Overall, Budget 2026 delivers clear strategic incentives for long-term digital and network infrastructure growth, tax clarity, and global positioning in cloud and semiconductors. However, tangible benefits depend on build-out timelines, regulatory follow-through, and addressing legacy cost burdens in the telecom sector. Successful execution will determine whether these provisions translate into sustained competitiveness for India’s IT and Telecom industries.
Strategic Funding & CapEx Support
The Union Budget 2026 allocates a significant sum (~₹74,560 crore) for IT and Telecom, signalling continued prioritisation of digital infrastructure and connectivity. This investment underpins next-generation networks like 5G/6G and strengthens rural broadband expansion.
Telecom Infrastructure Boost Telecom allocations rose sharply (near 38 % increase compared to revised estimates), with major support aimed at BSNL and broader network build-out. This can improve coverage and competitive parity, especially outside urban centres.
Safe Harbour & Tax Certainty for IT Services The safe harbour threshold for IT services jumped from ₹300 crore to ₹2,000 crore, reducing compliance friction for a wider segment of service providers and potentially lowering tax dispute risk.
Data Centres & Cloud Push A long-term tax holiday until 2047 for foreign cloud services companies operating via Indian data centres is a major strategic incentive. This aims to attract hyperscalers, boost data localisation, and position India as a global digital hub.
Semiconductor Mission & R&D Support The launch of India Semiconductor Mission 2.0 with a large funding increase (multifold compared with prior allocations) strengthens the domestic semiconductor ecosystem—critical for both IT hardware and telecom equipment supply chains.
Focus on AI, Gaming, Digital Skills Budget messaging emphasised AI, gaming, cloud, and digital skills — sectors closely linked with IT industry growth and innovation — along with content creator labs and capacity building in digital technologies.
Cons & Risks for IT & Telecom Slow Immediate Impact While the data centre and AI incentives are strong on paper, setting up infrastructure and seeing tangible benefits will take years (electricity, cooling, land and regulatory clearance issues are non-trivial).
Persistent Telecom Cost Burdens Industry bodies (like COAI) highlighted that high spectrum prices and regulatory levies remain unchanged. Without reduction in spectrum costs or licence fees, operators may still face tight margins, which could slow network rollout and capex.
Competitive Balance & Domestic Ecosystem Risks Tax holidays focused on foreign cloud providers could disadvantage smaller domestic players if safeguards are not carefully calibrated. There’s also the risk that policy execution mismatches aspiration (coordination among government, industry, and academia is essential but complex).
Below are the industry excerpts shared with NewzOnClick…
Union Budget 2026: Enabling Growth and Digital Sovereignty
Mr. Raju Vegesna, Chairman & Managing Director, Sify Technologies Ltd.
“The Union Budget for 2026-27 emphasizes accelerating India’s AI journey and strengthening the country’s data center infrastructure. This focus is timely and forward-looking. The Budget combines long-term tax incentives for cloud and data center investments with a broader push for digital infrastructure and innovation. It recognizes that high-quality computing capacity is now crucial to India’s growth, just like roads and power.
As a home-grown, AI-ready data center platform with a growing presence in India’s key digital hubs, we see these measures as a positive sign for sustained, cost-effective capacity creation. They also promote deeper partnerships with hyperscalers and faster cloud adoption by enterprises. These initiatives will allow us to continue investing in energy-efficient, high-density infrastructure that supports India’s AI workloads, protects data sovereignty, and helps global and domestic customers run their most demanding applications in India. Overall, the Budget supports a long-term, demand-driven vision for the country’s digital infrastructure sector, which aligns with our goal of building India’s trusted, large-scale colocation and AI infrastructure platform.”
Building India as a Global AI Platform!
