Budget Expectations: Here's What Various Industries are Demanding

As per the announcement by the Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on X, the budget session of the parliament will begin on January 28, while the Union Budget for 2026 is scheduled to be presented on February 1, falling on Sunday.

Along with the announcements, a lot of reactions and expectations have started coming in, where several industries are eyeing growth for themselves and the sectors in general. 

'Restoration of Input Tax Credit'

According to Pulkit Arora, Director, CYK Hospitalities, the food and beverage industry is optimistic that the long-awaited structural alignment will take place. "The restoration of Input Tax Credit, the recognition of the hospitality sector as an industry, and the simplification of the licensing process can significantly strengthen operational viability. The food companies will then be able to concentrate on quality, innovation, and consistency rather than dealing with inefficiencies.”

Adding to it, Simran Jeet Singh, who also works as a Director at the CYK Hospitalities, says, "From the perspective of expansion, brands are prepared for growth while the markets are prepared for consumption. Budget 2026 has the potential to unblock, quicken, and even more smoothly F&B expansion across the different parts of the city by providing clearer leasing frameworks, single-window approvals, as well as uniform commercial policies."

Ankush Sabharwal, Founder and CEO of CoRover, expects the AI to be treated as "core digital infrastructure. "This is the year to double down with targeted incentives for indigenous LLMs, agentic AI platforms and sovereign AI stacks that are built in and for India’s diverse languages and use cases. We hope to see larger allocations for GPU infrastructure, sandbox environments for regulated sectors, and outcome-based incentives for AI deployments in public services, MSMEs and Bharat-focused solutions," he says.

Technology sector boost for AI

Dipesh Ranjan, Senior Vice President, Sales from Cyble, says, "The rapid rise in AI, Cloud, and Digital public Infrastructure has made cyber threats more than just IT threats and created a risk to the nation’s economy as well as its security. Therefore, we expect that Investment in Advanced Threat Intelligence, AI-based Cybersecurity Platforms and greater Public-Private Partnerships will be at the top of Budget 2026."

"We expect the upcoming budget to strengthen support for enterprise AI adoption in regulated sectors, particularly around data security, indigenous language technology, and responsible automation. Clear policy direction on AI governance, incentives for India-first R&D, and investments in digital public infrastructure will be critical. For BFSI institutions, technology must now operate as core infrastructure rather than experimentation, enabling faster customer engagement, lower operational costs, and stronger compliance," says Anurag Jain, the founder and CEO of Oriserve. 

Credit gaps, a concern for the finance sector 

"In the upcoming budget, we look forward to measures being introduced to facilitate digital NBFCs. A Budget which takes into account technological advancements in filling the credit gaps can empower people to manage short-term requirements," says Ankit Modi, Managing Director of SalaryOnTime. 

Talking to Local Samosa about the expectation over the credit policies, Suresh Kumar, Managing Director at EmergencyPaisa, says, "The finance sector is eagerly awaiting the inclusion of policies related to short-term and digital forms of credit, which have emerged as a necessity of the rapidly paced economy in the present day to address the realities of working under cash flow deficit situations.