OPINION | Union Budget 2026–27: Steady signals for long-term growth

The Budget recognises that consumption growth is driven as much by confidence and ease as by income.

Union Budget 2026–27 provides a clear and consistent policy framework to support consumption, manufacturing, and enterprise growth across the economy. In a volatile global environment, its emphasis on stability, fiscal discipline, and long-term outcomes offers reassurance on India’s growth strategy.

What stands out in this Budget is the continued emphasis on digital public infrastructure and predictable, rule-based governance. Building on years of investment in digital systems across taxation, payments, logistics, and compliance, the Budget further simplifies processes and expands automation across customs and services. While many of these reforms may appear technical on the surface, their impact is structural.

They lower the cost of doing business, reduce uncertainty, and improve planning and compliance outcomes, encouraging more enterprises to participate in the formal economy. This predictability is particularly important for small businesses and sellers navigating increasingly digital markets.

The Budget also recognises that consumption growth is driven as much by confidence and ease as by income. Measures that reduce procedural friction and free up time and liquidity can make a meaningful difference for households and small entrepreneurs, supporting more stable consumption behaviour. Initiatives such as enabling Corporate Mitras to help MSMEs manage compliance, particularly in Tier II and Tier III towns, address a critical and often underestimated challenge for growing businesses.

Support for MSMEs reflects a broader focus on strengthening the foundations of entrepreneurship. Improved access to working capital, better risk-sharing mechanisms, and stronger institutional support can help small businesses scale sustainably. Over time, this translates into deeper supply chains, more resilient employment, and wider participation in formal economic activity.

Infrastructure continues to act as a productivity multiplier. Sustained investments in logistics, connectivity, and non-metro growth corridors improve reliability and reduce costs across the value chain. These investments support decentralised growth and help both manufacturing and services expand beyond traditional centres.

Taken together, these measures strengthen the role of digital commerce as an enabler of jobs, entrepreneurship, and livelihoods, including for India’s growing gig workforce. Stronger manufacturing capacity, improved MSME liquidity, better logistics networks, and a more predictable regulatory environment create a stable foundation for growth across India’s digital and physical commerce landscape.

(Kalyan Krishnamurthy is CEO, Flipkart Group.)

Views are personal and do not represent the stand of this publication.