The Union Budget 2026-27, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, strikes a careful balance between accelerating economic growth, deepening self-reliance, and maintaining fiscal discipline. With higher allocations for infrastructure, manufacturing, defence production, healthcare innovation, sports infrastructure, and MSME support, the budget aims to strengthen domestic capabilities while preparing India for global competition in an uncertain geopolitical environment.
Experts across sectors view the budget as a pragmatic, execution-oriented roadmap that prioritises long-term resilience over short-term populism.
MSME Ecosystem: Equity, Liquidity and Formalisation in Focus
A flagship announcement is the ₹10,000 crore SME Growth Fund, aimed at providing equity support to growth-ready MSMEs, complemented by integration of the Government e-Marketplace with TReDS to tackle delayed payments, revival of ~200 legacy industrial clusters, top-up to the Self-Reliant India Fund, and introduction of Corporate Mitras for compliance support.
Amit Kumar, Director and CTO of Easebuzz, welcomed the comprehensive approach:
“The Government’s 2026 Union Budget prioritises strengthening the MSME ecosystem with measures for liquidity, institutional support and the formalisation of the sector. A ₹10,000 Crore SME Growth Fund will enable MSMEs to expand their operations, improve efficiencies and remain competitive, while nearly 200 legacy industrial clusters will be revived so that traditional manufacturing regions can be revitalised from credit and technology constraints. The integration of the Government e-Marketplace with the Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS) is designed to resolve long-standing issues related to delayed payments by improving the visibility of accounts receivable and increasing cash flows to SMEs.”
However, some industry voices called for deeper structural relief.
A Vikram Joshe, Founder of WAE Ltd., offered a measured assessment:
“The Union Budget 2026–27 offers incremental calibration rather than structural relief for India’s SME sector. The headline ₹10,000-crore SME Growth Fund marks a policy shift toward equity and scale-oriented financing, but its reach is inherently limited. It will benefit a narrow cohort of formal, growth-ready firms, while the vast majority of micro and small enterprises, still grappling with thin margins, volatile demand, and delayed payments, remain largely untouched. Liquidity reforms around TReDS are directionally sound, yet experience suggests platforms alone cannot correct entrenched power asymmetries between large buyers and small suppliers. Without strict enforcement of payment discipline, working-capital stress will persist.”
Self-Reliance in Defence, Manufacturing and Exports
The budget doubles down on Atmanirbhar Bharat through customs duty exemptions on defence and aerospace components, support for textile parks, container manufacturing, and targeted export promotion schemes.
Saurabh Bansal, Founder of Finatwork Investment, explained the strategic intent:
“Several priorities in the Union Budget are influenced by the changing geopolitical environment. Support for India’s goal of self-reliance and long-term strategic ability is indicated by the emphasis placed on domestic defence and security manufacturing. The customs duty exemptions on defence and aerospace components are an example of this focus on manufacturing for self-reliance. At the same time, there is an effort to position Indian manufacturers more competitively in the global economy by focusing on domestic production while also focusing on exporting, including establishing textile parks, producing containers, and creating targeted export funding. These initiatives are intended to reduce pressure on tariffs from other countries and ultimately position Indian manufacturers to compete more effectively in the international marketplace.”
Healthcare: From Treatment to Prevention and Affordability
The Biopharma Shakti Fund of ₹10,000 crore, combined with steps to improve affordability of chronic disease medicines, signals a long-term shift towards preventive and integrative healthcare.
Arun Ramamurthy, Co-founder, Staywell.Health, said:
“The Indian Government intends to increase investment in its biopharma sector through various initiatives such as the Biopharma, Shakti’ fund (which is Rs. 10,000 crore) along with improving the affordability of medicines used in treating chronic diseases. This investment will serve to lower healthcare costs over time. Investing more in preventive care, traditional health care modalities (Ayurveda and Yoga) and increasing the total number of places of care will change the focus of healthcare from being solely reactively treated too much more integratively-treat/ integrated wellness based over a long time frame – ultimately decreasing stress on the existing healthcare delivery system/infrastructure and improving health risk outcomes throughout the overall healthcare insurance delivery system.”
Sports Infrastructure: Quality over Quantity
The extension of the Khelo India Mission for another 10 years has been welcomed as a recognition of sports as long-term national infrastructure.
Deepak Verma, Head of Business, Pacecourt, highlighted the importance of durability:
“The Khelo India Mission, now extended for a further 10 years, is a much-needed initiative that understands sports as a long-term national infrastructure and not merely an activity that takes place through events. As India readies itself for a long-term sports infrastructure build-out in schools, developments, and public spaces, and as it prepares for the Commonwealth Games in the next decade, the need to shift the focus from short-term build-out to the long-term design of these infrastructure assets is essential. Long-term, standardized, and climate-resilient sports surfaces are critical to ensuring that public investments are channeled into sports infrastructure that remains safe, playable, and functional over a period of high usage.”
Macro View: Growth with Discipline
Prashant Mishra, Founder and CEO, Agnam Advisors, provided the broader economic perspective:
“Union Budget 2026 focuses on growth through higher spending on infrastructure, manufacturing and jobs, while still aiming to gradually reduce the fiscal deficit. Lower customs duties on EVs, electronics and essential medicines, along with new support for MSMEs, startups and urban infrastructure, are positive for the economy and for sectors like manufacturing, financials and domestic businesses. However, large government borrowing and global uncertainty have kept markets volatile, showing that actual execution and company earnings matter more than budget headlines.”
Inclusive Growth: Empowering Women Entrepreneurs
A strong gender lens runs through the budget with the launch of Self-Help Entrepreneur (SHE) Marts building on the Lakhpati Didi initiative.
Yoginii, India’s first women-first wellness marketplace, noted:
“The true ambition of Budget 2026-2027 is inclusive growth, bringing global opportunities to India’s local entrepreneurs. With a dedicated ₹10,000 crore equity fund and streamlined working capital through TReDS, the financial hurdles are lowered. Operational ease comes from ‘Corporate Mitras’ for compliance and the removal of arbitrary export barriers. Critically, building on the success of Lakhpati Didi, the new Self-Help Entrepreneur (SHE) Marts will empower rural women to transition from credit-led livelihoods to owning community retail enterprises, backed by innovative financing for a sustainable ecosystem.”
Hospitality and Tourism: Recognition, but Structural Pain Points Remain
A Vikram Joshe also commented on the hospitality sector:
“The Union Budget 2026 offers recognition without resolution for the hospitality sector. Tourism is positioned as a growth and employment engine, with announcements around destination development, connectivity, skilling, and heritage circuits. These measures can expand footfalls over the medium term and improve service quality, but their impact on hotel balance sheets will be indirect and time-lagged. What the budget notably avoids is the sector’s core structural pain… In effect, the budget bets on demand creation while sidestepping operating realities such as high taxation, financing costs, and labour pressures.”
The Union Budget 2026-27 presents a clear medium-term vision: build domestic manufacturing muscle, strengthen MSMEs, shift healthcare towards prevention, invest in durable public infrastructure, and empower women entrepreneurs — all while keeping fiscal consolidation on track. Whether this blueprint translates into broad-based growth will depend on the speed and quality of implementation in the months ahead.
Last Updated on: Tuesday, February 3, 2026 8:14 pm by Indian News Bulletin Team | Published by: Indian News Bulletin Team on Tuesday, February 3, 2026 8:12 pm | News Categories: News
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