CP Gurnani, Co-Founder and Vice Chairman, AIONOS “Union Budget 2026 signals a decisive shift in how India is approaching technology, from adoption to strategic capability building. The emphasis on AI, semiconductors, cloud and data infrastructure reflects a clear understanding that leadership in the digital economy is built bottom-up, starting with strong foundations. The strengthening of the India AI Mission provides a coordinated framework to accelerate AI research, deployment and ethical governance across sectors. Importantly, this is not a narrow tech agenda. By aligning AI investments with skilling, workforce readiness and MSME enablement, the Budget recognises that scale, inclusion and competitiveness must move together. Equally important is the focus on preparing for AI’s impact on the services sector. For a country where services drive growth and employment, anticipating change is far more responsible than reacting to disruption. Incentives for digital infrastructure and hardware ecosystems position India as a credible destination for global investment. As technology becomes central to economic growth, its true impact lies in how inclusively it is applied. Initiatives like Bharat Vistar, which provides farmers local-language, data-driven crop guidance, and the Centre of Excellence in AI for Education, which promotes research into AI tools for improving the quality of learning, demonstrate how technology can create meaningful impact where it matters most. Taken together, these measures reflect India’s ambition to move from being a large consumer of technology to a trusted global platform for AI-led innovation, grounded in talent, infrastructure and real outcomes.”
Accelerating India’s Global Competitiveness!
Abhishek Garg, Director, DBG Technology Pvt. Ltd.
“Union Budget 2026 further strengthens the foundation for the Government’s enhanced capital expenditure and progressive industry-focused schemes — particularly the expansion of the India Semiconductor Mission 2.0 with a significant outlay — signal a transformative push for electronics, semiconductors and high-value tech manufacturing. The emphasis on electronics components manufacturing, skills development and strategic investment incentives is a decisive step toward reducing import dependence and scaling indigenous capabilities. We are encouraged by this forward-looking policy framework that aligns with our commitment to innovation, ‘Make in India’, and empowering the Indian technology ecosystem. We believe the budget focuses on accelerating growth for the industry but will also help in strengthening India’s position in the global technology landscape, inspiring confidence for long-term investment, job creation, and sustained competitiveness.”
Driving India’s Innovation, AI, and a Future-Ready Ecosystem
“The Union Budget 2026 reinforces India’s emergence as a trusted technology and innovation partner. The Government’s recognition of cutting‑edge technologies such as Artificial Intelligence as force multipliers for good governance is particularly encouraging. It underscores the pivotal role of the Indian IT industry in delivering innovation, efficiency and scalable digital solutions for the nation. Initiatives such as the IndiaAI Mission, National Quantum Mission, National Research Fund and the enhanced R&D ecosystem reflect a bold, inclusive, and future‑ready vision. This alignment of policy, technology and talent will accelerate India’s journey toward becoming a global innovation powerhouse. Additionally, the launch of India Semiconductor Mission 2.0 will significantly strengthen the country’s technology ecosystem by deepening the integration of hardware and software capabilities, positioning India as a leader in next‑generation digital infrastructure.”
ISM 2.0: Accelerating India’s Journey to a Global Semiconductor Hub
Anku Jain, Managing Director, MediaTek India “The expansion of India Semiconductor Mission through ISM 2.0 in Budget 2026 is a strong step towards building India as a global semiconductor hub. By prioritizing the development of full-stack Indian IP and domestic equipment manufacturing with continued policy support, the government is fostering an environment to boost innovation and design, strengthening India’s competitiveness by supporting scale, speed and just-in-time manufacturing.”
Union Budget 2026: Boosting India’s Space and Science Ecosystem
Lt. Gen. AK Bhatt (retd.), Director General, Indian Space Association (ISpA) “We are hopeful that today’s Budget, with its emphasis on easing processes and creating a more investment friendly environment for science and technology, will encourage greater private sector participation. The increase in ISRO’s allocation to Rs 13,705.63 crore in FY 2026–27 is an important signal that will help support deeper private sector participation in ISRO led programmes across launch vehicles, satellites and scientific missions. Alongside this, the announcement on expanding telescope infrastructure and learning facilities is a meaningful step towards strengthening India’s scientific base in astrophysics and astronomy. Together, these measures can improve observational capabilities, enable long term research and strengthen collaboration between ISRO, academia and industry, gradually enhancing India’s contribution to global space science and the broader space ecosystem.”
