As India prepares for the Union Budget 2026-27, to be presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, 2026 (a rare Sunday presentation), industry leaders are sharing targeted expectations. The budget is expected to build on recent reforms, emphasizing structural efficiency, sustainable growth, financial inclusion, and sector-specific incentives amid the push for Viksit Bharat. Stakeholders from real estate, energy storage, and consumer lending highlight priorities like infrastructure acceleration, reduced capital costs for green tech, and enhanced responsible credit frameworks to support urban development, energy transition, and household resilience.
Real Estate Sector: Focus on Structural Efficiency and Infrastructure-Led Growth
The real estate industry, now mature beyond short-term stimulus, seeks policies that enhance execution, predictability, and long-term capital access. Emphasis is on infrastructure as a key driver for land value, housing viability, and industrial progress.
R Rajasekar Reddy, Managing Director of Trendsquares, outlines the sector’s priorities:
“The Union Budget 2026, therefore, is needed at a time when the real estate sector is no longer seeking stimulus but structural efficiency. The home loan frameworks and credit transmission have already seen recalibration; the next phase must focus on enabling business execution and long-term capital formation. Predictability in taxation, faster approval mechanisms, and rational treatment of input costs matter far more for developers than incremental demand pushes. Infrastructure spending stays the single biggest growth lever, as land value, housing viability, and industrial development follow connectivity and utility readiness. Easing access to institutional capital is another critical area through clearer REIT, InvIT, and construction finance norms that reduce dependence on high-cost funding. Affordable and mid-income housing also needs continuity in policy support-not through subsidies alone but through land aggregation and faster project clearances. If the Budget reinforces stability, transparency, and infrastructure-led planning, it will allow developers to plan confidently, deliver responsibly, and contribute meaningfully to India’s urban growth without overheating the market.”
These expectations align with broader calls for single-window clearances, tax rationalization, and boosted capex to fuel urban expansion and sustainable development.
Clean Energy and Battery Storage: Accelerating Self-Reliance and Deployment
With India’s clean energy ambitions intensifying, the sector looks for incentives to scale battery energy storage systems (BESS), reduce import dependence, and boost domestic manufacturing amid global supply chain risks.
Ayush Misra, Co-Founder & CEO of AmpereHour Energy, expresses optimism for targeted support:
“As we look ahead to the Union Budget for FY 2026, we expect a strong policy signal reinforcing India’s commitment to a resilient, secure, and clean energy future. With BESS and advanced EMS emerging as the backbone of a flexible power grid, targeted incentives to reduce upfront capital costs will be critical to accelerating energy storage deployment and enabling this transition. We are optimistic about stronger support for both BESS developers and domestic energy storage manufacturers. Continued viability gap funding is essential to scale projects during this early phase, while a clear, phased roadmap on manufacturing incentives and import duties for battery packs and containers will build investor confidence, ensure competitiveness of local manufacturing, and unlock private capex into domestic facilities. With the battery supply chain heavily concentrated in China and prices already rising, BESS projects face near-term volatility. Over the long term, India must prioritise battery manufacturing self-sufficiency through clear duty structures and sustained manufacturing incentives to ensure energy security. New-age sectors like BESS and electric vehicles require sustained R&D investment, yet current corporate spending is insufficient. Government-led tax incentives and R&D grants can accelerate innovation and strengthen academia–industry collaboration.”
Such measures could drive energy security, grid flexibility, and private investment in renewables.
Consumer Credit Landscape: Promoting Responsible Lending and Financial Inclusion
India’s evolving credit market, driven by personal loans, EMI products, and asset-backed financing, prioritizes affordability, transparency, and consumer empowerment. Insights from borrowing trends underscore the need for literacy and infrastructure to sustain growth in unsecured and flexible credit.
Vivek Singh, CEO of Home Credit India, reflects on the sector’s maturation:
“India’s credit landscape is steadily maturing, with personal loans, EMI-led products, Loan against property, Two Wheeler loans etc playing an increasingly important role in supporting both essential needs and personal aspirations. Insights from our How India Borrows 7.0 study show that affordability and flexibility are central to borrowing decisions today 46% of borrowers prioritise manageable EMIs, 38% value quick disbursal, and 37% seek features such as early loan closure. This clearly reflects a growing preference for transparent, customer-centric credit solutions that align with real-life financial planning. At the same time, consumers are becoming more mindful about borrowing, underscoring the importance of continued efforts around financial awareness and responsible credit usage as unsecured lending scales further. As we look ahead to the 2026 Union Budget, we hope to see sustained focus on measures that strengthen responsible lending—through enhanced financial literacy initiatives, stronger transparency frameworks and continued investment in advanced credit infrastructure. Such steps can further empower consumers to access credit with confidence and clarity. The 2025 Budget’s emphasis on boosting consumption, strengthening digital public infrastructure and advancing financial inclusion has already created a strong foundation for financial institutions focussing on consumer needs. Building on this momentum, the upcoming Budget can help credit evolve into a powerful enabler of financial independence and everyday resilience for Indian households.”
These views highlight opportunities to deepen inclusion while ensuring responsible practices.
As the Union Budget 2026-27 nears, these expert insights from real estate, clean energy, and consumer finance underscore a shared vision: policies that prioritize efficiency, sustainability, and inclusion to drive India’s long-term economic resilience and growth.
Last Updated on Tuesday, January 27, 2026 12:50 pm by Startup Magazine Team
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