BUDGET SHOULD SIGNAL DIRECTION FOR A DECADE

Budget 2026 comes at a time when significant government moves have helped insulate India from global and geopolitical uncertainties.

- R. DINESH

Over the years, the budget has not only signalled policy intent, but also enabled reforms that have been effectively implemented. Today, India has the opportunity to consolidate these gains and accelerate into the next phase of growth by developing measurable outcomes and effective delivery mechanisms.Changes to the personal income tax announced in last year’s budget have been a game-changer. Then the GST reforms of September 2025 simplified a complex system. GST collections doubled from ₹11.37 trillion in FY21 to ₹22.08 trillion in FY25, while the taxpayer base expanded from 6.65 million to over 15 million. This is not merely revenue growth, but clear evidence of deeper formalization of the economy.

Infrastructure investment rose 11% last year to ₹11.11 trillion, maintaining capital expenditure at 3.4% of GDP. As this scale of spending continues, the emphasis must shift from capacity creation to de-bottlenecking and efficiency gains. The PM Gati Shakti data announced in the last budget is now visible to investors and users, providing a powerfull planning tool to identify where