Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Union Budget 2026-27, presented yesterday, continues to anchor India’s medium-term growth story in disciplined fiscal consolidation (deficit at 4.3% of GDP) and sustained capital expenditure of ₹12.2 lakh crore, while sharpening focus on human capital development, preventive & tertiary healthcare, Tier-II/III city ecosystems, global capability centre (GCC) expansion, and inclusive urbanisation.
Key sectoral measures include training 1.5 lakh multi-skilled caregivers aligned with NSQF, new Ayush AIIMS centres, clinical research sites, a High-Powered ‘Education to Employment and Enterprise’ Standing Committee for services, expanded medical & pharma capacity, city economic regions, infrastructure thrust in non-metro areas, and policy signals supporting workforce mobility for multinational GCCs.
Industry voices from healthcare, real estate, relocation services, coffee exports, and hospitality have welcomed the budget as forward-looking and execution-oriented, positioning India for resilient, talent-led, and geographically balanced growth.
Healthcare: Skilling, Institutions and Preventive Focus
The budget’s emphasis on workforce development, institutional capacity, and preventive care has been hailed as a strategic response to India’s aging population and rising non-communicable disease burden.
Mr. Deepak Sharma, Co-founder & CEO, MedLern, highlighted the human capital push:
“The Union Budget 2026–27 demonstrates a strong commitment to India’s healthcare and services ecosystem by centering skilling, institutional capacity-building, and employment on NSQF, aligned programs to train 1.5 lakh multi-skilled caregivers, directly tackling workforce shortages in geriatric, palliative, and allied care amid a rapidly aging population. Equally strategic is the High-Powered ‘Education to Employment and Enterprise’ Standing Committee for services, bridging academic curricula with AI-driven tools, digital health platforms, and real-world demands to propel India toward global services leadership. This talent foundation extends to the proposed clinical research sites, which introduce specialized roles to grow India’s talent pool, accelerate new drug market entry, and cement the nation as a life sciences innovation hub, while new Ayush AIIMS centers elevate the credibility, reach, and global impact of India’s holistic treatment strengths. Strengthened professional institutions, industry-led research/training centers, and ‘corporate mitras’ for compliance, targeted at Tier II/III cities, unlock inclusive talent pipelines, enabling seamless transitions from training to deployment in home care, diagnostics, and telemedicine. These pair powerfully with five regional medical hubs and integrated infrastructure expansions, ensuring skilled professionals span the care continuum from preventive wellness to advanced treatments. Overall, this fiscal prudence fused with human capital investment forges a resilient, efficient, and competitive healthcare services ecosystem primed for scalable excellence.”
Mr. Lovekesh Phasu, Group Chief Operating Officer, Sakra World Hospital, Bengaluru, stressed preventive and tertiary priorities:
“As India approaches the Union Budget, there is a critical opportunity to strengthen the healthcare ecosystem through sustained and outcome-driven investments. While recent budgetary allocations have expanded access and improved public health coverage, the next phase must prioritise preventive healthcare, advanced medical infrastructure, and continuous upskilling of healthcare professionals. The upcoming Budget should earmark higher allocations for tertiary and quaternary care, incentivise technology adoption through tax benefits for digital health, AI-enabled diagnostics, and medical equipment manufacturing, and expand viability gap funding for public–private partnerships. Rationalising GST on medical devices, offering weighted tax deductions for R&D, and improving access to affordable credit for healthcare MSMEs will further accelerate innovation and self-reliance. A future-ready healthcare system is not only essential for better patient outcomes but is also a cornerstone of economic productivity and resilience. Recognizing healthcare as core economic infrastructure will unlock private investment, drive innovation, and build a resilient system that supports India’s long-term growth and national wellbeing.”
Rakshith Rangarajan, Equity Fund Manager, Inviga Investment Advisors Private Limited, called for faculty and scholarship focus:
“The Budget 2026 needs to address not only infrastructure and financing, but also the human capital that runs the healthcare system—students, healthcare workers, and beneficiaries. It is reasonable to expect Budget 2026 to sustain and strengthen flagship programmes such as Ayushman Bharat–Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) and the Health and Wellness Centre initiative, while introducing targeted measures for workforce and talent development. Equally critical is strengthening public academic and tertiary-care institutions to improve working conditions and career pathways for healthcare professionals. Budget 2026 could operationalise a National Healthcare Faculty and Skills Mission with a ring-fenced allocation to: (i) fill sanctioned but vacant faculty posts in government medical, nursing, and allied health institutions; and (ii) establish high-fidelity simulation and skills laboratories in a defined cohort of medical, nursing, and paramedical colleges. This would directly support competency-based training and measurable improvements in quality and patient safety. Finally, the Budget should expand merit- and need-linked scholarships, along with bonded training pathways, for students from underserved and aspirational districts in priority disciplines such as family medicine, emergency and critical care, geriatrics, oncology nursing, and other NCD-related specialties. Properly designed service bonds and posting norms can ensure that this enhanced pool of trained professionals is deployed in Tier II–III cities and rural districts, where disease burden is rising and specialist availability remains constrained.”
