From Opinions Desk
The Indian government is soon going to table the Budget 2026, which will be debated over in the Parliament. Industry leaders from various segments have expressed their expectations from this Budget.
Following are their quotes –
“As we head into Union Budget 2026, travel and tourism are at a genuine inflection point. Demand is clearly back, but infrastructure and connectivity will decide whether this growth compounds or plateaus. Aviation capacity is expanding rapidly, but that momentum needs to be matched with faster airport expansion, stronger regional connectivity and smoother aviation infrastructure to unlock its full impact. Just as important is last-mile integration—connecting airports seamlessly with rail and road networks, because that’s where the real multiplier effect lies.
Beyond connectivity, the industry needs structural support. Industry status for tourism and hospitality, easier access to long-term financing and continued investment in destination development would go a long way in improving India’s global competitiveness as a travel market.
Simplifying tax structures like GST and incentivising skill development are also critical, especially as domestic travel remains strong and international travel continues its gradual recovery. If Budget 2026 focuses on infrastructure, financing and execution, it won’t just support growth; it will help build a more resilient, globally relevant travel ecosystem.”
— Hari Ganapathy, Co‑Founder, Pickyourtrail
“As we look ahead to the Union Budget 2026, there is an opportunity to strengthen the digital and institutional foundations supporting credit-led participation in the economy. India’s youth, first-time borrowers; and nano-entrepreneurs are becoming central to credit flows. The digital credit ecosystem has reached an inflection point, where small-ticket loans are increasingly used to invest in skills, education, healthcare, and early-stage entrepreneurship, rather than short-term needs alone.”
— Gaurav Jalan, Founder & CEO, mPokket
“Union Budget 2026 is a timely opportunity to build on India’s remarkable success in domestic digital payments and extend that leadership into enterprise-grade cross-border payment ecosystems that power global trade. With ongoing policy conversations around simplifying customs, duties, GST compliances for exporters and tax structures, there is strong momentum to create a more seamless operating environment for Indian businesses expanding internationally. Fintech-enabled cross-border payments can play a catalytic role in this next phase of growth.
Greater predictability for merchants, in areas such as TDS, withholding taxes and compliance timelines will further strengthen confidence and unlock smoother capital flows across markets. A budget that reinforces tax-treaty alignment, digitised compliance and risk-proportionate regulation will accelerate investment in scalable payment infrastructure and improve ease of doing cross-border business. Such measures would not only enhance enterprise competitiveness but also reinforce India’s position as a trusted, efficient and innovation-led hub for global commerce.”
— Prachi Dharani, Co-founder, CEO, PayGlocal Technologies
“The government has already taken a bold step by enabling surety bonds in India, which has the potential to unlock significant capital for MSMEs. The Ministry of Finance’s directive for PSUs to accept surety bonds alongside bank guarantees for EMDs and performance guarantees is a strong signal of intent. To drive wider adoption among MSMEs, the next step should be to allow MSMEs to submit surety bonds even where tenders do not explicitly mention them, as long as the PSU has approved their acceptance at a policy level. In addition, just as guarantee schemes have supported MSME lending, a similar backstop for insurers issuing surety bonds would encourage greater issuance, improve access and ease working-capital pressure for small businesses.”
— Aditya Tulsian, CEO & Co-Founder, AxiTrust
“For the AI and venture ecosystem, Budget 2026 should be about execution. With the Research Development Innovation Fund framework already in place and the Anusandhan National Research Foundation as the implementing agency, the key expectation is timely capital deployment into applied AI research and commercially viable use cases.
This execution focus should extend to long-term capability building, including the establishment of a dedicated AI university on the lines of the IITs with a strong research mandate. In parallel, the Budget must recognise Indian data as strategic infrastructure and support sovereign AI applications in healthcare, agriculture and education.
Clear prioritisation and funding visibility across these areas would strengthen investor confidence and catalyse private capital participation in India’s AI ecosystem.”
— Rahul Agarwalla, Managing Partner, SenseAI Ventures
These comments show that industry leaders across various segments have some suggestions to give to the government about how to take the industry forward. The government should reflect over these suggestions.
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