Wipro and Marico Leaders Laud AI-Driven Vision for Viksit Bharat
Corporate leaders from Wipro, Marico, upGrad, and Mindbowser noted that the budget effectively pivots from intent to execution, especially in the tech and healthcare sectors.
Industry stalwarts from across India’s corporate spectrum have hailed the Union Budget 2026–27 as a visionary blueprint for “Viksit Bharat,” praising its focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI), skilling, and fiscal stability.
Aparna Iyer, CFO, Wipro Limited
“It is commendable to see the government meeting the fiscal deficit targets for FY’26 despite a very volatile external environment, tax rate rationalization both on taxation for Individuals announced as part of last budget and GST rates rationalization during the year.
The budget clearly articulates the Government’s vision to promote the Indian IT services sector as a primary driver of India’s economic growth, leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) as the force multiplier. By identifying AI as central to accelerating and sustaining economic growth, the government underscores its strategy to establish India as an AI-powered economic superpower. Proposal to provide long term tax exemption for data center services provided from India to foreign customers will help in establishing India as a data center hub.
The proposals such as combining IT services and R&D Services into a single bucket, increasing the threshold limit for safe harbor and providing a 2-year timeline for conclusion of unilateral APAs will provide tax certainty and reduce the cost of compliance for companies operating in the sector.
We also welcome the government’s initiatives to further improve ease of doing business, as these reforms will support enterprises across sectors by alleviating operational challenges and boosting India’s economic growth momentum.”
Ravindra Singh Negi, Managing Director and CEO, Orient Electric
“The Union Budget 2026 reinforces the government’s commitment to Atmanirbhar Bharat by strengthening domestic manufacturing, accelerating infrastructure development, and enhancing long-term energy security. The focus on scaling manufacturing capabilities, improving cost competitiveness, and supporting exports is a positive step towards building globally competitive Indian enterprises.
The emphasis on infrastructure and housing-led development in Tier II and Tier III cities, alongside initiatives to boost household incomes, is expected to stimulate demand for energy-efficient consumer electricals and appliances. As access to reliable power and urban infrastructure expands, demand for modern, efficient products will continue to rise.
Overall, this growth-first budget reinforces the positive demand outlook for electricals, appliances, and housing-linked categories, signaling a robust phase of economic expansion.”
Sandeep Chaudhary, CEO, PeopleStrong
“Union Budget 2026 marks a meaningful shift towards a more progressive, transparent, and digital tax ecosystem. The new Income Tax Act, 2025, starting from April 1, 2026, updates an old system and focuses on ease and predictability. For organizations, it streamlines payroll operations, reduces complexity, and strengthens compliance.
National missions across AI and research point to wider technology adoption and skill development. In this context, HR leaders will play a more central role in enabling digital adoption, interpreting workforce data, and supporting evolving skill requirements as job roles continue to change.”
Anuj Vishwakarma, CEO – Higher Education Programs, upGrad
“This Budget recognises a hard truth: India’s growth will be driven not by access to education alone, but by how quickly learning converts into productive talent. The clear mandate around skilling, AI readiness and ‘Education to Employment’ reflects an understanding that the future of work is already here. AI is not a threat to India’s workforce, it is a force multiplier for productivity – and by linking education, industry and emerging technologies, the government is laying the foundation for large-scale, continuous reskilling. Interventions spanning farmers in the field, women in STEM, or even supporting professional bodies like ICAI and ICSI to design modular, short-term courses signal a decisive shift towards applied, outcome-led learning; its time we leap into the next phase of implementation to build talent pipelines.”
Saugata Gupta, MD & CEO, Marico Limited
“The Union Budget 2026–27 lays out India’s growth strategy with a clear focus on sustained public investment, manufacturing scale-up, support to MSMEs, employment generation and fiscal consolidation, a decisive shift towards people-first, consumption-led growth aligned with the vision of Viksit Bharat.
The continued emphasis on enhancing agricultural incomes through higher productivity and value addition is structurally positive for rural and semi-urban demand, creating sustained tailwinds for consumption.
At the same time, the thrust on strengthening MSMEs and legacy industrial clusters, supported by improved access to credit and deeper formalisation, will further improve domestic supply chains, particularly across Tier II and Tier III markets. This is complemented by the public capital expenditure target of ₹12.2 lakh crore and continued investments in freight corridors, inland waterways and multimodal logistics, which are expected to enhance distribution networks, improve supply chain efficiencies and enable faster scale up of emerging consumption hubs.
The Budget positions technology-backed artificial intelligence as a powerful driver of inclusive growth. Initiatives such as Bharat VISTAAR are an encouraging step towards boosting farm productivity, while the expanded AI Mission and enhanced R&D focus are set to accelerate innovation and services across sectors. Collectively, these measures reflect a strong commitment to leveraging technology to bridge regional, income and capability gaps.
Additionally, the simplification of compliances reflects the government’s intent to build trust-based governance.
Overall, this Budget reflects a consistent, reform first approach anchored in fiscal prudence, infrastructure-led development and inclusive growth, creating a supportive ecosystem for long term, consumption driven growth across both urban and rural India. The emphasis is firmly on execution, competitiveness and long-term capacity building as we advance towards becoming an Atmanirbhar Bharat.”
Ankit Aggarwal, Founder of Unstop
” The proposal to create a high-powered Education to Employment and Enterprise committee is a timely acknowledgement that India’s growth story will be written in its services sector and by its talent. As AI, automation, and digital services reshape how work is created and delivered, the real challenge is no longer access to education but the translation of learning into employable and enterprise-ready skills. The government’s emphasis on large-scale AI missions and emerging technology capacity building for 25 crore Indians signals a shift from intent to infrastructure. For India to claim a meaningful global share in services by 2047, skilling systems must move faster, become outcome-driven, and stay closely aligned with real industry demand. This Budget sets the foundation for a workforce that is not just qualified, but continuously adaptable in an AI-led economy. ”
Ayush Jain, Founder & CEO, Mindbowser Inc.
“The Union Budget 2026 projects a clear shift in how healthcare is being approached in India. It has transformed into a long-term national investment rather than a short-term intervention. The focus has shifted on strengthening domestic pharma and biopharma, along with expanding healthcare infrastructure and building workforce capacity, addressing the gaps which industry has been talking about for years .
By making care more scalable, providing clinicians with better decision-making tools, and enhancing access to essential treatments, especially in underserved areas, digital health and healthtech platforms can help close long-standing access gaps.
It is also encouraging to see that traditional medicine is coming closer to contemporary healthcare. If implemented carefully, it will allow a more comprehensive, data-driven care model that will be specifically tailored to India. We can say that The 2026 budget establishes the foundation for a more integrated, proactive, and outcome-oriented healthcare system.”
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