Rajiv Memani, President of CII, said every budget brings important announcements, and this year too, the focus should be on broader reforms, lowering the cost of production and strengthening production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes. He said capital expenditure by the government must remain strong even though tax collections may not stay as buoyant.
Memani also called for ambitious disinvestment targets and said free trade agreements (FTAs) are positive but will take more than a year to become fully operational. According to him, India must become more cost-competitive, engage more actively with companies that drive global value chains and double down on sectors such as electronics. He added that despite improvements in power and logistics costs due to recent reforms, India must continue working on these areas to remain competitive.
Infrastructure experts echoed similar views. Vinayak Chatterjee of the Infravision Foundation said government capex could reach close to ₹14 lakh crore and the budget should support high-speed rail, coal gasification and a much stronger push for public-private partnerships, while also allowing pension funds to invest in infrastructure. CII leaders added that free trade agreements should start translating into higher exports and that the ease of powering factories, building facilities and moving goods into and out of India must improve. They also said industrial parks can play an important role in making Indian exports more competitive.
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Several business leaders stressed that manufacturing and innovation need urgent policy support. Kris Gopalakrishnan of Axilor Ventures said India must incentivise industry to invest more in research and development, with a long-term goal of reaching 3% of gross domestic product (GDP), and that tax certainty is critical to attract and scale global capability centres.
From the manufacturing side, Koushik Chatterjee of Tata Steel said competitiveness depends on better rail infrastructure and stronger state finances. He said unfairly priced imports must be checked, steel demand is growing at around 8%, and supply bottlenecks must be removed to prevent India from turning into a net importer.
Addressing concerns around protection in the steel sector, Koushik Chatterjee clarified that existing safeguards against cheap imports are not meant to shelter an uncompetitive domestic industry. He said Indian steel can compete with any global player and that the real issue is preventing unfairly priced goods from entering the market, adding that safeguards in India are far lower than those in the US or the European Union.
Beyond sector-specific concerns, investors also highlighted the importance of stable and predictable policies. N Venkatram of CDPQ India said India has sent a strong message on fiscal credibility, but the cost of capital will matter greatly for long-term investors. He also said India needs simpler group tax structures and some relaxation in capital gains rules. CII leaders further said that mid-sized companies need more support and that India should identify a few strategic products where it can build scale and export capacity, while accepting that a growing economy will continue to depend on some imports.
Companies also highlighted the need to improve manufacturing ecosystems and energy infrastructure. Ipsita Dasgupta of HP India said that while PLI schemes are helping, there is still very little support for access to cheaper technology, and India must learn from tightly clustered manufacturing models seen in China and Taiwan.
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On the energy side, Shashwat Goenka of the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group said India must move faster towards clean and electric energy sources and focus on round-the-clock power and long-term energy security. He said India is targeting 1,000 GW of power capacity by 2032, including nuclear power, and that renewable energy must be backed by battery storage. He also said transmission infrastructure must be built ahead of demand, especially as data centres will need immediate and reliable power.
Beyond infrastructure and energy, leaders from healthcare and technology said the government should strengthen public health systems and actively support partnerships between research and development (R&D) companies, academia and industry.
The need for education reform, job creation and easier business rules also featured strongly. Janmejaya Sinha of Boston Consulting Group India said India must rethink its centres of excellence and higher-education model and consider allowing foreign universities to operate in India and repatriate profits. Business leaders also said supply chains need stronger buffers and that India must ensure its growth does not become jobless.
From the consumer and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) side, Piruz Khambatta of Rasna Pvt Ltd said the private sector must trust the government to invest, while the government must simplify compliance and keep a clear focus on Make in India.
Vishesh C Chandiok of Grant Thornton Bharat LLP said the budget is expected to focus on easing exports, promoting artificial intelligence (AI) and improving inclusion, while deregulation can help attract high-net-worth individuals back to India.
Real estate and investment experts such as Anshuman Magazine of CBRE India said global capability centres are still at an early stage in India, data centres will need far more power, and stronger tax incentives are required to attract larger investments through REITs and InvITs.
Overall, CEOs agreed that the coming budget must stay focused on reforms, infrastructure, manufacturing, exports, energy security and job creation, while improving competitiveness and investor confidence in the Indian economy.
For the entire discussion, watch the accompanying video
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