What Corporate India Really Wants From Budget 2026

With the Union Budget just weeks away, Mr. Dharamshi believes markets should temper expectations of big-ticket announcements. He notes that the budget’s incremental impact on markets has steadily reduced, as many structural reforms now occur outside the annual exercise. What investors are keenly watching is policy continuity — a key feature of the government’s stable 12-year economic framework. After years of aggressive CapEx-led growth, the focus is now shifting towards targeted demand support and consumption-oriented measures. Central government CapEx growth is expected to moderate to a sustainable 8–10%, aligned with nominal GDP growth. To keep the economic cycle moving, the budget must help activate new growth engines, including broad-based real estate recovery, rural demand, and consumption revival, supporting corporate earnings and capital markets in the year ahead.