As India prepares for the Union Budget 2026–27, industry leaders across manufacturing, real estate, healthcare, critical minerals, hospitality, and urban infrastructure are looking for policy clarity, execution efficiency, and long-term planning that aligns economic growth with sustainability, quality of life, and resilience. With rising urbanisation, evolving consumer aspirations, and expanding infrastructure investments, the coming Budget is seen as an opportunity to reinforce confidence across sectors that directly shape how Indians live, build, travel, and access essential services.
Manufacturing, consumption, and premiumisation
From a manufacturing standpoint, Kuldip Raina, MD & CEO, Shalimar Paints, notes that under the Make in India push, “rationalised taxes and customs duties are expected to enable paint manufacturers to better innovate products, increase expenditure on R&D, invest higher capital in manufacturing and reduce cost of production.” He adds, “If the budget continues with favourable measures that support household demand through reduced GST and tax relief, the industry can see a reduced repainting cycle and higher consumption of premium paints. With a lower tax burden on income, higher disposable incomes among individuals can increase spending on quality of life, directly impacting manufacturing demand and premiumisation.”
Urban development and real estate execution
Developers are calling for a sharper focus on sustainable, infrastructure-led urban growth. Raahil Reddy, Director of Residential Projects, Fortune Primero, says the Budget should deliver “a stronger push towards sustainable urban development, including faster approvals for green buildings, incentives for energy-efficient design, water-positive planning, and new-age construction technologies. He adds that infrastructure-driven development is as important and enables developers to “deliver communities, not just real estate, to enhance the lifestyle of people.”
Echoing the need for clarity and stability, R. Rajasekhar Reddy, Managing Director, Trendsquares, says “As a developer who works closely with homebuyers and project ecosystems on the ground, I feel the real estate sector today is looking for clarity, stability, and execution efficiency. The next step, in my view, is to make it easier for us to plan, build, and deliver responsibly.” He adds, “For affordable and mid-income housing, what matters most is policy continuity, land enablement, and smoother project clearances, not subsidies alone. If this Budget reinforces transparency, consistency, and infrastructure-led planning, it will give developers the confidence to build better life spaces, deliver with discipline, and contribute to India’s urban growth in a way that is sustainable, not overheated.”
Healthcare, wellness, and preventive care
In healthcare, Dr. Mukesh Batra, Founder-Chairman Emeritus, Dr Batra’s® Healthcare, highlights an opportunity to “re-orient healthcare delivery towards prevention, early intervention, and personalised care. Equally important, however, is the judicious utilisation of allocated funds and a clear assessment of their on-ground impact on beneficiaries’ effective implementation must go hand-in-hand with budgetary planning.”
He adds, “We also expect the forthcoming Budget to strengthen insurance coverage and wellness provisions to include long-term preventive care, while accelerating investments in digital health infrastructure and community-based clinics. Such measures can bridge access gaps in Tier-2, Tier-3, and semi-urban regions. Keeping affordability at the core, through targeted tax incentives, employer-led wellness programs, and robust public-private partnerships, will be critical to reducing out-of-pocket expenses and ensuring sustainable, inclusive healthcare growth for India.”
Focusing on fertility care, Abhishek Aggrawal, CEO, Birla Fertility and IVF, says “Budget 2026 has an opportunity to enable earlier and more efficient fertility care through practical measures. Integrating fertility screening into preventive health programmes and extending insurance coverage to diagnostics and early-stage interventions would allow people to seek care sooner, when treatment is more effective and costs are better controlled.”
He adds that access must be matched with quality. “National standards for fertility laboratories, structured training for embryologists, and consistent clinical protocols are essential to delivering safe and reliable outcomes across the country. Strong fertility care infrastructure supports family formation, demographic stability, and a more resilient healthcare system, making it a logical inclusion in India’s health and economic planning.”
Critical minerals and resource security
From a resource and energy-security perspective, Dr. Hanuma Prasad Modali, MD & CEO, Deccan Gold Mines, says that if India is serious about building a self-reliant critical minerals ecosystem, the Budget must “move decisively from intent to execution.” He points to the importance of policy certainty that enables projects to move faster from exploration to production, without diluting environmental or social safeguards.
He adds, “Finally, India must look beyond mining alone. Supporting the downstream value chain, through clarity on battery scrap and black mass classifications, rational GST structures, and closer coordination with defence, space and advanced manufacturing, will be critical to building a resilient, end-to-end critical minerals value chain anchored in India.”
Hospitality, tourism, and regional connectivity
The hospitality and tourism sector, contributing approximately 7–8% of GDP, is looking for measures that enhance affordability and accessibility. Rahul Deb Banerjee, COO, The Clarks Hotels & Resorts, says, “As travel demand continues to rise, affordability and accessibility remain important considerations for sustaining growth. Air connectivity and last-mile transportation play a vital role in enabling tourism flows, particularly during peak travel periods. Measures aimed at fare rationalisation, review of ATF taxation, and greater consistency in local transport pricing would help enhance destination accessibility and support overall demand across tourism and hospitality markets.”
He adds, “The industry also sees strong potential in accelerated development of tier-2 and tier-3 cities. Enhanced regional connectivity and targeted infrastructure investments in these markets can unlock new tourism circuits and broaden economic participation. Continued support in areas such as capital investment incentives, interest support mechanisms, technology adoption, and sustainable practices would further reinforce the sector’s growth trajectory and its contribution to employment and economic expansion.”
Premium living and aspirational consumption
From the premium housing and home solutions segment, Priya Rustogi, Managing Director, India, LIXIL IMEA, notes that the sector is witnessing robust demand driven by consumer preferences for personalised luxury, wellness-oriented spaces, and aspirational living experiences. She adds, “Continued emphasis on world-class urban infrastructure and connectivity will enhance the appeal of luxury developments in key markets, including emerging Tier-2 cities where aspirational demand is rising. These targeted reforms can empower the premium segment to deliver world-class, personalised living solutions, stimulate high-value consumption, foster skilled employment in design and manufacturing, and align with India’s journey toward global lifestyle leadership and Viksit Bharat.”
Skilling, employability, and workforce formalisation
Finally, as multiple sectors outpace the available skilled workforce, Subramanyam S, CEO, Ascent HR Technologies, shares that the Budget must “connect skilling to employability through formal benefits and compliance structures, not just training programmes.” Asserting that India does not face a job creation challenge but rather a job formalisation and productivity gap, he adds, “What the industry needs most in the upcoming Budget 2026 is not more hiring subsidies, but a simpler, predictable compliance framework that allows companies to hire faster and with confidence. When hiring becomes easy, especially for MSMEs and start-ups, employment follows automatically.”
