Budget 2026: Ahead of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presenting Budget 2026 on 1 February, Sunday, industry leaders have come forward to express their wishes this year. Budget 2026 is expected to carry forward last year’s momentum in infrastructure allocation encompassing various sectors, as FM Sitharaman presents her ninth consecutive Budget tomorrow.
Industry leaders have urged the government to double the allocation for various infrastructure projects to ₹3 lakh crore in the Union Budget tomorrow to boost overall economic growth.
Here is what Budget 2026 may have in store for India’s infrastructure.
Budget 2026: What leaders expect in infrastructure sector
A recent survey by the Logistics Sector Skill Council highlighted the need for an infrastructure-focused budget aligned with the vision to position the country as a global economic powerhouse.
Building on last year’s ₹1.5 lakh crore allocation for interest-free loans to states and landmark investments in highways, urban transport, and smart cities, the expectations of industry leaders are running high for a potential doubling of this outlay, it stated.
“As India approaches the 2026 Union Budget, the government has a strategic opportunity to amplify India’s infrastructure-led growth engine and the manufacturing renaissance that is powering it. Domestic steel demand is projected to remain robust, reflecting significant infrastructure and manufacturing activity,” said Interarch Building Solutions CEO Manish Garg.
J Infratech MD Mohit Jandu said that the industry expects “continued prioritisation of roads and highways within government capital expenditure, along with enhanced financial support to states and a refreshed National Infrastructure Pipeline.”
“India’s infrastructure build-out is central to unlocking productivity, improving logistics efficiency, and converting our population dividend into an economic advantage. As we look to the upcoming Union Budget, Salasar Techno Engineering expects a continued and sustained thrust on public capex with multi-year predictability, because long-cycle infrastructure requires stable pipelines not one-time spikes in spending,” said the company’s joint managing director Shashank Agarwal.
Over the past one year, India has strengthened its AI footprint, which has now become a key component of its vast physical infrastructure.
According to Piyush Jha, group vice president and head of APAC at GlobalLogic, policy support can accelerate India’s growth and competitiveness.
“Targeted policy support for AI-enabled data centres, robotics, edge intelligence, and incentives for AI adoption across traditional infrastructure can accelerate this transition, driving productivity, resilience, and global competitiveness,” he said.
Bluspring Enterprises CEO and executive director Kamal Pal Hoda, Budget 2026 has to recognise infrastructure as a long-term operating system. “India’s next infrastructure leap will be defined less by what we build and more by how reliably we operate it. The Budget has an opportunity to recognise infrastructure not just as capital expenditure, but as a long-term operating system—where uptime, safety, compliance and workforce capability determine real outcomes.”
How much infrastructure allocation did Budget 2025 make?
As India approaches the 2026 Union Budget, the government has a strategic opportunity to amplify India’s infrastructure-led growth engine and the manufacturing renaissance that is powering it.
In Budget 2025, FM Sitharaman continued her push in terms of capex allocation to create assets, earmarking a record ₹11.21 lakh crore for India’s infrastructure needs — building on the previous year’s ₹11.11 lakh crore.
That year, the FM proposed a ₹1.5 lakh crore as 50 year interest free loans to states for capital expenditure and incentives for reforms. Schemes such as UDAN, Jal Jeevan Mission and Urban Challenge Fund were given priority.
