From Editorial Desk
The recently presented Budget 2026 by the Indian government has several discussion points on various dimensions of the IT and tech industries. The focus is on developing the tech systems, so that India can move into a digital and tech-oriented society.
Several industry leaders have sent their comments to us regarding this aspect –
“It is commendable to see the government meeting the fiscal deficit targets for FY’26 despite a very volatile external environment, tax rate rationalisation, both on taxation for Individuals announced as part of last budget and GST rates rationalisation during the year.
The budget clearly articulates the Government’s vision to promote the Indian IT services sector as a primary driver of India’s economic growth, leveraging AI as the force multiplier. By identifying AI as central to accelerating and sustaining economic growth, the government underscores its strategy to establish India as an AI-powered economic superpower. Proposal to provide long term tax exemption for data center services provided from India to foreign customers will help in establishing India as a datacentre hub.
The proposals such as combining IT services and R&D Services into a single bucket, increasing the threshold limit for safe harbour and providing a 2-year timeline for conclusion of unilateral APAs will provide tax certainty and reduce the cost of compliance for companies operating in the sector. We also welcome the government’s initiatives to further improve ease of doing business, as these reforms will support enterprises across sectors by alleviating operational challenges and boosting India’s economic growth momentum.”
—Aparna Iyer, CFO, Wipro
“The budget clearly indicated GOI momentum towards optimum adoption and propagation of advanced technology. Digital enablement and its accruing progress has benefited all sectors including PSUs, manufacturing, health care, finance and defence and is rightly empowering our growing economic status. At this juncture, the respected FM taking cognisance of both the pros as well as seeking to address the cons like ecological impact and Labour displacement caused by technology, AI for instance, is very much a push in the right direction. Addressing AI possibilities for a broad spectrum of applications and its impact on youth, farmers, women in STEM, Divyang (physically challenged), with budgetary allocation for skilling as well as reskilling displaced labour has addressed the need of the hour. Policy stability as a requirement for this progress has also been recognised.
Overall, the placement of DeepTech as a catalyst for inclusive growth while addressing the necessary conditions for this has received the necessary focus and boost in the budget through the various schemes announced. The budget also recognised the need for research and development in several sectors like rare earth, semiconductor technology and DeepTech which will propel India towards development of products in these fields, where we are lacking now.”
— Sujata Seshadrinathan, Co-Founder and Director, Digital Transformation, Basiz Fund Service
“The Union Budget 2026 represents the Government of India’s bold commitment to positioning the IT services sector as the cornerstone of ‘Viksit Bharat.’ As a global leader in cloud migration, mainframe modernization, and digital transformation, Ensono applauds game-changing reforms that boost ease of doing business. The Safe Harbour threshold expansion to Rs 2,000 crore with automated approvals and fast-tracked two-year Advance Pricing Agreements establish tax certainty, encouraging foreign investment and innovation in India’s technology sector.
Equally transformative is the tax holiday until 2047 for Cloud service providers leveraging Indian data centers. This landmark policy positions India as a global hub for cloud computing, unlocking opportunities in hyperscale infrastructure, enterprise cloud solutions, cybersecurity and AI-powered managed services – areas central to Ensono’s expertise.
The government’s focus on workforce development through artificial intelligence upskilling, quantum computing initiatives; and STEM education for women ensures India builds future-ready talent. By creating pathways from education to entrepreneurship, Budget 2026 supports India’s ambitious target of capturing 10% global IT services market share by 2047. These strategic measures reinforce technology as an economic growth driver, positioning India for sustainable competitiveness in the global digital economy.”
—Veena Khandke, SVP &MD, Ensono India
“For the first time, India’s budget is being watched for how it shapes the country’s AI and digital infrastructure trajectory. While growing up, we have always seen it majorly for fiscal numbers. Good to see there is growing recognition in policy circles that AI must be treated as a foundational economic capability and not a standalone tech fad.
Everyone is talking about “Budget 2026 signals a strong push on AI and digital infrastructure”. Let’s not forget it still exposes the familiar gap between ambition and readiness. The push on compute, datacentres and digital systems is great, but doesn’t charm someone who understands that infrastructural expenditure alone does not equal AI capability. In past budgets, Cloud and data infrastructure spending largely ended up benefiting a small set of vendors and ministries with procurement capacity. Smaller state departments, regulators and local governments often lacked the skills or contracting ability to use this infrastructure meaningfully. The budget talks about scale, but not about who inside the state is actually equipped to use it.
How these investments will be governed, shared and made usable beyond a narrow set of actors (big tech) remains under specified. Without clearer signals on data stewardship, public sector capacity and accountability mechanisms, there is a risk that AI infrastructure scales faster than institutions can manage it. For example, despite policy intentions, key frameworks like the ‘National Data Governance Framework Policy’ have not yet been fully translated into practice to standardise data management across government departments. Fragmented data across ministries remains a barrier to effective AI use. I acknowledge that India has been building platforms that work at population scale. However, AI requires hard choices on standards, safeguards and skills and not just funding lines.
It will be interesting to see if AI investment promises in the budget will be treated as long-term state capacity project, or yet another growth lever for next cycle.
My view is that Budget 2026 is directionally right, but incomplete. It sets the stage for India to be a serious AI system builder, not just a consumer or exporter of tools. Whether it succeeds, will depend on what follows next. If infrastructure investment is matched with strong governance frameworks, public capacity building and clear accountability, India could shape a distinctive and credible model of responsible AI at scale. If not, this moment risks becoming another case of gap between policy and institutional readiness.
–Vidhi Sharma, Head of Responsible AI, Future Shift Labs
“The Union Budget 2026–27 takes a decisive step towards building Viksit Bharat (developed India) jobs by formally recognising the gig economy as a critical pillar of India’s workforce. Measures such as social security coverage, digital ID cards and access to government services for gig workers bring long-awaited dignity, stability and inclusion to millions of independent professionals.
The National Digital Knowledge Grid and education-to-employment focus will unlock new-age opportunities for creators, researchers, local experts, startups and MSMEs, creating a vibrant ecosystem of flexible, skills-driven jobs. Coupled with the Rs 10,000 crore fund-of-funds for startups, the Budget strengthens the link between education, entrepreneurship and employability, laying the foundation for a future-ready workforce where gig and digital-first careers play a central role in India’s growth story.”
—Mythri Kumar, Co-Founder, TimBuckDo
These comments highlight different aspects of the government’s effort to build a digitally and technologically developed India. They have underlined the policies on contract workers, MSMEs, AI, Cloud, Datacentres, STEM skilling, cybersecurity and other segments of the IT sector. They welcome the Budget’s focus on using economy as a tech driver.
Of special note is the comment from Vidhi Sharma, which highlights the need for not only funding AI, but also on using AI in a responsible manner.
The global policies today are engaged in making frameworks at the UN level to exhort all member states to make policies that use the AI in a responsible manner and which promote democracy and humanitarian values across the world. India must keep this in mind while promoting a tech world.
News and Opinions... 