By Kalyan Krishnamurthy, CEO, Flipkart Group
A clear thread running through the proposals is the push to deepen digital public infrastructure. Automated, rule-based systems in taxation, customs and compliance are meant to reduce day-to-day uncertainty for both businesses and individuals and make the system feel more predictable and transparent.
Bolstering consumption and innovation
The Budget recognises a simple truth: people spend more when they feel secure. Measures like income tax simplification, lower tax collection at source on overseas spends, education and medical expenses, and more time to revise returns give households greater control over their finances and cash flows. Taken together, these measures are less about short-term stimulus and more about restoring confidence and predictability in household finances. That quieter support is often more durable in sustaining consumption over time.
On the supply side, a series of steps on customs modernisation and a single digital window for clearances aim to cut down delays and paperwork. Along with a more predictable, trust-based compliance framework, this can give a meaningful push to sectors like e-commerce. Stronger digital and logistics rails help products move faster and more efficiently, keeping them more affordable for consumers across the country. For platform-led sectors, these improvements reduce friction and uncertainty across supply chains, benefiting both sellers and consumers without relying on price-led interventions. India’s start-up ecosystem has already moved from a proof-of-concept phase to operating at scale. The Budget keeps that momentum going with a stronger focus on emerging technologies, including AI, and support for industry-led research and training centres.
The goal is not just to boost innovation for its own sake, but to build businesses that can stand their ground globally – firms that create jobs, exports and intellectual property, and that take new ideas beyond the top metros into smaller cities and regions.
Strengthening the backbone of the economy
Support for MSMEs is shaped with a similar eye on everyday realities. The ₹10,000 crore SME Growth Fund and deeper liquidity support through platforms like TReDS, backed by credit guarantees and better information flows, are designed to ease long-standing working capital pressures. The proposal to enable “Corporate Mitras” – para-professionals who can help MSMEs meet compliance requirements at an affordable cost, especially in Tier II and Tier III towns – tackles another silent cost of doing business.
For many small firms, the informal penalty for not having access to advice or resources is high. By easing that burden, the Budget aims to free up more time for entrepreneurs to focus on customers, products and hiring rather than forms and filings. A predictable and efficient business environment remains one of the strongest engines of growth.
The Budget underlines a trust-based approach to compliance through GST simplification, faster refunds in cases of inverted duty structures, decriminalisation of minor offences and clearer rules on discounts and documentation. These changes matter most to smaller sellers and traders, for whom every delay or dispute hits cash flow. Beyond GST, steps such as integrating assessment and penalty into a single order, extending the validity of advance rulings and using risk-based checks instead of frequent manual intervention point to a regulatory approach that values ease and predictability, without stepping away from accountability.
Infrastructure, technology and logistics
Public investment in infrastructure continues to be a central pillar. Higher capital expenditure, new Dedicated Freight Corridors, additional National Waterways and a Coastal Cargo Promotion Scheme are all aimed at improving productivity and lowering the cost of moving goods.
Better connectivity across roads, railways, ports and inland waterways helps growth spread beyond major metros. It also supports the development of City Economic Regions that function as integrated labour and consumer markets. For MSMEs, farmers and artisans, technology-led supply chains and multimodal connectivity can open up new markets while improving affordability and choice for consumers.
Technology and artificial intelligence feature prominently as drivers of the next phase of growth. Investments in the AI Mission, tools like Bharat-VISTAAR – which uses AI to bring together agri-data and advisory – and AI-enabled customs systems can help shift AI from small pilots to tangible productivity gains across sectors. If deployed responsibly and at scale, AI has the potential to strengthen planning, forecasting and service delivery in areas ranging from retail and logistics to agriculture and public services. Done well, this translates into better experiences and outcomes for both consumers and citizens.
Women SHGs, gig workers and the future of work
Women-led self-help groups and farmer producer organisations are among India’s most effective yet underused drivers of inclusive growth. The Budget’s focus on strengthening these institutions – through SHE-Marts for women entrepreneurs, support for women-led FPOs and targeted schemes in fisheries, livestock and high-value crops – can deliver both social and economic benefits. At the same time, the continued rise of e-commerce and quick commerce is creating new kinds of jobs across the gig economy. Roles in last-mile delivery, warehousing and allied services are offering flexible income opportunities, especially for young and first-time workers. As this workforce expands, the Budget’s emphasis on the services sector and the new Education-to-Employment and Enterprise Standing Committee is well timed.
SHE-Marts for women entrepreneurs and support for women-led FPOs can deliver both social and economic benefits.
| Photo Credit: VIJAY KUMAR T
The committee’s mandate to study how technologies, including AI, are shaping jobs and skills is an important step. Platform-based work already supports the livelihoods of millions of Indians, and it will be critical to ensure that skilling pathways, recognition and social protections evolve alongside it. Union Budget 2026 reinforces the direction of India’s economic policy by focusing on systems, institutions and wider participation rather than short-term interventions and moves the country closer to its Viksit Bharat goal. By investing in systems, institutions and wider participation and by aligning growth with inclusion, productivity and innovation, it reinforces confidence in a model built to last, where major reforms and strong growth go hand in hand with everyday progress for India’s consumers.
(The writer is CEO, Flipkart Group)
Published on February 2, 2026
