As India looks ahead to the Union Budget 2026–27, industry leaders across education, agriculture, manufacturing, and wealth management are calling for deeper, outcome-driven reforms. From fixing employability gaps through vocational engineering skills and embedding nutrition into agricultural policy, to strengthening Make in India and preparing portfolios for silent market shifts, expectations converge on one theme: moving beyond intent to measurable impact. The upcoming Budget is seen as a pivotal moment to align skilling, health, manufacturing resilience, and investor confidence with India’s long-term Viksit Bharat vision.

Roy Aniruddha, Co-founder, TechnoStruct Academy said, “The Union Budget 2025–26 allocated ₹1.28 lakh crore to education, including ₹20,000 crore for private R&D and ₹500 crore for AI Centres of Excellence. While encouraging, outcomes remain weak: India produces 1.5 million engineers annually, yet only 42.6% are employable (Mercer-Mettl 2025). R&D spend is just 0.7% of GDP, and non-elite graduates, nearly 99% of the talent pool, struggle due to outdated, theory-heavy curricula lacking practical skills such as BIM, VDC, and advanced manufacturing. The construction sector alone loses over ₹1.5 lakh crore annually due to digital skill gaps.

According to him, Budget 2026 must shift from credentialism to vocational engineering skills. Key priorities include reducing GST on skill-based courses to improve affordability, offering tax incentives for industry-led skilling platforms and digital labs, and launching a National Construction Tech Skilling Mission with live-project learning and apprenticeship incentives. Industry-aligned vocational training already delivers up to 95% placement for non-elite graduates. Empowering the 99% through targeted skilling reforms is critical to driving employability, productivity, and long-term economic growth.

Prateek Rastogi, Co- founder, Better Nutrition stated, "Last year’s Budget clearly recognised agriculture as India’s first growth engine, with strong investments in productivity, seed innovation, and sustainable farming. That foundation is critical. But India’s next leap must go beyond yield and move toward nutrition as an outcome. Today, we don’t suffer from a lack of food. We suffer from a lack of nutrients in our food. As the government continues to invest in seed systems and farm innovation, the real opportunity in this Budget is to mainstream biofortified seeds and nutrition-focused agriculture as part of national policy. This would allow India to address iron, zinc and micronutrient deficiencies at the source, through everyday staples rather than costly downstream interventions."

He added, "Supporting startups and farmer networks that grow, test and process nutrient-rich crops will not only improve public health but also create a higher-value market for farmers through better price realisation and assured demand. A nutrition-led agricultural strategy can become one of India’s most powerful tools for long-term food security, healthcare savings and rural prosperity."

According to Rajesh Doshi, Director & Co-Founder at Zebronics, as India moves steadily toward its Viksit Bharat vision, the Union Budget 2026-27 presents a critical opportunity to accelerate the country’s next phase of economic and manufacturing-led transformation. Strengthening the Make in India framework through sustained support for domestic manufacturing, technology adoption, and research and development will be essential to building global competitiveness.Continued focus on skill development, electronics manufacturing clusters, and stronger MSME supplier ecosystems can help India move up the value chain, reduce import dependence, and create long-term industrial resilience.

"Additionally, rationalisation of income tax structures to enhance disposable incomes would support domestic consumption, providing a strong demand push for India’s manufacturing sector", added Rajesh Doshi.

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Vikas Satija, MD & CEO, Shriram Wealth works closely with affluent investors across market cycles and is observing three quiet but significant shifts in portfolios that are not yet reflected in broader market sentiment—particularly across cash, debt, and alternative assets. He shares a sharp, non-promotional insight into what wealthy investors are already recalibrating ahead of FY27, offering a differentiated perspective for market coverage. This includes where affluent capital is deliberately not being deployed despite prevailing optimism, the biggest Budget-related myth high-net-worth individuals are already preparing for, and the silent portfolio reallocations underway that markets have yet to price in.