Geospatial Intelligence: Driving Efficient Infrastructure and Balanced Urban Growth
Agendra Kumar, Managing Director, Esri India “The Union Budget’s strong emphasis on long-term growth, Atmanirbharta, and India’s emergence as a global manufacturing and logistics hub creates significant opportunities for the geospatial sector. The substantial increase in capital expenditure to ₹12.2 lakh crore, with a clear focus on freight and rail corridors, inland waterways and multimodal infrastructure, will play a critical role in reducing logistics costs and turnaround times. Investments aimed at improving Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, alongside the AMRUT programme, will accelerate balanced urban development. The ₹1.4 lakh crore provision to the states will lead to initiatives that will underscore the growing role of geospatial intelligence in planning, monitoring and decision-making, positioning the sector as a key enabler of India’s development agenda.”
Building Skills, Infrastructure, and Inclusive Impact
Ganesh Gopalan, Co-Founder & CEO, Gnani.ai “The Union Budget 2026 is a timely and forward-looking budget, with the Finance Minister rightly highlighting that AI will have a strong multiplier effect on the Indian economy. The focus on assessing the impact of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence on jobs and skills reinforces the need to prepare for this shift. The adoption of AI and rapid tech advancements is essential for inclusive national progress, driving productivity and new economic opportunities. Taxation benefits for data centres and safe harbour clauses will further enable large-scale AI model training and infrastructure growth. Initiatives like multilingual AI-based agriculture tools for farmers show meaningful grassroots impact, while large-scale upskilling and industry–academia collaboration remain key to building a future-ready workforce.”
Transfering Pricing Certainty
Sunil Arora, National Head, Taxation, ASA & Associates “From a transfer pricing standpoint, the Budget 2026–27 proposals represent a considered shift toward greater certainty. The consolidation of Software Development/ITES/KPO/R&D services into a single bucket of ‘IT Services’, expansion of safe harbour thresholds from INR 300 cr ($33mn) to INR 2000 cr ($217mn), adoption of uniform margins of 15.5% and the introduction of automated approvals should narrow the scope of potential transfer pricing controversy for IT companies and Global Capability Centres (GCCs). Furthermore, the focus on expediting unilateral APAs and introducing safe harbours for data centres, bonded warehousing and toll manufacturing activities reflects a practical approach to evolving business models. The taxation of buybacks as capital gains is a welcome step towards simplification of shareholder taxation, specifically beneficial for minority and non-promoter investors. The additional levy on promoters at 30% (non-corporate) /22% (corporate) appears to be an anti-arbitrage measure that addresses the use of buybacks as a dividend substitute. This could materially alter promoter-level tax outcomes and requires revisiting exit strategies.”
Eyeing Services-Led Growth
Ankit Agarwal, Vice-Chairman & Non-Executive Director, Invenia-STL Networks “The Union Budget 2026 firmly positions the services sector as a core growth engine of Viksit Bharat, reinforcing its role in driving economic growth, employment and exports. The Budget advances the Government’s long-term focus on attracting foreign investment into digital infrastructure, strengthening India’s emergence as a preferred cloud services hub while fostering domestic innovation. A clear emphasis on data centres recognises them as critical enablers of India’s digital growth and its ambitions in artificial intelligence, cloud computing and digital public infrastructure, supported by incentives aimed at strengthening the country’s data infrastructure and AI-led capabilities. Equally important is the shift towards tax clarity and certainty to reinforce India’s position as a global technology and data hub. Consolidating software, IT-enabled services, KPO and contract R&D under a single Information Technology Services framework will also bring in clarity and tax certainty. A uniform safe harbour margin, higher eligibility thresholds and automated approvals will significantly reduce compliance friction and strengthen India’s standing as a global IT services hub. Together, these measures will strengthen India’s trajectory to becoming a trusted, scalable destination for digital workloads, aligning talent, technology and infrastructure for sustained growth in an AI-led global economy.”
