February 16, 2026

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BETTING ON THE FUTURE

When Union finance minister Nir- mala Sitharaman rose to present her ninth budget, expectations were she'd announce big-ticket reforms to strengthen industry and create jobs. Instead, she focused on a clutch of new-economy sectors expected to lead India's journey towards Viksit Bharat. These were backed by targeted policy interventions and multi-year, sometimes even multi-decadal, investment push. All this was done while keeping fiscal discipline intact, with the fiscal deficit projected at 4.3 per cent of GDP in FY27The budget identified sectors such as biopharma, semiconductors and rare earths as strategic priorities, with the Narendra Modi government seeking to create national champions that will make India self-reliant and, over time, help the country become a prominent player in the global value chain. For the first time, it also formally recognised the `orange economy' of online content creators as a distinct pillar of India's economic strategy, framing it as the next frontier of employment and exportsNext came the thrust on linking jobs with skills, an area of sustained focus for the government. Education was reframed as productive infrastructure for a servicesled economy, with academic ecosystems rather than isolated campusesThe third prong of the strategy centred on logistics, construction and transport. Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities with populations exceeding 500,000 will now be treated as emerging economic hubs. Connectivity here will be driven by seven high-speed corridors designed to widen labour catchments, promote transit-oriented development and unlock fresh real-estate potentialTaken together, these measures mark a clear departure from the "please-all" budgets of the past. In the following pages, we examine 10 of the forward-looking sectors that the finance minister has focused on, and how they will transform India's growth trajectory.

BREAKING THE MICRO TRAP

The Union budget has taken a multi- pronged approach towards MSMEs (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises)--a sector that underpins India's manufacturing base, export engine and employment landscape. With more than 76 million registered enterprises accounting for close to half of India's merchandise exports, the budget's proposals--from a dedicated Rs 10,000 crore SME Growth Fund to an effective TReDS (Trade Receivables Discounting System) financing and the introduction of `Corporate Mitras'--aim at equity-led growth, liquidity support and compliance easeLimited collateral forces most enterprises to rely on balance sheetbased bank loans, enabling only incremental expansion rather than true scale-up. Unsurprisingly, over 99 per cent of MSMEs remain stuck in the micro segment. The proposed SME Growth Fund is expected to help medium-sized firms graduate into larger enterprises by improving access to equity capital, complemented by the Self-Reliant India Fund--set up in 2021 and now bolstered with Rs 2,000 crore--to support micro enterprises and sustain their access to risk capital. While this addresses the long-standing challenge of scaling up, Anil Bhardwaj, secretary general of the Federation of Indian Micro and Small and Medium Enterprises,