Budget 2026: Industry heads, economists call to fix EV GST, back AI, boost logistics

As Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman prepares to present the Union Budget 2026-27, a broad coalition of politicians, economists and industry leaders is articulating expectations that range from fiscal discipline and infrastructure-led growth to structural tax reforms in emerging sectors such as electric mobility, artificial intelligence and virtual digital assets.

At the political level, the tone is one of continuity and acceleration. Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, "A prosperous, self-reliant and developed India is being made under the guidance of PM Modi. This budget will increase its speed." Economists, meanwhile, are signalling a careful balancing act between growth and prudence. Dharmakirti Joshi, Chief Economist at Crisil Ltd, said, “The budget will focus on both resilience and growth. The focus will be on maintaining fiscal discipline, giving the right signal for reforms and taking steps for private investments—partly through reforms and partly through incentives.”

Taken together, the statements suggest that Budget 2026 will be judged less by headline giveaways and more by its ability to remove structural frictions across key sectors.

Infrastructure, logistics and manufacturing competitiveness

Logistics and infrastructure continue to be seen as the backbone of India’s next growth phase. Balfour Manuel, Managing Director at Blue Dart, said, “Budget 2026 has the potential to be a defining inflection point in accelerating India’s logistics transformation under the PM Gati Shakti vision.” Industry voices argue that deeper integration of road, rail, air and multimodal networks, combined with digital platforms, is essential to improving turnaround times and predictability.

Manufacturers are also linking logistics reform to export competitiveness. Darshil Shah, Founder and Director, TreadBinary, said, “However, if Make in India is to translate into Sell from India, the upcoming budget must address long-standing trade asymmetries that continue to place Indian manufacturers at a disadvantage globally.” His remarks reflect a broader concern that India’s manufacturing ambitions will remain constrained unless logistics costs, compliance complexity and quality frameworks are modernised.

The emphasis on infrastructure also intersects with clean energy. Vineet Mittal, Chairman, Avaada Group, said, "As India advances towards its clean energy, manufacturing and green fuels ambitions, the Union Budget 2026–27 is a critical opportunity to remove structural cost distortions and create long-term investment certainty. On direct taxes, we strongly advocate zero income tax on dividends from renewable energy SPVs to their holding companies to enable efficient capital recycling and lower tariffs." The call underlines how tax design is increasingly viewed as a lever for accelerating energy transition.

New economy sectors: EVs, AI and crypto

Electric mobility companies are pushing for correction of what they describe as a fundamental design flaw in GST. Madhumita Agrawal, Founder & CEO of Oben Electric, said, "A primary concern for domestic manufacturers is the inverted tax structure. While finished EVs attract a 5 per cent GST, the raw materials sourced to build these vehicles are taxed at 18 per cent… Aligning the GST on all EV components to a uniform 5 per cent is essential to support domestic manufacturing and make 'Make-in-India' EVs more affordable for the mass market." With two-wheelers dominating India’s mobility mix, EV manufacturers see GST rationalisation as central to mass adoption.

In artificial intelligence, the focus is shifting from research alone to commercial scale. Harshit Jain, MD, Founder and CEO, Doceree, said, "India stands at a unique inflection point: we have the talent to build world-class AI, the democratic values to make it trustworthy, and the cost structure to make it accessible—but we lack the patient capital to scale AI startups from prototype to global product." The comment reflects growing pressure on policymakers to complement research funding with mechanisms that help startups reach export markets.

Crypto and virtual digital assets are another flashpoint. Ashish Singhal, Co-founder, CoinSwitch, said, "The current tax framework presents challenges for retail participants by taxing transactions without recognising losses, creating friction rather than fairness." Industry players are increasingly framing tax reform as a prerequisite for bringing volumes back onshore and improving transparency.

Consumers, education and financial security

Education entrepreneurs are looking for tax relief to improve access. Prateek Maheshwari, Co-Founder, PhysicsWallah, said, "My expectation for the budget is to make education affordable and accountable. I want to see a reduction in the GST on educational services. The current 18% rate is a burden." The statement echoes a broader demand for linking public spending to outcomes rather than just infrastructure.

Insurance and long-term savings are emerging as another priority. Sarbvir Singh, Joint Group CEO, PB Fintech, said, "At the same time, retirement preparedness is emerging as a critical pillar of India’s financial ecosystem." With an ageing population and low pension penetration, industry executives want tax policy to play a more active role in encouraging retirement savings and health protection.

Overall, expectations from Budget 2026 converge on a common theme: less emphasis on short-term stimulus, and more on removing structural distortions that inhibit scale, competitiveness and inclusion. Whether it is EVs, AI, logistics or education, industry and economists are calling for a budget that privileges predictability, rational taxation and long-term investment certainty over headline-grabbing announcements.

