How the Budget Can Deliver Viksit Bharat

In the run-up to Budget FY26, the government held a series of consultations with various stakeholders.

- Anish Shah

The need for measures against headwinds facing the economy—growth and demand slowdown—was underscored. But India's journey to becoming Viksit Bharat must remain the larger focus.

Last year, Ficci identified four priority areas: Make in India, farm prosperity, sustainability, and women-led development. The government has already taken a series of measures in each of these areas, and we expect the upcoming budget to maintain this momentum.

Let's look at what more needs to be done. There is a need to make India the factory of the world with a strong micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) engine, targeting raising our share in global manufacturing from 3.1% to 5% over the next few years. Reforms focusing on lowering costs and enhancing the ease of doing business are crucial for this. The government may consider the creation of interstate platforms on the lines of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council as many reforms needed lie in the state and concurrent domains.