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Welcome to the Budget Expectations live blog!
Here, NDTV Profit will take you through what different sectors and industries are expecting from the 2026 Union Budget.
Today, the finance ministry will hold the customary halwa ceremony, marking the beginning of the final and most confidential phase of preparations for the Union Budget 2026-27.
The Budget Session of Parliament will start on Jan. 28 and continue till April 2. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget 2026-27 on an unorthodox day of the week, being Sunday, Feb. 01, 2026. The Union Budget is set to be presented on a Sunday for the first time in decades. The Economic Survey will be tabled on Jan. 20, before the budget is presented.
Stay tuned for more updates.
Budget 2026 Expectations Live: GST Clarity, Single-Window Clearances For Startups, Expects Uppal Brewers
Ankur Sachdeva, CEO & Co-Founder, Uppal Brewers and Distillers (UBD) says, “As India’s retail sector moves towards a $1.9 trillion milestone by 2030, startups in value-added manufacturing can benefit from a sharper focus on ease of doing business." He expects greater GST clarity and rationalisation, along with a single-window digital clearance system, to accelerate innovation. Sachdeva adds that interstate regulatory consistency will reduce compliance burdens and enable startups to scale responsibly. Streamlining approvals, he says, "can help Indian-origin brands compete globally and support the ‘Viksit Bharat’ vision.”
Budget 2026 Expectations Live: Stronger KYC, Stable Funding Key For Microfinance, Expects MFIN
Alok Misra, CEO & Director, Microfinance Industry Network (MFIN) says, "The microfinance sector, which touches nearly 30 crore low-income people, needs policy support through a robust KYC framework for accurate borrower verification and responsible credit reporting. In light of the Supreme Court judgement restricting Aadhaar use, solutions such as last-four-digit storage or tokenisation need to be enabled." He also expects "steps to ensure more stable funding mechanisms, as excessive dependence of NBFC-MFIs on bank funding has led to stress and nearly 50 lakh clients exiting formal finance over the past year. Misra adds that improving credit discipline and an early announcement on the proposed credit guarantee scheme could restore lender confidence and support financial inclusion."
Budget 2026 Expectations Live: Strengthening Digital Healthcare, And Eldercare As A Priority, Expects Anvayaa
Prashanth Reddy, Founder & MD, Anvayaa says, "As India prepares for Budget 2026, it is crucial to strengthen the digital healthcare ecosystem while formally recognising eldercare as a priority sector. Policy support through tax incentives for senior care services, wider insurance coverage for preventive and assisted care, and incentives for digital health platforms will enable scalable, home-based care models. Such measures can significantly improve senior well-being while building a sustainable, technology-driven healthcare and eldercare ecosystem."
Budget 2026 Expectations Live: Incentives For Upskilling, And Entrepreneurship, Expects UpGrad's Ronnie Screwvala
Ronnie Screwvala, Entrepreneur, Investor & Co-founder, upGrad & Swades Foundation says, “I think we are in a good place. I think the world is in a rocky place and I think we have behaved in a very mature manner." He expects the focus needs to be "the skilling mantra, which over the last two-three years has actually gathered momentum. We have to offer much more skilled people. I’m not talking about skilled labour alone. The focus over the next five years has to be to upskill people, build self-entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship in a very different manner. For AI, I don’t think over-capitalising the sector is a good idea. The right mix of capital investment is important, with large investments going into data centres, while innovation in areas like healthcare, education and skilling builds step by step."
Budget 2026 Expectations Live: Halwa Ceremony To Be Held Today
The ceremony, a long-standing tradition in India's budgetary process, symbolises the transition from drafting and deliberations to the finalisation of the Budget document. It is expected to be attended by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and senior officials of the ministry, along with staff who have been closely involved in the Budget-making exercise.
Following the halwa ceremony, around 60-70 officials directly associated with the preparation and finalisation of the Union Budget will enter the lock-in period.
During this phase, they will remain cut off from all external communication until the Budget is presented in Parliament. The lock-in is a critical confidentiality measure aimed at preventing any leakage of sensitive fiscal information, including tax proposals, expenditure allocations, and policy measures.
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