Technology firms across India are expressing high expectations for the upcoming Union Budget 2026-27, anticipating significant measures to propel the development of the artificial intelligence ecosystem. Industry leaders emphasize the need for policies that foster innovation, strengthen digital infrastructure across various sectors, and ensure adequate liquidity in the market to facilitate widespread AI adoption.
Economic Survey Sets the Tone for AI Strategy
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to present the Budget in Parliament on Sunday, following the Economic Survey tabled on January 29. The Survey has notably recognized Artificial Intelligence not merely as a prestige technology race but as a crucial economic strategy. It advocates for a bottom-up, sector-specific approach grounded in open and interoperable systems to enhance collaboration and shared innovation.
Industry Leaders Voice Expectations
CP Gurnani, former Tech Mahindra CEO and Vice Chairman of AI firm AIONOS, praised the Survey for capturing India's AI momentum effectively. He highlighted India's world-class talent, diverse data assets, and strategic shift toward bottom-up innovation with smaller, domain-specific models that align perfectly with the country's realities.
"India's path forward is truly exciting," Gurnani remarked. "We aim to leverage our engineering prowess to develop affordable, human-centric AI solutions that address local challenges before scaling globally. This approach positions India not just as a participant but as a leader in the next wave of meaningful innovation."
Sector-Specific Insights and Demands
FarEye, a logistics-focused software-as-a-service firm, emphasized the industry's expectation for the Budget to prioritize measures that enhance reliability and global competitiveness. The company underscored autonomous logistics orchestration as a critical component affecting goods movement nationwide and impacting every household.
Suryansh Jalan, Chief Business Officer at FarEye, stated, "Incentives for applied AI, advanced planning systems, and interoperable digital workflows are essential to unlocking productivity gains across multimodal networks." He noted that while logistics is projected to add nearly 10 million jobs by 2027, the focus must shift toward job productivity and technology readiness.
Jalan added, "Targeted skilling for roles such as digital operations, control-tower management, and AI-assisted planning will be crucial for sustaining long-term competitiveness. The recent DPIIT-NCAER report, which recalibrated logistics costs to 7.97 percent of GDP, reflects the cumulative impact of sustained policy focus, infrastructure investment, and digital enablement across the sector."
Broader Industry Perspectives
GlobalLogic, an IT firm within the Hitachi Group, views the Union Budget as a pivotal moment to transition from digital-first to intelligence-first infrastructure. Piyush Jha, Vice President and Head for Asia Pacific, commented, "The progress in AI, data platforms, and digital public infrastructure has established a strong foundation. The next opportunity lies in scaling this intelligence into the physical world."
Sameer Kanodia, Managing Director of Lumina Datamatics, expressed expectations for the Budget to focus on strengthening digital and AI-led infrastructure that supports knowledge services, publishing, and the rapidly expanding retail and e-commerce ecosystem. "Continued investments in advanced technologies like AI, automation, and cloud platforms are critical to improving productivity across content creation, digital publishing workflows, and large-scale retail operations," he said.
Semiconductor and Telecom Sectors Weigh In
Semiconductor firms, integral to building AI infrastructure, are calling for continuity, execution certainty, and long-term competitiveness in the Budget, especially as several large semiconductor and electronics projects enter implementation phases.
Ashok Chandak, President of the India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA), noted that initiatives like the India Semiconductor Mission-led Semicon India Program, Designed Linked Incentive, Production Linked Incentive scheme, and Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme have shown tangible progress with faster approvals and significant investments. "Key expectations include continuity and strengthening of ISM 2.0, higher budgetary allocations for approved projects in FY27, and a simplified, time-bound pari-passu disbursement mechanism. Semiconductors and electronics are capital-intensive sectors with long gestation periods, making tax certainty and execution predictability as vital as incentives," Chandak explained.
Mahendra Nahata, Managing Director of telecom gear maker HFCL, expects measures to convert India's telecom infrastructure advantage into enduring technological leadership. "The forthcoming Budget can catalyze this transition by introducing a targeted Innovation-Linked Incentive mechanism. This program should be precisely engineered to reward R&D expenditure and patent generation in 6G, Artificial Intelligence, and Defence Technologies—the core triad of future strategic power," Nahata stated.
