From ecommerce and beauty to data centres and manufacturing, companies read Budget 2026 as ecosystem-led, not relief-driven
Industry leaders across sectors have broadly interpreted the Union Budget 2026–27 as a decisive shift towards investment-led, ecosystem-based growth rather than short-term relief measures. With a strong emphasis on infrastructure, MSMEs, digital commerce, advanced technologies and manufacturing, the Budget has drawn positive reactions from companies operating across e-commerce, logistics, technology, beauty and consumer goods.
MSMEs and digital commerce get ecosystem-level support
Vidit Aatrey, Co-founder, Managing Director and CEO of Meesho, said the Budget reflects a move away from fragmented interventions towards a holistic approach for MSMEs and digital commerce.
“The Union Budget 2026–27 reflects a clear shift from isolated support measures to an ecosystem-led approach for Indian MSMEs and digital commerce,” Aatrey said. He highlighted initiatives such as the Rs 10,000 crore SME Growth Fund, deeper integration of TReDS with the Government e-Marketplace (GeM), and stronger credit guarantees as measures that would ease working capital constraints, particularly for small sellers in Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets where ecommerce is expanding rapidly.
He added that the focus on logistics infrastructure, cluster modernisation and cost-efficient supply chains would help lower cost-to-serve, while targeted efforts to encourage women entrepreneurs would broaden participation and deepen livelihood creation across regions.
Ecommerce firms welcome export and compliance reforms
Achint Setia, CEO of Snapdeal, said Budget 2026 makes several practical improvements to the operating environment for e-commerce and digital-first businesses.
“The complete removal of the Rs 10 lakh cap on courier exports meaningfully expands cross-border opportunities for small Indian brands,” Setia said, adding that faster tax dispute resolution and simpler compliance processes would reduce execution friction for growing companies. Support for MSMEs through growth funds, liquidity enhancement, access to CPSE purchases and a renewed focus on reviving traditional MSME clusters, he noted, would boost economic activity in smaller towns.
Data centre tax holiday emerges as standout policy move
Rohit Bansal, Co-founder of Titan Capital and Snapdeal, and promoter of Unicommerce, pointed to the tax holiday for global cloud companies operating data centres in India as one of the most consequential announcements in the Budget.
“Global cloud companies will now get a tax holiday till 2047 for running data centres in India. This is a big deal,” Bansal said, noting that the exemption of global-facing data centre income from Indian income tax for over two decades fundamentally alters investment economics.
He explained that data centres involve high upfront capital expenditure, long gestation periods and returns that are highly sensitive to taxation and power costs. “A near 20-year tax holiday materially changes the math. Project IRRs improve sharply, payback periods compress, and large capex decisions become meaningfully de-risked,” he said.
Beyond capital attraction, Bansal underlined the downstream impact on skilled employment and ecosystem creation, spanning construction, electrical and cooling systems, network engineering, cybersecurity, renewable power, fibre networks and hardware supply chains.
Manufacturing, services and logistics reinforce Viksit Bharat vision
Anil G. Verma, Executive Director and CEO of Godrej Enterprises Group, said Budget 2026–27 sets a clear direction for accelerating growth while strengthening the foundations of an inclusive, future-ready economy aligned with the vision of Viksit Bharat.
He noted that sustained investments in infrastructure and logistics would improve manufacturing efficiency and lower costs, while support for MSMEs and domestic value chains would enhance resilience and global competitiveness. Verma also welcomed measures that reduce friction in tax treatment for investments in cloud infrastructure and global capability centres, as well as reforms allowing SEZ units to sell into the domestic market.
Beauty and personal care brands see long-term opportunity
For the beauty and personal care sector, industry leaders said the Budget’s emphasis on manufacturing, MSMEs and ease of doing business creates favourable conditions for long-term growth.
Mihir Jain, Sales and Marketing Director at Insight Cosmetics, said the Budget is positive for beauty companies that manufacture locally. “The focus on manufacturing and MSMEs will improve quality, cost and scalability,” he said, adding that easier access to technology and talent would benefit D2C beauty brands expanding into physical retail.
Shobhit Gupta, Senior Vice President–Finance at Pee Safe, said homegrown personal care and hygiene brands stand to gain from the renewed policy push towards domestic manufacturing and financial access. He also pointed to the Supreme Court’s recognition of menstrual hygiene as a fundamental right as a significant step towards women’s health, dignity and sustainable national development.
Dheeraj Bansal, Co-founder of Recode Studios, said the proposed Rs 10,000 crore SME Growth Fund would encourage innovation and job creation at a critical phase when the company is expanding its retail footprint across India. The emphasis on local sourcing and manufacturing, he added, would improve productivity and quality.
Priyam Mahajan, Head of Finance at MARS Cosmetics, said while the Budget does not directly target the beauty sector, its strong focus on SMEs, domestic production and improved ease of doing business creates an enabling environment for responsible expansion. “The potential exists for India to emerge as a world-class source of beauty products,” she said, citing opportunities in R&D, exports and science-led product design.
A long-term investment signal
Taken together, industry reactions suggest that Budget 2026–27 is being read less as a relief-oriented Budget and more as a long-term investment blueprint—one that prioritises infrastructure, technology, MSMEs and manufacturing to build a resilient, competitive and future-ready Indian economy.