Investment-Led Growth Powering India’s Industrial and Manufacturing Future
Sharad Malhotra, Managing Director, Nippon Paint (India) Group “Union Budget 2026 reinforces the government’s focus on sustaining economic momentum through higher capital expenditure, infrastructure creation and fiscal discipline. This continued emphasis on investment-led growth will be critical in supporting India’s long-term ambition of becoming the world’s third-largest economy while creating meaningful employment at scale. The proposal to support states in setting up three dedicated chemical parks through a cluster-based, plug-and-play framework is a timely step. It will strengthen domestic manufacturing capabilities, improve supply chain efficiency and reduce import dependence, which is particularly important for sectors such as paints and coatings that rely on a robust chemical ecosystem. Overall, the Budget reflects a balanced approach that combines industrial growth, technological advancement and sustainability. By improving ease of doing business amid a volatile global environment, it lays the foundation for higher productivity, long-term manufacturing resilience and India’s emergence as a globally competitive industrial hub.”
Empowering Villages and Women at the Heart of Development
Avinash Kumar, COO, DJT Microfinance “Budget 2026-27 truly honors the spirit of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ by focusing on inclusive development at the grassroots level as a key driver of growth for the rural economy. The emphasis on ‘SHE Marts’ to empower women entrepreneurs and the top-up of the Self-Reliant India Fund for micro-enterprises, with banks now covering 98% of villages, will aid financial inclusion, ensuring that the dividends of our 7% growth reach the last mile, turning every village into an engine of economic participation.”
Securing Supply Chains and Advancing Pragmatic Decarbonisation
Vasudha Madhavan, Founder & CEO, Ostara Advisors “This Budget reflects a shift from aspiration to execution. The creation of rare earth corridors in mineral-rich states addresses a critical supply-chain vulnerability by anchoring domestic manufacturing capabilities. Importantly, the ₹20,000 crore commitment to carbon capture and storage establishes a credible foundation for decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors such as power, steel, and cement, where alternatives remain limited at scale. The government’s phased, programmatic approach to CCUS enables industrial emissions reduction without disrupting growth, strengthens energy security, and advances India’s net-zero pathway in a pragmatic, economically aligned manner.”
Clarity, Scale, and Confidence: Indian UB2026
Monica Pirgal, CEO , Bhartiya Converge “By unifying IT services, easing safe harbour norms, and decisively rewarding scale, the government has removed the core friction points that global enterprises faced while expanding in India. The move to a single IT Services framework and predictable margins replaces years of classification ambiguity and tax uncertainty with clarity and confidence. Most notably, raising the safe harbour threshold to ₹2,000 crore signals a powerful shift scale is no longer penalised but actively encouraged. Combined with automated approvals, long-term incentives for cloud and data infrastructure, and a renewed focus on services-led employment and skills, India is no longer competing only on cost. It is positioning itself as the most predictable, scalable, and future-ready global operations hub for enterprises building long-term value.”
Unlocking Youth Potential Through India’s Creative and Design Economy
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Vice Chancellor, World University of Design “The Budget’s strong push towards the creative and design economy is a welcome step for India’s youth. I have been advocating for this. By expanding AVGC and content creation labs across schools and colleges, the government is opening doors to future-ready careers within the growing creative economy. The proposal to strengthen design education addresses a long-standing talent gap. Together, these measures will nurture creativity, generate meaningful employment, and position India as a global hub for design, content, and innovation.”
