Ficci VP: Here are four budget imperatives for India to build a future-ready economy

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Amid slowing growth, rising geo-economic fragmentation and tightening financial conditions, the global economic landscape is increasingly complex. India is a rare bright spot.

However, sustaining its momentum will require more than short-term resilience. The Union budget for 2026–27 must act as a strategic enabler—strengthening long-term competitiveness, insulating growth from external shocks and laying the foundation for strong and inclusive expansion. From an industry perspective, expectations from the budget can be distilled into four high-impact priorities: Build self-reliance: It should reinforce atmanirbharta by prioritizing strategic sectors where domestic capability is critical, not only for growth, but also for competitiveness and national security.

The policy agenda must be anchored in a sector-specific, value-chain-driven manufacturing strategy that converts rising domestic consumption into local production and employment. As India’s consumer market expands, the strategic imperative is clear: domestic demand must be met by globally competitive domestic manufacturing. This requires targeted support for key value chains, enabling firms to scale, innovate and integrate into global supply networks while reducing their vulnerability to external disruptions.

Manufacturing-led growth: Expanding manufacturing from around 17% of GDP to 25% is critical to boost employment. The sector’s growth has a high multiplier effect, generating direct factory jobs while supporting employment across logistics, small firms, services and regional supply chains. Large-scale ecosystems in electronics, renewable energy, defence, pharmaceuticals, auto components, food processing and chemicals can absorb