek growth, policy support and tax reforms; all eyes on FM Nirmala Sitharaman

Catch latest updates on Budget 2026 here.

Budget expectations LIVE updates: Rahul Guha, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of API Holdings, said in the upcoming Budget 2026-27, the government is expected to focus on digital healthcare and startup growth in the healthcare sector.

“The government's consistent focus on digital healthcare and startup growth has been instrumental in expanding healthcare access across India. As we approach the budget, we see exciting opportunities to further accelerate this progress,” said the industry expert.

Guha said that as businesses adapt to evolving labour guidelines, thoughtful tax or GST measures could help ensure that compliance costs don't impact healthcare affordability for end consumers.

“Increased allocations towards road infrastructure, technology-enabled smart bus terminals, and a robust digital ticketing ecosystem can significantly enhance safety, efficiency, and the overall passenger experience in intercity bus travel,” said Manoj Soni, CEO, YoloBus and Easy Green Mobility.

“Indian agriculture needs deeper digitisation, stronger technology adoption, and greater farmer participation online. A renewed push to the Digital Agriculture Mission, especially by supporting agritech companies with projects in AI-based crop monitoring, GPS-driven farm mapping, and intelligent interventions such as drone-enabled farming, can accelerate this shift meaningfully,” said Amith Agarwal, co-founder and CEO of StarAgri.

“As we look at Budget 2026, we need to make water our national priority, not just a state subject. Just like highways connected the country economically, we now need “water highways” to move surplus water to drought-hit regions,” said Amit Banka, Founder & CEO of WeNaturalists.

Budget 2026 marks Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's ninth consecutive Union Budget presentation.

“The forthcoming Union Budget 2026 calls for a transformative opportunity to substantially boost India's infrastructure and mining sectors. We strongly anticipate strong initiatives that indicate significant capital investment into large-scale projects, incentivise the adoption of innovative green technology, and rationalise duties on critical materials to reduce cost constraints,” Sanjay Choudhari, Chairman, SBL Energy

“Budget 2026 needs to initiate a deeper structural transformation. A meaningful increase in defence allocation is essential given the evolving geopolitical scenario and India’s ambition to achieve ₹50,000 crore in defence exports by 2030. The focus needs to remain on boosting self-reliance in defence manufacturing,” said Jaikaran Chandock, Director at Balu Forge Industries Ltd.

Aiming for significant expansion of its flagship food processing schemes, the government is planning to allocate approximately 28,000 crore over the next five years in the upcoming Union budget to enhance value addition, cut post-harvest losses, and increase farmers' incomes through improved market linkages, government officials aware of the matter told Mint. Read full report here.

The Union Budget is an annual exercise, where the Finance Minister lays out the year's financial statement before both Houses of Parliament under Article 112 of the Constitution of India. The Budget typically contains the estimated annual receipts and expenditure of the following financial year.

The Union Budget also announces tax amendment proposals, key expenditure and development areas, proposed policies, and reforms.

“As India moves from reactive healthcare to preventive and predictive wellness, the Union Budget presents a critical opportunity to accelerate this shift. We hope to see stronger policy and fiscal support for AI-driven health platforms, digital diagnostics, and personalised wellness solutions that leverage genomics, biomarker intelligence, and real-time health data,” said Dr Sajeev Nair, Founder and Chairman, Vieroots, a health tech company.

"Specialised education in construction, real estate, infrastructure and project management is critical to bridging the academia–industry gap. Targeted funding for advanced labs, digital tools, sustainability research and applied R&D can significantly strengthen execution capacity,” said Dr Tapash Kumar Ganguli, Director-General, NICMAR.

“The NCR area remains the backbone of North India's real estate sector, majorly contributing to residential and commercial development. Measures such as stamp duty reductions, easier access to home loans, and incentives for first-time buyers can reassure end-users and increase demand. Focus on infrastructure, connectivity and livability, and further allocations will further aid buyer confidence and support long-term growth,” said Aman Sharma, Founder and Managing Director, Aarize Group

“Investing equally in health, nutrition and safety is crucial to have full participation of women in the workforce. The country will develop resilience, dignity, and sustainable progress with a people-centric budget that empowers communities at the local level,” said Prachi Kaushik, Founder and Director, Vyomini Social Enterprise.

“Easier access to credit, sharper tax incentives and dedicated investment platforms for women-led startups can address long-standing structural gaps. Simplifying compliance and offering early stage tax relief would allow more women to formalise, scale and compete on equal footing,” said Rachel J Amirtharaj, Founder, La Fantaisie.

The budget session kicks off on 28 January with a joint address by the President in Parliament.

Budget expectations LIVE updates: Prasann Kedia, Managing Director at Associated Alcohols & Breweries, the alcobev sector is expecting rationalisation across taxation and regulatory frameworks as the industry looks towards an alcohol-content-based tax structure.

“As we look ahead to Union Budget 2026, the alcobev sector is hopeful for measures that bring greater policy predictability and rationalisation across taxation and regulatory frameworks. One of the key expectations is a move toward a more balanced, alcohol-content-based tax structure, which would help address pricing distortions across states and improve transparency for both consumers and manufacturers,” said Kedia.

The market expert also said that the industry is seeking simplification of customs duties on imported raw materials and brewing inputs, along with clearer import–export guidelines in an effort to support premiumisation and global competitiveness.

Ankur Indrakush, MD and co-founder at Plutas AI feels that while existing government insurance schemes focus on long-term compensation, immediate livelihood protection remains missing.