Stability, Reforms, and Resilience: Steering India’s Long-Term Economic Strength
Nilanjan Banik, Professor of Economics and Finance, School of Management, Mahindra University “From a macroeconomic standpoint, Budget 2026 signals continuity and discipline, which markets value. The transition to the Income Tax Act 2025 is a welcome move toward simplicity and transparency for the common taxpayer. By restructuring PFC and REC and forming a high-level committee for ‘Viksit Bharat’ banking, the government is ensuring our financial sector is robust enough to handle global volatility. The push for asset monetization through REITs and the 12.2 lakh crore capex will provide the necessary liquidity to keep the ‘Reform Express’ moving. It is a stable, non-populist budget that prioritizes long-term economic resilience over short-term gains.”
Empowering Yuva Shakti
Dr. Yajulu Medury, Vice Chancellor, Mahindra University “The Union Budget 2026-27 takes a bold step toward making India a global knowledge hub. By focusing on ‘Yuva Shakti’ initiative, the government is bridging the gap between classroom learning and real-world careers, especially as the economy becomes more knowledge-driven. India will become a world leader in services sector with 10% share by 2047 due to introduction of high-powered Education-to-Employment Enterprises Standing Committee. The proposal for five new university townships and modular ‘Corporate Mitra’ courses will change how we train our youth for the global market.”
Dr. B. K. Chakravarthy, Dean, School of Design Innovation, Mahindra University “The Budget’s emphasis on the ‘Anusandhan’ National Research Fund and AI Mission marks a turning point for Indian innovation, where design innovation bridges design thinking and technology to spark breakthroughs. Proposing a new National Institute of Design in East India and supporting high-tech toolrooms for precision manufacturing signals that ‘Made in India’ is evolving into ‘Designed in India’—fusing design with advanced tech for global competitiveness. The focus on Animation, Visual Effects, and Gaming (AVGC) via Mumbai’s Creative Technology labs will supercharge our creative economy by blending artistic design with computational power. Through the Mahatma Gandhi Gram Swaraj Yojana, design innovation integrates cutting-edge technology with traditional craftsmanship, rooting progress in our communities and positioning India as a global leader in the design landscape.”
Laying the Foundation for Resilient Cities and Sustainable Growth
Prashant Solomon, Director, Chintels Group, CREDAI NCR EC/GC Member “The Budget outlines an impressive roadmap for the real estate and infrastructure sectors, balancing fiscal discipline and long-term value creation with a bold, infrastructure-led vision. The proposed Infrastructure Risk Guarantee Fund will help address the financing bottlenecks, de-risk construction phases and provide an added impetus for the private sector. Combined with the ₹1 lakh crore Urban Challenge Fund, it signals a transformative shift toward making our cities resilient hubs of economic activity, inclusive urban development and sustainable growth. The focus on Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities will drive investment and growth, laying the foundational infrastructure for a Viksit Bharat.”
Union Budget 2026, Shaping India’s Service-Led Growth for 2047
Rajashri Sai, Founder & CEO, Impactree.ai
“The Union Budget 2026 sends a clear signal that India is ready to place technology, and particularly AI, at the heart of its next growth cycle. The emphasis on national AI missions and a structured push to make the services sector a core driver of Viksit Bharat reflects a long-term view rather than a short-term stimulus. Over the next decade, we expect India’s IT and services sector to evolve from being largely execution-led to becoming insight- and outcome-driven, with AI, data platforms, and digital infrastructure shaping how value is created. This transition will not only redefine productivity but also open new categories of jobs and specialised skills across the ecosystem. What will be critical is ensuring that emerging technologies are accessible beyond large enterprises. If implemented well, these missions have the potential to help MSMEs and mid-sized IT players participate meaningfully in global value chains, while positioning India as a trusted hub for next-generation digital services by 2047.”