GCCs & Talent Mobility: Infrastructure as Enabler
The budget’s urban and digital investments are seen as critical enablers for India’s growing role as a GCC destination.
Vishal Agarwal, Regional Head – India & GCC, Writer Relocations, noted:
“The Union Budget reinforces India’s emergence as a global hub for talent and enterprise mobility, particularly as Global Capability Centres continue to scale across major Indian cities. Investments in infrastructure, urban development and digital systems directly strengthen the ecosystem required to support large-scale workforce relocations for GCCs setting up and expanding in India. As multinational companies move more high-value roles to India, seamless employee mobility, housing, compliance, and logistics will become critical enablers. This clear policy direction will help relocation partners support GCCs more efficiently, accelerate talent movement, and further cement India’s position as the preferred destination for global capability centres and long-term corporate investment.”
Tier-II/III & Real Estate: Balanced Urbanisation
The sustained focus on non-metro growth, connectivity, and planned development has been welcomed for its long-term multiplier effects.
Mr. Shekhar Patel, MD and CEO, Ganesh Housing Limited, said:
“Union Budget 2026 reinforces a clear shift in India’s growth approach by placing Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities at the heart of the Viksit Bharat vision. The continued focus on infrastructure development, MSME expansion, manufacturing and semiconductor ecosystems, along with digital capacity building across AI and technology, strengthens the foundation for employment creation and enterprise growth beyond traditional metropolitan markets. For the real estate sector, the Budget improves long-term fundamentals around connectivity, capital confidence and planned urbanisation. Cities such as Ahmedabad stand to benefit significantly from this approach, given their strong industrial base, improving urban infrastructure and growing appeal as destinations for businesses, talent and institutional capital. The emphasis on digital public infrastructure and technology-enabled governance will further shape how such cities plan, develop and manage real assets, supporting more efficient and future-ready urban ecosystems. As enterprises, technology-led companies and GCCs diversify their geographic footprint, demand will increasingly move towards well-planned, compliant residential and commercial developments in emerging markets. Budget 2026 provides the policy stability and execution momentum required for developers to invest with confidence, align supply with economic growth, and support the next phase of balanced urban and economic transformation.”
Jai Challa, CEO, Curated Living Solutions, added:
“The Union Budget 2026–27 is a forward-looking and reform-oriented budget that reinforces India’s growth momentum while maintaining fiscal discipline. The continued thrust on public capital expenditure, infrastructure creation, urban development, and financial sector reforms sends a strong signal of stability and long-term intent, which is critical in a volatile global environment. The focus on city economic regions, Tier-II and Tier-III cities, ease of doing business, and employment generation will have a positive multiplier effect across sectors, including real estate and allied industries. That said, affordable housing remains a critical enabler of inclusive growth, especially for first-time homebuyers, migrant workforce, students, and young professionals powering India’s urban economy. A renewed policy push through measures such as interest subvention, enhanced tax incentives, viability gap funding, or revival of targeted affordable housing schemes can significantly accelerate housing supply and demand at the bottom and middle of the pyramid. We are confident that the Government, having laid a strong macro-economic foundation in this Budget, will revisit the affordable housing sector with focused announcements in the near future to further boost urban inclusion, job creation, and the ‘Housing for All’ vision.”
Agriculture & Coffee: Resilience and Value Addition
The sector seeks targeted support for climate adaptation, traceability, and premiumisation.
Rana George, Managing Director, Kelachandra Coffee, observed:
“India’s coffee sector stands at a crossroads. Strong global demand and premium price cycles meet rising climate uncertainty, higher cultivation costs, labour constraints and tougher export compliance. Budget 2026 is a timely opportunity to strengthen farm resilience through irrigation, tailored crop insurance, long-tenure credit for replanting and support for mechanisation, and to invest in research for climate-tolerant varieties. We need a national digital traceability backbone to meet evolving regulations, plus incentives for value-added exports, post-harvest infrastructure and quality labs. Supporting skills for roasting and baristas and origin-brand building will help India move from exporter of green beans to a recognised premium origin. If the Budget prioritises resilience, traceability, research and branding, growers and the sector will benefit.”
The Union Budget 2026-27 presents a cohesive narrative: investing in human capital for healthcare and services, enabling GCC expansion through mobility and infrastructure, accelerating balanced urban growth in Tier-II/III cities, and laying foundations for resilient agriculture. With fiscal anchors intact, the budget’s impact will hinge on implementation speed, public-private collaboration, and follow-through on affordable housing and preventive health to translate policy signals into inclusive, sustainable progress toward Viksit Bharat.
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