The Union Budget 2026-27, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1, 2026, emphasizes a Yuva Shakti-driven approach with a record ₹12.2 lakh crore capital expenditure, fiscal consolidation targeting a 4.3% GDP deficit, and strategic initiatives including City Economic Regions (CERs) at ₹5,000 crore per region over five years, the Infrastructure Risk Guarantee Fund of ₹25,000 crore, MSME support via the ₹10,000 crore SME Growth Fund, top-ups to the Self-Reliant India Fund, AI and digital infrastructure focus, and inclusive measures for rural women entrepreneurs and underserved sectors. These align with long-term goals of economic resilience, manufacturing scale-up, and Viksit Bharat by 2047.
Experts from insurance, microfinance, spiritual tourism, digital services, and venture capital have welcomed the budget’s balanced, forward-looking strategy that prioritizes infrastructure, inclusion, and innovation.
Robust Infrastructure Boost Creates Opportunities in Insurance and Reinsurance
Gautam Boda, Vice Chairman of the J.B. Boda Group, highlighted the transformative potential for risk management sectors.
“Budget 2026 has finally brought the bigger picture into focus. With one of the highlights being the record ₹12.2 lakh crore capex outlay, it offers a constructive and forward-looking outlook for both the insurance and reinsurance sectors.
Growth is most meaningful when it reaches the underserved. The Budget focuses on City Economic Regions (CERs), with an allocation of ₹5,000 crore per region, alongside the new ₹25,000 crore Infrastructure Risk Guarantee Fund. This sustained emphasis on infrastructure development, economic expansion, and financial inclusion strengthens the foundation for long-term risk protection and capital support, creating a massive opportunity for our industry.
To move closer to “Insurance for All by 2047,” India is strengthening its capital framework. Today’s push towards Risk-Based Capital (RBC) norms and the operationalising of 100% FDI are critical steps to encourage domestic risk capital and solvency strength. As India’s risk profile grows in scale and complexity, a robust insurance framework backed by strong reinsurance capacity will be critical to ensuring stability, resilience, and confidence across industries.
All in all, this Budget creates the right environment for deeper market penetration, innovative risk solutions, and greater global participation, positioning insurance and reinsurance as key enablers of India’s growth and resilience agenda.”
Grassroots Inclusion and Women Empowerment Drive Rural Economy
Avinash Kumar, COO of DJT Microfinance, commended the budget’s alignment with inclusive development principles.
“Budget 2026-27 truly honours 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.”
Temple Towns and Spiritual Tourism Set for Modernization and Economic Revival
Giresh Vasudev Kulkarni, Founder of Temple Connect and ITCX International Temples Convention & EXPO, praised the integration of cultural heritage into economic planning.
“The move to include temple towns in the City Economic Regions is very bold and appropriate. The allocation of ₹5,000 crore per CER over a period of five years will help modernise infrastructure, fuel local trade and tourism and translate rising visitor numbers into higher transaction value revenues. This, in fact, will turn temple towns into self-sustaining engines of economic growth while maintaining the sanctity and culture of these sacred spaces.
The budget allocation is a critical enabler for the CHESS-G doctrine, a six-pronged strategic framework introduced by Temple Connect. It determines how effectively the model translates from intent to execution across its core pillars. Targeted investment will ensure better convenience infrastructure, hygiene standards, experience design, safety protocols, sustainability integration, and growth activation. We are speaking of economic growth that is centred on inclusion, enabling livelihoods for local communities like artisans, local vendors, e-auto drivers, MSMEs, temple custodians, as well as amplifying local hospitality and temple tourism. This holistic temple-city development is a foundational pillar of a truly Viksit Bharat. Until now, we were operating like the most organised-unorganised sector. However, the temple ecosystem has a higher scope and needs more financial boost from the various state governments and a higher participation from the Culture and Tourism outfits supporting the cause of Empowered Temple Economy & it’s Ecosystem to become much more organised with targeted allocation, cross-ministerial co-ordinations and structured policy support.”
AI and Digital Infrastructure Positioned as Core to Future Competitiveness
Sree Balaji, Co-Founder and Group CEO of iLink Digital, expressed optimism about technology-led modernization.
“We welcome the Union Budget 2026’s strong focus on AI and digital infrastructure, which positions emerging technologies as central to industrial competitiveness. Initiatives such as the India AI Mission and the recognition of AI as a force multiplier for governance and enterprise operations create a positive outlook for AI-led modernisation across manufacturing and services. As adoption deepens, enterprises will increasingly prioritise scalable, secure, and data-driven technology solutions to enhance productivity and resilience. We look forward to being part of India’s AI-led growth journey.”
MSME Funding and Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Get Timely Support
Rajeev Ranka, Partner at Incubate Fund Asia, noted the budget’s role in alleviating liquidity issues and fostering scalable ventures.
“The Finance Minister’s emphasis on building the MSME ecosystem with strategic capital allocation, including the SME Growth Fund of ₹10,000 crores and the infusion of ₹2,000 crores into risk capital for micro-enterprises, is a timely and impactful step. These measures will greatly help alleviate liquidity constraints and give emerging entrepreneurs the confidence to scale without sacrificing financial resilience. The overall thrust on aligning education, employment, and enterprise is yet another step in the right direction to build a strong foundation for sustainable growth. As Investors, we believe that this budget further cements long-term confidence in the entrepreneurial ecosystem in India and its ability to create innovation-driven, job-creating enterprises at scale.”
Overall, the Union Budget 2026-27 earns strong endorsements for its capex-led growth strategy, inclusive reforms, and sectoral enablers that promise to accelerate India’s journey toward resilient, broad-based prosperity and global leadership.
Last Updated on: Tuesday, February 3, 2026 12:01 pm by Economic Edge Team | Published by: Economic Edge Team on Tuesday, February 3, 2026 12:01 pm | News Categories: Business
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