Empowering MSMEs for a Sustainable, Service-Led Future
Vivek Shankaranarayanan, Co-founder and CTO, Impactree.ai
“The Union Budget 2026 rightly positions artificial intelligence and emerging technologies as the backbone of India’s next phase of inclusive growth. The ₹25-crore allocation for AI capacity-building missions and the proposal for a high-powered committee on the service sector signal a forward-looking approach to making India a global knowledge and innovation hub by 2047. For MSMEs, this focus on digital and AI ecosystems is particularly transformative. Technology can become the bridge that helps small enterprises convert sustainability and governance performance into financial credibility. AI-driven platforms can simplify ESG reporting, strengthen supply-chain intelligence, and enable access to green and transition finance that has so far remained concentrated among large corporations. The government’s commitment to measuring the impact of AI on jobs is welcome and timely. What is now needed is a clear integration of these missions with climate-finance frameworks so that MSMEs can use data, automation, and Green Credit mechanisms to unlock affordable capital and new market opportunities. If executed with strong public-private collaboration, this Budget can accelerate India’s journey toward a resilient, service-led and sustainable economy, where technology empowers even the smallest enterprise to participate in the nation’s industrial revolution.”
Strengthening India’s Semiconductor Ecosystem!
Dr. Rajeev Gautam, President, HORIBA India
“We commend to see government’s strong focus on semiconductors and advanced technologies, it signifies the government’s strategic priority to equip our nation with a globally competitive, future-ready technological ecosystem.
The emphasis on strengthening the semiconductor value chain from manufacturing and materials to design, testing, and R&D will certainly accelerate India’s journey of becoming a trusted global hub for electronics and deep-tech innovation. The proposed policy measures will reinforce our commitment to support India’s technological goals through analytical, measurement, and testing solutions. Therefore, the new reform will catalyse stronger industry-academia collaboration, foster innovation, and push the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat in the semiconductor and technology space.”
Strengthening Sovereign Cloud and Secure Digital Infrastructure
Faiz Shakir, VP & Managing Director – India & ASEAN, Nutanix “By strengthening policy and investment support for cloud and digital infrastructure, the Union Budget supports India’s move to help organisations securely manage regulated and sovereign data. Nutanix’s platform supports these sovereign cloud environments by providing strong security, operational control, and the ability to run AI at scale.”
Enabling Viksit Bharat Through Infrastructure-Led Services Growth
Ms. Rupal Sinha, CEO – BVG India Ltd. “The Union Budget 2026 truly sets a visionary course for India. We see immense potential in the government’s commitment to building a ‘Viksit Bharat,’ particularly through its robust focus on infrastructure and urban development. The emphasis on Tier II and Tier III cities, coupled with initiatives like the ₹5,000 crore allocation per City Economic Region for modern infrastructure, creates a fertile ground for our diversified services. Furthermore, the clarity provided on the supply of manpower services being brought within the ambit of TDS, with rates of either 1% or 2% , is a welcome step. Our integrated facility management, sustainability-led solutions, and emergency response platforms are designed to be at the forefront of this transformation. We are also keenly observing the expansion of the services sector, with an ambitious target of a 10% global share by 2047. Our strategic focus extends beyond India, where we are already establishing a strong presence in infrastructure-heavy and emerging economies, particularly within the GCC, building on our operational footprint in Saudi Arabia. We are committed to being a key enabler, leveraging our technology and expertise to enhance public infrastructure and foster community well-being, both domestically and on the global stage.”
Building Resilient, Future-Ready Infrastructure Through Digital Investment
Mr. Shriprakash Pandey, Chairman & MD, Commtel Networks Limited
“Union Budget 2026–27 sends a message about India’s commitment to building future-ready, resilient infrastructure. The continued scale-up in capital expenditure creates the right momentum to strengthen the digital backbone that supports power, energy, transportation and telecom networks across the country. As India’s infrastructure becomes more connected and data-driven, sustained investment in robust communications and digital systems will play a vital role in ensuring reliability, safety and long-term performance. We are also encouraged by the Budget’s focus on advanced technologies and domestic manufacturing, including initiatives such as India Semiconductor Mission 2.0, which strengthen the broader ecosystem for secure and high-quality infrastructure deployment. Together, these measures provide clarity, confidence and a stable operating environment for companies working in mission-critical communications and digital infrastructure, enabling us to support India’s growth ambitions while contributing to a more resilient and secure national infrastructure landscape.”
