Ankit Virmani, Director, Esskay Beauty Resources
“The Union Budget 2026 is a positive step for India’s beauty, personal care and salon industry, with a strong focus on MSMEs, skilling and entrepreneurship. The proposed SME Growth Fund and easier access to credit can be a real boost for new salons and independent beauty professionals, helping them grow sustainably and become part of the formal economy.
Support for domestic manufacturing, including chemical parks and reduced import dependency, will benefit the beauty and cosmetics sector by improving access to quality raw materials, stabilising supply chains and encouraging innovation.
The continued emphasis on education and industry-aligned skilling will help create a more job-ready workforce and open long-term career opportunities across salons, retail and manufacturing.”
Sanket S, Founder, Scandalous Foods
“The Union Budget 2026 brings practical positives for the frozen food and manufacturing sector. The focus on cold chain infrastructure and reducing post-harvest wastage, along with the ₹10,000 crore SME Growth Fund, will help brands like Scandalous Foods scale distribution while maintaining quality.
Doubling the startup credit guarantee limit to ₹20 crore and strengthening invoice discounting through TReDS will ease both capex expansion and cash flow challenges. The recognition of mental health through the NIMHANS 2.0 initiative, along with measures like raising the rental TDS threshold, makes this a balanced Budget that supports both business growth and the people behind it.”
Anant Bengani, Co-Founder & Director, Zell Education
“The Union Budget 2026 makes a strong statement about linking education directly with employability and enterprise. The proposed ‘Education to Employment and Enterprise’ framework, focus on services-led growth, and emphasis on modular, industry-aligned professional courses signal a clear intent to make India’s youth job-ready and globally competitive. Initiatives that promote skill development, professional certifications, and university-industry collaboration will significantly strengthen the talent pipeline for sectors like finance, accounting and business services. We believe these measures will accelerate demand for outcome-driven education and career-focused learning, helping learners transition seamlessly from classrooms to the workforce.”
Shivendra Nigam, CFO, Cantabil Retail India Ltd
“We welcome the Union Budget 2026’s strong and much-needed focus on the textile and apparel ecosystem. The Government’s push towards modernising traditional clusters, setting up Mega Textile Parks, supporting technology upgradation, and strengthening skilling through initiatives like Samarth 2.0 will significantly enhance India’s competitiveness as a global manufacturing hub. The extension of export timelines and improved infrastructure will also ease supply chain challenges for organised apparel brands. These measures not only encourage domestic production but also create large-scale employment and consumption growth, which are critical for the retail sector.”
Pavan Kushwaha, CEO of Threatcop & Kratikal
We see the Union Budget 2026 as a strong, forward-looking step toward building a resilient, technology-first India. The push for AI adoption, industry-led research, and large-scale skilling—along with simpler tax and compliance frameworks for IT services creates a more enabling environment for faster digital innovation. As enterprises and government systems digitise at scale, secure, trusted infrastructure will become non-negotiable. In that context, the Budget’s focus on strengthening digital capabilities and modernising systems aligns directly with the growing need for cybersecurity, risk management, and People Security Management because technology is only as secure as the people using it. Overall, this Budget reinforces India’s ambition to become a global technology powerhouse, while keeping security and human risk reduction as core pillars of sustainable growth