Budget 2026 Expectations Highlights: What’s likely on taxes, growth and key sectors

Ravindra Rai, Managing Director, and CEO of BOBCARD LIMITED said: "From a Budget expectation standpoint, continued emphasis on digital payments, cybersecurity, and financial infrastructure would go a long way in strengthening trust across the ecosystem. These are foundational areas that directly impact how confidently consumers and businesses adopt digital credit.

We would also expect a sustained push toward technology investments, particularly in secure payment platforms, cybersecurity, virtual and tokenised cards, and UPI-first credit products. These are critical enablers as consumer behaviour shifts toward real-time, digital-first transactions.

Equally, policy support for alternative credit assessment models can meaningfully expand access to formal credit. Enabling the use of transaction and cash-flow data will help bring more first-time and underserved consumers into the system, while ensuring credit growth remains responsible and sustainable.”

Rajiv Gupta, Managing Director, Wave Group said: "The Union Budget presents a strong opportunity to accelerate growth in the real estate sector, which remains a vital pillar of India’s economic development. From an industry standpoint, we are confident that the government will continue to strengthen policy support through enhanced tax benefits and rationalised stamp duties where possible. This will enhance affordability and sustain buyer sentiment. Increased budgetary allocations towards infrastructure, urban mobility and smart city development are expected to act as key growth drivers and stimulate end-user demand across markets.

Policy measures aimed at improving access to long-term institutional financing and enabling faster regulatory approvals will significantly enhance project execution and delivery efficiencies. A decisive pro-growth budget can provide a meaningful confidence boost to further reinforce real estate’s contribution to employment generation, investment inflows and India’s long-term urban development objectives."

Piyush Agarwal, Co-Founder and CRO at Reo.Dev, said, "India has the world's largest population of software developers. And yet, game changing innovation in deep-tech and AI is still originating in the west. We need stronger incentives for deep-tech and infrastructure SaaS, especially when it comes to R&D tax credits, cloud and data infrastructure costs, and simpler ESOP taxation. This will help startups build from India, for the world, hire and retain world class engineers. For open-source companies selling globally from day one, clearer guidance on monetisation, cross-border compliance, and data usage is essential.

Another key gap is capital efficiency. Many Indian SaaS companies are forced to set up offshore structures as they scale, not by choice but due to capital access, tax complexity, and compliance friction. Easier access to domestic growth capital, clearer GST treatment for SaaS exports, and continued DPIIT support would help companies scale globally while staying rooted in India.

Finally, as more and more people start using AI, it will be important to have policies that support responsible data access, computing infrastructure, and AI experimentation in businesses. If the budget matches how developer-led businesses grow, India could become the global control center for next-generation software companies, not just where they’re built, but where they scale.”