Annexure: Remaining quotes (verbatim)

Politicians: 

• Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Union Minister: "A prosperous, self-reliant and developed India is being made under the guidance of PM Modi. This budget will increase its speed."

Industry Heads

• Priya Mishra, Account Manager at Grapes Worldwide: "India has already laid the foundation through frameworks like the National Logistics Policy and PM Gati Shakti, and recent DPIIT–NCAER estimates place logistics costs at around 7.97 per cent of GDP, showing tangible progress. The Budget now has an opportunity to build on this momentum by accelerating execution and preparing for what is next. Digitised vehicle movement, faster inter-state transfers, and technology-enabled compliance across transport networks. For the organised luxury pre-owned car market, future-ready transport infrastructure and seamless policy coordination will be essential to reduce friction, improve turnaround times, and strengthen customer confidence in high-value purchases."
• Yuvraj Shidhaye, Founder and Director, TreadBinary: “The Indian startup ecosystem has shown strong resilience and maturity over the past few years, supported by proactive government policies. In the upcoming budget, a key expectation is to further strengthen this momentum by making inward foreign direct investment more accessible while maintaining necessary safeguards. Simplifying compliance, filing, and auditing processes, especially for early-stage startups, would significantly improve ease of doing business. Additionally, expanding subsidies and incentives beyond Tier 1 cities to Tier 2 and Tier 3 regions can unlock untapped entrepreneurial potential and promote balanced growth. With the right policy support, startups, particularly in emerging technologies like blockchain and fintech, can play a critical role in building globally relevant platforms from India.”
• Kamal Pal Hoda, CEO & Executive Director, Bluspring Enterprises: “India’s next infrastructure leap will be defined less by what we build and more by how reliably we operate it. The Budget has an opportunity to recognise infrastructure not just as capital expenditure, but as a long-term operating system—where uptime, safety, compliance and workforce capability determine real outcomes. Across hospitals, factories, telecom networks and public campuses, failures rarely come from lack of assets; they come from fragmented operations, under-skilled frontline roles and inconsistent execution. Targeted support for digital asset management, predictive maintenance and integrated operations can materially improve safety, productivity and lifecycle value. Equally important is treating India’s blue-collar workforce as a national capability. Investments in vocational skilling, formalisation and social security will convert frontline jobs into skilled careers, improving reliability across mission-critical sectors. By incentivizing compliance-first, tech-enabled integrators and vocational skilling for blue-collar roles, we can elevate frontline workers into a strong national force, boosting safety, productivity, and lifecycle ROI. This shifts us from vendor chaos to accountable, nation-scale systems—essential for 7%+ GDP growth.”
• Rahm Shastry, CEO of DriveU: "We would like to see the full implementation of the Code on Social Security, 2020, with practical adjustments—especially lowering or removing the current 90–120 day eligibility requirement—so more gig workers can access basic health and accident cover."
• Rahm Shastry, CEO of DriveU: "Beyond accident cover, gig workers need comprehensive protection: life insurance, disability support, health and maternity benefits, and old-age security. The absence of structured benefits remains one of the biggest challenges in the gig economy, and Budget 2026 has a real opportunity to take a meaningful step in the right direction."
• Balbir Singh Dhillon, Brand Director, Audi India: "The luxury automobile sector is closely aligned with macroeconomic stability, rising disposable incomes, a conducive business environment, and a buoyant equity market—all of which contribute to positive consumer sentiment."
• Balbir Singh Dhillon, Brand Director, Audi India: "Continued emphasis on infrastructure development—particularly roads and high-speed charging infrastructure—along with rationalisation of taxes/duties, a stable long-term policy framework, and steady foreign exchange conditions will be instrumental in accelerating growth in the luxury car industry."
• Rohit Garg, Partner at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co: "Now, any investor, like you and me, if we are investing in cryptocurrency and earning any gain out of it, that is being taxed at 30 per cent. However, the concern which is being raised by the investor community is, if you are taxing us on the gains, please provide us the benefit of any loss that is being made."
• Abir Lal Dey, Partner at Saraf and Partners: "On digital infrastructure, harmonised incentives and long-tenor financing for data centres, fibre and towers alongside PLI expansion for telecommunications equipment can anchor India's data-economy ambitions. Since Budget 2022 granted infrastructure status to data centres, the focus must shift to comprehensive policy measures, including PLI expansion for the entire digital infrastructure value chain covering networking equipment, data centre hardware and telecommunications manufacturing."