Budget 2026 Expectations Live: Green Energy Ambitions, Food Security Push And More

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"The next budget must confront a critical reality: generation alone does not ensure transition. Renewables already account for over 40% of installed power capacity, but grid-scale energy storage remains negligible compared to the requirements of a high-renewables system," Shobit Rai, co-founder and managing director, Prozeal Green Energy Ltd. said.

"Without storage, flexibility, and firm green power, clean energy cannot fully displace fossil fuels. Strategic budgetary support for battery energy storage systems, pumped hydro, and green hydrogen is essential to convert intermittent power into reliable, round-the-clock, industrial-grade energy. 

"There is a real opportunity to strengthen the foundations of the country’s supply chains in ways that go beyond short-term incentives. Reducing strategic dependence on a limited set of geographies will depend on thoughtful policy support that improves logistics, deepens domestic supplier ecosystems and builds long-term industrial capability, alongside fiscal measures," Smitha Shetty, regional director, APAC, Achilles Information Ltd.

"We are already seeing strong momentum across industries to rethink how supply chains are designed and managed. Climate volatility, geopolitical shifts and rising sustainability expectations are encouraging organizations to seek more stable, transparent and data-driven supply networks," Shetty added.

Subhrajit Mukhopadhyay, Deputy CEO and ED, Edelweiss Life Insurance expects "a continuation in government’s efforts to bring ease of business, boost capital inflow into the Indian economy, and further the agenda of Insurance for All 2047. Currently, an annuity is completely taxed in the hands of the customer. Hence, a tax break on annuity could further encourage Indians to opt for these instruments, providing the much-needed social security to many during their golden years. Further, this will help insurance companies invest in long rated bonds and channelize long-term savings into capital intensive sectors."

Ashish Singhal, Co-founder, CoinSwitch says "India’s Virtual Digital Assets (VDA) ecosystem is at a pivotal stage, with growing adoption across the country. However, the current tax framework presents challenges for retail participants by taxing transactions without recognising losses, creating friction rather than fairness. A reduction in TDS on VDA transactions from 1% to 0.01% could improve liquidity, ease compliance, and enhance transparency while preserving transaction traceability. Raising the TDS threshold to ₹5 lakh would help protect small investors from disproportionate impact." 

Anand Bhadkamkar, Group CFO, LS Digital says “As businesses integrate AI, MarTech, and AdTech into their core operations, the clarity and direction provided by the Union Budget become critical for sustained digital growth. However, with regulatory headwinds like the DPDP Act and economic pressures on operating costs, Indian digital businesses need clearer policy signals, especially around compliance automation, data governance, and incentives that encourage domestic technology adoption. This will be key to translating policy intent into real, long-term investments and ensuring India remains competitive in the global digital economy."

Dipanjan Banerjee, Chief Commercial Officer, Blue Dart says “Budget 2026 presents a timely opportunity to catalyse the next phase of efficiency-led growth across India’s logistics sector. Supportive policy measures that make cross-border e-commerce easier for MSMEs, digitise trade flows and streamline documentation can unlock significant B2C export potential from Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets. At the same time, the Budget must continue to back high-growth sectors like new energy, electronics, and life sciences where specialised logistics capability and high-compliance handling are now essential enablers of industrial competitiveness. Rationalising taxation on green transport technologies, expanding EV charging ecosystems and accelerating pathways for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) will help future-proof logistics networks while supporting national climate goals." 

Dr. Mukesh Batra, Founder-Chairman Emeritus, Dr Batra’s Healthcare says “For 2025-26, the Ministry of Health was allocated close to ₹1 lakh crore, reflecting a 10–11% increase and reaffirming the government’s commitment to strengthening healthcare capacity. As we look ahead to Budget 2026-27, there is a significant opportunity to build on this momentum by re-orienting healthcare delivery towards prevention, early intervention, and personalized care. 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."

Amit Vatsyayan, Leader – GPS (Agriculture, Livelihood, Social and Skills), EY India, outlines priorities. “Scaling climate-resilient irrigation, micro-irrigation and renewable-powered agri assets can unlock productivity gains. At the same time, PPPs in storage, logistics and R&D are critical to reducing post-harvest losses and improving price realisation.”

According to Nuvama, tax relief is unlikely to be a major lever in FY27. “With recent income tax and GST rationalisation already weighing on revenues, further tax cuts appear unlikely. FY27 is more likely to focus on investment support through deregulation and capex rather than additional consumption-led measures.”

Economists at Citi expect infrastructure spending to remain steady. “We expect continued emphasis on public capex in FY27, led by defence and urban infrastructure. While overall capex growth should stay above nominal GDP growth, allocations may become more selective, with greater use of off-budget and PSU-led spending.”

Shashi Kant Singh , Partner—Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness, PwC India says that "the expectations from this year's budget are enhanced outlays for the sector to sustain the government's aspirations towards self-sufficiency and position India as a global agricultural powerhouse. Research and development (high yielding and climate resilient varieties), infrastructure (production, storage and processing), digital agricultural solutions (ag stack and AgTech) and exports (quality and higher value capture) should be the key focus areas for the upcoming budget."

Vinay Rustagi, Chief Business Officer at Premier Energies says that  "The renewable sector has been a major priority area for the government and we expect more favourable announcements supporting the sector in this budget. The two signature schemes, PM Surya Ghar Yojana and PM KUSUM are expected to ramp up significantly and should get much higher budgetary allocation. We are also expecting rollout of the PM KUSUM 2.0 scheme with higher targets and incentives. Other focus areas should be incentive packages for R&D as well as local manufacturing of ingots and wafers to improve self-sufficiency for Solar module manufacturing."