• A pre-funded, data-driven parametric insurance framework can enable rule-based, real-time payouts triggered by objective climate data, reducing delays and leakages.
• As India’s gig workforce expands rapidly, Budget 2026 support for pilots, incentives, and Centre-State coordination can shift disaster response from reactive relief to proactive climate resilience.
• From the 2026 Union Budget, clear policy direction, pilot funding, fiscal incentives, stronger Centre-State coordination, GIC Re participation, and alignment with NDMA and SDMA frameworks can help India transition from reactive relief to proactive climate resilience and set a global benchmark in climate security.

Raja Manickam, Founder & CEO of iVP Semi feels that the next phase of the semiconductor mission must be about outcomes, not just assets.

• Budget 2026 should prioritize incentives for domestic consumption, preferential pricing for Indian-designed chips
• Funding for mature-node technologies such as power and analogue devices, where India can realistically scale.

Sundeep Mohindru, Founder & Promoter of M1xchange feels emphasis must shift from intent to impact, particularly in strengthening the cash flows of micro and small enterprises that form over 90% of India’s MSME base.

• Prioritise active transacting and measurable increases in invoice volumes rather than registrations alone.
• Greater and more consistent participation from PSUs is especially critical to improving payment discipline across supply chains.
• Encourage phased or targeted mandates for PSU transacting on TReDS platforms, giving lenders higher confidence and enabling MSMEs to unlock working capital against confirmed receivables at lower cost.
• Expand credit-guarantee support for invoice-based financing will further reduce borrowing costs for small businesses.
• A parallel shift towards cash-flow-based lending by leveraging data from GST filings, e-invoices and utility payments, can significantly widen formal credit access for MSMEs that remain constrained by balance-sheet limitations.
• Increase adoption of deep-tier financing platforms will help extend liquidity beyond first-level suppliers, allowing smaller MSMEs to integrate more effectively into value chains and unlock productivity, scale and sustainable growth across the sector.

Ayush Jhawar, Founder and CEO of Genefied feels the Budget should focus on policies that advance digital transformation for consumer brands and retail ecosystems.

“Tax incentives, easier access to R&D funding, and regulatory frameworks that support QR-based product authentication should also be given additional incentives to spur growth in both general trade and modern retail,” Jhawar added.

Samarth Setia, Founder of Rezio.ai feels that Budget 2026 can expand homeownership by cutting the hidden costs that quietly get passed on to buyers.

• Time-bound single-window approvals and stamp duty rationalisation can reduce price increase due to delays.
• Targeted relief for first-time and mid-income buyers through higher home-loan interest deductions can ease EMI pressure.
• For developers: Faster clearances, cleaner rules, and sustained urban infrastructure capex that unlocks new catchments and makes more locations livable and investable.
• For brokers: Compliance should be cheaper and simpler with a fully digital, standardised RERA registration flow, alongside stricter action against unregistered agents.
• Regulate online property advertising the way Dubai does, with a Trakheesi-style permit that is issued and validated via State RERA and linked to government land-record systems, so portals publish only listings carrying a regulator-generated permit or QR.

Prof. (Dr.) Daviender Narang, Director of Jaipuria Institute of Management feels the Union Budget 2026 should focus on inclusive growth driven by investments in education, skill development, and employment generation.

• Support for MSMEs, startups, and digital infrastructure can further boost innovation and job creation.
• Rational taxation and inflation control are essential to provide relief to the middle class and sustain consumption.
• A balanced, reform-oriented budget can accelerate economic growth while ensuring long-term stability.

Anmay Shahlot, Co-Founder of Atovio feels that Union Budget 2026 has an opportunity to strengthen India’s preventive healthcare ecosystem by recognising clean indoor air as a basic necessity.

• Policy support through tax rationalisation and incentives can make these solutions more accessible, especially for urban families and vulnerable groups.

According to Nagendra Nath Sinha, IAS (Retd.) and MD of Rodic Digital & Advisory, India's 6.5 million km road network requires adoption of a Digital Road Asset Management System (RAMS).

• Adoption of Digital RAMS, integrated with Performance-Based Maintenance Contracts to improve service quality, optimise lifecycle costs, enhance road safety, and extend asset life.
• MoRTH’s eDisha programme implementation remains largely voluntary; we expect Budget to address this gap by mandating Digital RAMS across all National Highways.
• Dedicated financial support mechanism for states either through a standalone scheme or CRF-linked grants and by recognising Digital RAMS with performance-based contracting as a notified reform under the Scheme of Assistance to States for Capital Expenditure.
• Operationalize India’s Net Zero 2070 commitment through Green Public Procurement.
• Institutionalize green procurement by major public buyers such as MoRTH, Railways and CPWD.

• Budget 2026 marks Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's ninth consecutive Union Budget presentation.
• The budget session kicks off on 28 January with a joint address by the President in Parliament.
• Key dates: Presentation of the Economic Survey on 31 January, Budget speech on 1 February, Budget session ends 2 April.

Budget 2026 is significant because this is the 9th consecutive time FM Nirmala Sitharaman is set to present the annual financial statement. Next year, she will equal Moraji Desai's record of presenting 10 Budgets. Sitharaman is the only finance minister to have presented nine consecutive budgets.

Budget 2026 will also be the second full-fledged Budget of the third term of the Narendra Modi-led central government. Last year, Sitharaman presented the Budget in July after the government was voted to power.

The Union Budget is an annual exercise in which the Finance Minister lays forth the year's financial statement before both Houses of Parliament under Article 112 of the Constitution of India. The Budget typically contains the estimated annual receipts and expenditure of the following financial year.

The Union Budget also announces tax amendment proposals, key areas for expenditure and development, proposed policies, and reforms.

Good morning and welcome to Mint's LIVE coverage ahead of the Union Budget 2026, as we bring you the latest news and updates and industry expectations ahead of the official announcement this year.