Budget 2026 Expectations Live: What Experts Expect Nirmala Sitharaman to Prioritise This Year

"Budget 2026 is expected to strengthen the e-mobility ecosystem through higher funding for research and development, especially in advanced materials, high-performance battery components and next-generation energy storage. Greater focus on innovation-led schemes and targeted fund deployment can help accelerate EV adoption and build long-term competitiveness,” said Anurag Choudhary, CMD and CEO, Himadri Speciality Chemical Ltd.

As the Union Budget approaches, markets are looking for stability and reassurance rather than dramatic announcements. With growth moderating and earnings under pressure, a clear fiscal direction, targeted support for jobs and investment, and continued focus on infrastructure can help rebuild confidence and sustain long-term growth,” said Ajay Kumar Yadav, Group CEO & CIO, Wise Finserv.

"Budget 2026 presents an opportunity to recalibrate agricultural policy from being production-centric to market-, quality-, and innovation-oriented. This Budget can accelerate outcomes by strengthening large-scale crop programmes such as pulses and oilseeds missions, while balancing food security needs through productivity enhancement, buffer management, climate-resilient crops, and a robust PDS," said Ajay Kakra, Leader–Food and Agriculture, GIDAS, Forvis Mazars in India.

"It is expected that the upcoming budget would be more rational with greater allocation towards direct infrastructure spend through PPP as well as investment subsidies, as to be more in sync with the practices in other more developed ecosystems such as in the USA and China," said Padmanand V, Partner, Grant Thornton Bharat.

Ahead of the Union Budget 2026, the Indian Micro-Fertilizers Manufacturers Association has called for extending the 5% Goods and Services Tax (GST) across all fertilisers notified under the Fertiliser Control Order (FCO), PTI reported. The industry body has also urged the government to expedite refunds of excess GST credits and implement a unified licensing system.

Read more here

Ahead of the Union Budget 2026-27, farmers have once again reiterated their demand to cover all agricultural crops under the minimum support price (MSP). Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) National General Secretary Chaudhary Yudhvir Singh said this has always been a key demand of farmers.

Read more here

"A calibrated reduction in transaction-level TDS and a review of loss set-off provisions could help restore onshore liquidity, improve compliance, and ensure that more economic activity remains within India’s regulated perimeter, without compromising oversight or enforcement," said Nischal Shetty, Founder, WazirX.

"For India to truly become a product nation, we must move beyond assembly and adoption to designing and developing critical technologies in India. This requires a mission-mode approach for sectors of national importance such as clean energy, clean mobility, AI, rare earth security, and energy security," Akshay Kashyap, managing director of Greenfuel Energy Solutions Pvt. Ltd, said.

He highlighted that the government should reinstate robust research and development incentives, including weighted tax deductions of up to 250%, and play a larger role as a demand aggregator for mission-critical technologies.

Public procurement norms need to move away from the lowest-cost (L1) model toward a T1-based framework that rewards firms with around 80% local value addition and indigenous design. Such measures are especially crucial for sectors like electrolyzers, fuel cells, electric vehicles, energy storage, and hydrogen-based mobility systems.

If we genuinely want scientific progress and global competitiveness, R&D funding has to increase. Earlier, private-sector research was encouraged through income-tax deductions, which are no longer available. We hope this budget restores strong support for R&D for both public institutions and industry, says Dr. R.G. Agarwal, Chairman Emeritus, Dhanuka Agritech Ltd.

"We often talk about strengthening India’s innovation ecosystem, but the reality is that India still spends only about 0.7% on research and development. Countries like China, Israel, the US and many European nations invest much more."