The Union Budget 2026-27, set to be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, 2026, comes at a pivotal time as India aims to sustain robust economic growth, boost consumption, and address sectoral priorities amid fiscal consolidation efforts. With expectations centered on infrastructure, healthcare, tourism, and emerging sectors like beauty, reinsurance, and spiritual tourism, industry leaders have shared targeted pre-budget insights.
These voices highlight opportunities to unlock employment, affordability, sustainability, and inclusive development through targeted incentives, infrastructure upgrades, GST rationalization, and simplified regulations particularly in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
Tourism and Hospitality: Positioning as a Strategic Economic Driver
Aviral Gupta, CEO of Zo World and Zostel, emphasized treating tourism as a core economic engine rather than a discretionary sector. He advocated for enhanced infrastructure in Tier 2 and Tier 3 destinations, better last-mile connectivity, and support for affordable organized accommodation to encourage longer stays and increased spending. “Targeted incentives for experiential travel, skilling of local communities, and simplified regulatory frameworks for hospitality-led MSMEs can unlock significant employment while helping India build globally competitive travel brands rooted in local culture,” Gupta said.
Giresh Vasudev Kulkarni, Founder of Temple Connect & ITCX International Temples Convention & EXPO, called for recognizing spiritual tourism and temple towns as integrated economic ecosystems under the CHESS-G Doctrine (Convenience, Hygiene, Experience, Safety, Sustainability, Growth). He urged budgetary support for world-class connectivity, sanitation, devotee journeys, crowd management, EV mobility, and local MSME empowerment to transform temple towns into year-round economic engines and position India as a leader in civilizational tourism.
Healthcare: Bridging Gaps and Preparing for Demographic Shifts
Gautam Khanna, CEO of P.D. Hinduja Hospital & Medical Research Centre, Mumbai, highlighted the need to accelerate healthcare progress by raising government expenditure to 2.5-3% of GDP. This would address infrastructure gaps, skilled workforce shortages, and quality delivery. He stressed expanding district hospitals, secondary/tertiary facilities, and preventive diagnostics in Tier 2/3 and rural areas, alongside greater emphasis on geriatric care for chronic disease management and senior citizen infrastructure.
Khanna also advocated for long-term financing, simplified tax frameworks, affordable credit for expansion, and streamlining Ayushman Bharat through broader coverage, easier empanelment, and faster reimbursements to build an inclusive, future-ready system.
Beauty and Personal Care: Fostering Innovation and Global Competitiveness
Jeet Singh Malhotra, Founder & CEO of Adonis, noted the sector’s rapid growth and urged R&D incentives for science-based formulations and indigenous ingredients to enhance global competitiveness and consumer safety. He called for rationalizing GST on essential skincare and haircare products to boost affordability in Tier 2/3 markets, plus supportive export frameworks, streamlined labelling, and sustainable packaging incentives to establish India as a hub for clean beauty.
Insurance and Reinsurance: Building Resilience and Capacity
Gautam Boda, Vice Chairman of the J.B. Boda Group, positioned reinsurance as the backbone of a resilient insurance ecosystem, essential for India’s ambition to become a global reinsurance hub via GIFT City. He recommended incentives for domestic risk capital, stable regulations, enhanced GST input mechanisms, and innovative solutions like parametric covers, national catastrophe pools, and catastrophe bonds to protect infrastructure, MSMEs, and vulnerable communities while enabling faster payouts.
Wealth Management and Broader Economy: Steady as She Goes
Alekh Yadav, Head of Investment Products at Sanctum Wealth, observed that recent measures like personal income tax cuts, GST rationalization, the 8th Pay Commission, and interest rate reductions have already boosted consumption. He anticipated the budget to adhere to fiscal consolidation with limited room for major announcements, describing it as “more of a BAU [business as usual]” without big-bang reforms.
These pre-budget quotes reflect a shared call for targeted, sector-specific interventions to drive inclusive growth, employment, and sustainability while aligning with national priorities like infrastructure-led development and cultural-economic integration. As the budget approaches tomorrow, these insights provide valuable context for stakeholders tracking its impact across diverse industries.
Last Updated on: Saturday, January 31, 2026 7:03 pm by Indian News Bulletin Team | Published by: Indian News Bulletin Team on Saturday, January 31, 2026 7:03 pm | News Categories: News
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