CIOInsider India Magazine

With India gearing up for the Union Budget 2026, the country is on the verge of embarking on a new era of transformation, with AI, deep-tech, and digital infrastructure being identified as the key drivers of future progress. Leaders in various industries are united in their push for strategic investments in AI sovereignty, data infrastructure, and innovation ecosystems.

The upcoming Budget is anticipated to be a significant turning point in India's quest to establish itself as a global technology and innovation powerhouse, with ambitious plans ranging from advancing PropTech to establishing a robust data privacy framework.

As the date approaches for the union budget to be announced, we hear from tech leaders on what their expectations are from the upcoming budget. From expectations regarding treating AI as critical public utility to modernization of legacy digital systems, tech leaders share their thoughts and insights with us. Here’s what they said.

Karthik K Raman, Head of Product, Flam AI
“Ahead of the Union Budget 2026, the priority must be shifting India from AI adoption to AI sovereignty. But to truly define the global AI-first marketing models of the future we need advanced infrastructure”.

“We look forward to the Budget treating AI as critical public utility, unlocking faster scale through targeted GPU infrastructure, regulatory sandboxes for deep-tech, and sovereign compute capacity. With AI projected to add $1.7 trillion to our economy by 2035, the 2026 Budget is our moment to ensure that value is not just consumed in India, but computed and created in India, a vital step toward a Viksit Bharat”.

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Sriram Chitlur, CEO of TalkingLands
“India’s real estate sector is at a critical inflection point. While institutional investments touched a record $8.1 billion in 2025, the sector’s next phase of growth depends on resolving its biggest bottleneck: data fragmentation. With the PropTech market expected to grow from $918 million in 2022 to nearly $3.8 billion by 2030, the upcoming Union Budget must deliver a decisive push towards open data initiatives, digital land records, and Tokenization”.

“By treating Land as Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), the government creates the necessary foundation for an AI-driven transformation. Verified, open data is the raw material that allows AI models to move from simple reporting to intelligent forecasting—predicting urban expansion, automating legal due diligence, and identifying title risks in seconds. Ultimately, this fusion of DPI and AI is the only way to achieve reduced litigation, increased transaction speed, and absolute transparency. A budget that prioritizes this digital backbone will be the true catalyst for a modern real estate economy”.

Amit Kumar Tyagi, CEO, TrueReach AI
“As India stands at the cusp of an AI revolution, the upcoming Union Budget must pivot from viewing AI as a mere software vertical to treating it as strategic national infrastructure, akin to power or telecom. At TrueReach AI, our expectation is a budget that transitions India from an AI consumer to a global innovation hub”.

“First, to bridge the R&D gap—where India’s 0.7 percent GDP spend lags the 1.93 percent global average—we urge the restoration of the 200 percent weighted deduction for R&D. This is vital for deep-tech startups facing long-gestation cycles. Furthermore, democratizing AI requires a national ‘Compute Credit’ scheme and a 3-5 year customs duty holiday on critical hardware like GPUs and TPUs. Without affordable access to the 'physical' backbone of AI, Indian startups remain at a competitive disadvantage”.

“Capital remains the third pillar. Accelerating the Rs.20,000 crore Deep Tech Fund of Funds will provide the patient, long-term capital necessary to build foundational models. We also hope to see the PLI scheme extended to AI and Robotics, incentivizing domestic IP over foreign licensing”.

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“Finally, we must solve for 'Data and Talent.' Establishing a structured India Dataset Platform for anonymized data and offering tax incentives for corporate upskilling are non-negotiable if we are to meet the demand for 1 million AI professionals by 2026”.

Vikrant Labde, Co-founder, NYAI
“The Legal AI and RegTech ecosystem is looking at the upcoming budget in hopes of getting clearer support for tools that make staying on top of the law easier. With rules and regulations in India changing so often, businesses need simple, reliable ways of staying compliant. There is a strong need for incentives that help early-stage RegTech and Legal AI companies invest in deep research, reliable data infrastructure, and responsible AI development. Access to affordable computing resources, reliable government-backed legal data, and guidance on using AI responsibly can make them scalable and trustworthy”.

“Finally, having easy-to-understand rules for using AI in legal and compliance work would make people feel more confident and trusting. The hope is that the budget makes India’s compliance system easier to understand, fair, and trustworthy. This would also give startups and businesses the confidence to try new ideas and experiment”.

Amit Kumar, Co-Founder and CEO, Redacto.ai

“The increased allocation for the Data Protection Board is a positive signal, but the real test will be whether Budget 2025-26 matches the scale of what's ahead. With enforcement beginning May 2027, the DPB will need substantially more resources for complaint resolution, breach investigations, and penalty adjudication”.

“Beyond enforcement capacity, we need policies that make compliance achievable—not just mandatory. Tax incentives for privacy-enhancing technologies and dedicated support for MSMEs struggling with implementation costs would accelerate adoption far more effectively than penalties alone. Building a culture of data privacy requires investment in both infrastructure and awareness, and this Budget is an opportunity to signal that commitment”.

Srikanth Chakkilam, CEO and Executive Director, Covasant Technologies
"As AI adoption accelerates globally, we hope the Union Budget 2026–27 takes a forward-looking view on enabling next generation agentic AI companies from India. Access to affordable high performance AI infrastructure will be critical, especially for firms building autonomous systems that require significant GPU capacity to scale responsibly and compete globally. Targeted R&D tax credits and accelerated depreciation for AI hardware would significantly strengthen India’s innovation ecosystem".

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“We would also welcome the creation of regulatory sandboxes and clearer liability and data flow frameworks to enable companies to test autonomous agents in a controlled and compliant manner. Finally, public procurement opportunities for Indian AI firms, export incentives, and AI upskilling programs can help position India as a global hub for enterprise grade Agentic AI”.

Arun Balasubramanian, Managing Director, India & SAARC, Dynatrace
“As India accelerates its digital journey, we hope the Union Budget places continued emphasis on building technology infrastructure that is reliable, secure, and resilient powered by agentic AI advancements. Digital systems now power everything from government welfare platforms and digital payments to manufacturing, logistics, and everyday customer services. Ensuring these systems work smoothly, securely, and without disruption is essential for India’s next stage of growth.”

“We would welcome Budget measures that support the modernization of legacy digital systems through policy incentives, standards, and capability-building programs that strengthen operational resilience, security, and compliance readiness. As enterprises increasingly move AI from pilots to production, better visibility, automation, and monitoring become essential to address key barriers such as security risks, limited system transparency, and skills shortages highlighted across global organizations".