Union Budget 2026 Draws Industry Praise for Focus on Education, Skills and Future-Ready Growth

Ahmedabad | Gujarat – The Union Budget 2026 has drawn strong appreciation from education leaders, economists and industry captains for laying out a forward-looking roadmap that strengthens India’s education-to-employment pipeline while boosting high-growth sectors such as data centres, renewable energy and textiles.

Commenting on the budget’s education proposals, Mr Rishabh Jain, President of Swarrnim Startup and Innovation University, said the government has rightly recognised skills and services as core growth drivers. “The proposal to establish a high-powered Education to Employment and Enterprise Standing Committee reflects a structured attempt to align academic curriculum with industry needs, especially in emerging areas like artificial intelligence, services exports and technology-led jobs,” he said.

He added that the focus on healthcare education through integrated medical hubs, allied health programmes and medical value tourism addresses critical skill gaps. “Equally important is the push to integrate AI in education from the school level and upgrade teacher training institutions, which will help future-proof India’s workforce,” Jain noted.

From a macroeconomic perspective, Ms Sakshi Gupta, Principal Economist at HDFC Bank, said the budget has adopted a prudent and medium-term approach amid global uncertainties. “Unlike the previous budget’s focus on consumption, this year’s emphasis is clearly on manufacturing and services. Tourism, health, education and skilling remain central to the Viksit Bharat vision of increasing India’s share in global services exports to 10%,” she said.

Gupta pointed out that while the fiscal math appears credible with moderate capex growth of 11.5% for FY27, higher-than-expected gross borrowing of ₹17.2 lakh crore could exert short-term pressure on bond yields.

The budget also sent strong signals for digital infrastructure. Mr Rushabh Dedhia, MD, JIKA EPC Services Limited, said incentives such as a tax holiday till 2047 for foreign cloud service providers using India-based data centres will significantly boost long-term investments. “This positions India as a competitive hyperscale destination in the Asia-Pacific and will catalyse allied investments in power, real estate and fibre infrastructure,” he said.

In the clean energy space, Mr Ronak Chiripal, Promoter, Chiripal Group, welcomed customs duty exemptions supporting battery storage and solar manufacturing. “These measures reduce import dependence and strengthen India’s renewable manufacturing ecosystem,” he said.

Chiripal also hailed the textile-focused reforms, noting that fibre self-reliance, cluster modernisation and MSME support will enhance export competitiveness and employment generation.

Overall, industry voices see Union Budget 2026 as a balanced, reform-oriented blueprint aimed at sustainable growth, skill creation and long-term competitiveness.