Jaya Vaidhyanathan, CEO, BCT Digital

The budget takes a bold, strategic approach to economic growth, balancing fiscal incentives, credit expansion and sustainability to drive long-term resilience and global competitiveness. It boosts disposable income through reduced personal income tax and higher TDS limits for senior citizens and rent, stimulating consumption and economic momentum. Targeted credit expansion for farmers and MSMEs will inject vital liquidity, accelerating sectoral growth, while the transition to cashflow-based lending reinforces financial stability. The Bharat Trade Net and NABFID credit enhancements will sharpen India’s export competitiveness amid global headwinds. Moreover, a strong push for workforce participation, particularly for women, and a firm commitment to green initiatives will drive sustainable, inclusive development. I expect these measures to collectively lay the foundation for long-term economic resilience and nation-wide growth.

Sardar Taranjit Singh, Managing Director, JIS Group

The Union Budget’s allocation of ₹1.48 lakh crore towards education, skilling, and employment is a progressive step towards building a knowledge-driven economy. The emphasis on initiatives like the National Digital University, AI-driven Centres of Excellence, and the PM Internship Scheme aligns with the nation’s vision of cultivating innovation and global competitiveness. As an institution committed to holistic education, JIS Group welcomes this investment in digital learning, technical education, and teacher development, which will empower the youth with future-ready skills and strengthen India’s position as an education leader on the global stage.

Rajiv Gupta, Managing Director, Wave City

“The Union Budget 2025-26 will push the growth trajectory further as it focuses on increasing the income of the middle class by expanding the nil tax limit to Rs 12 lakh, stressing ease of doing business, building urban infrastructure and launching fresh funds for completion of stressed residential projects. There will be accelerated growth in the real estate segment with the Govt. setting up a ₹1 lakh crore Urban Challenge Fund to transform cities into growth hubs, support creative redevelopment, and enhance water and sanitation infrastructure, which in turn boost residential real estate and create more housing and investment demand. “

Bijal Sanghvi, Managing Director, Axis Solutions

 “Union Budget 2025 will drive and strengthen India’s manufacturing and energy transformation with a strong push for “Make in India”. Targeting 100 GW of nuclear energy by 2047 is a welcome move for a sustainable future. With a ₹20,000 crore outlay for small modular reactors in Nuclear Power, the budget accelerates clean energy adoption. Power sector reforms, export promotion, and policy incentives will strengthen industrial growth, ensuring Atma-Nirbharta, innovation, energy security and transition. Investing in people through skill development programme will build a future-ready workforce, positioning India as a global power- house in manufacturing, sustainability, and technological advancement.”

Ajitesh Korupolu, Founder & CEO, ASBL

‘From a personal finance perspective, the budget introduces a significant tax exemption for individuals owning two self-owned properties, easing the financial burden for those looking to expand their real estate holdings. Additionally, the tax relief aimed at the middle class is expected to reduce the overall tax burden, giving individuals more financial flexibility as they consider buying their first home. While these moves aren’t direct incentives for home loan interest, they still play a crucial role in making homeownership more accessible. Reforms in REITs are also anticipated to provide increased liquidity in the market, opening up new investment opportunities.

By focusing on infrastructure and easing the tax burden, the budget is laying the foundation for a more feasible path to homeownership, especially for those in the middle-income bracket looking to step into the real estate market.’

Kamal Bali, President & MD – Volvo Group in India

The Budget’s sustained focus on capex spend & more money in the hands of the middle income group, with tax relief, will provide a fillip to demand growth and employment, while also being fiscally responsible.

The budget is inclusive as every sector of society and economy (including manufacturing, msme’s, agri, startups, tourism, skilling, training in AI), have been thought of and provided some sort of support for growth or transformation.

FDI in insurance, EoDB with rationalization of import duties & other provisions, the nuclear energy mission for 100GW energy, India Post as logistics organization leveraging last mile connectivity, and personal income tax changes are some other highlights.

Sudarshan Lodha, Co-Founder & CEO, Strata SM REIT 

“The Union Budget 2025-26 takes meaningful steps toward strengthening India’s infrastructure landscape, particularly through the expansion of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model and the continuation of the Asset Monetisation Plan. The ₹1.5 lakh crore interest-free loan to states for capital expenditure is a welcome move, as it will encourage long-term investments in critical sectors. Also, the ₹10 lakh crore Asset Monetisation Plan provides a much-needed boost to unlock value from existing assets and reinvest in new projects.

The revision in IT slabs is also a positive step, as it will add more liquidity and encourage wider participation in investments, including structured real estate opportunities. The evolving regulatory and fiscal framework will be crucial in ensuring that private capital finds efficient avenues to participate in infrastructure development. A well-defined regulatory framework will be key, and I’m looking forward to seeing how these policies translate into real investment opportunities.”

Harshvardhan Tibrewala, MD, Vida Realty 

The Union Budget 2025-26 explicitly highlights its move for strengthen the real estate sector, infrastructure, and also encourages employment for workers. The incorporation of SWAMIH Fund 2 that allocated ₹15,000 crores, allows stalled housing projects successful. Urban sector reforms are in the spotlight due to a ₹1 lakh crore Urban Challenge Fund on sustainable development and city infrastructure.

Valuation of two self-occupied properties at Nil rather than one can help reduce financial burdens on the owners of such properties and makes homeownership look attractive and cheaper. Income tax relief measures can bring more money to the people’s pockets that would increase the purchasing power, hence increasing the demand in housing sectors. On the demand side, the personal income tax reforms—particularly the increase in the TDS exemption on rental income from ₹2.4 lakh to ₹6 lakh and the higher tax deduction limits for senior citizens—will enhance disposable income and strengthen consumer sentiment.

Expansion of PM SVANidhi and other financial support schemes will scale up employment across real estate and allied industries and strengthen economic resilience. The budget approach to upskilling and social security for the construction workforce, especially in the informal sector, is a welcome step.

It includes ₹1.5 lakh crore worth of interest-free capital expenditure loans to be provided to states, which will hugely benefit large-scale infrastructure projects, from developers to contractors and to the small daily-wage laborers.

Together, these initiatives create a very favorable environment for real estate growth, urban development, and job creation. This is an opportunity for Vida Realty to be part of the rapidly transforming skyline of India while ensuring infrastructure and housing remain accessible and affordable for all.

Badal Yagnik, Chief Executive Officer, Colliers India

“The Union Budget 2025-26 has continued to further the goal of ‘Viksit Bharat’ and ‘Sabka Vikas’ through transformative reforms across six key domains including urban & real estate development, power & mining sectors, financial services and taxation as well regulatory reforms. Balanced regional growth across tier I & II cities will be driven by engines such as agriculture, MSMEs, investments and exports. The National Manufacturing Mission, guidance framework for GCCs, start-up focused AIF, SWAMIH 2 fund and Urban Challenge Fund, all hold potential to significantly accelerate real estate growth across multiple real estate segments. The budget has continued to focus on improving the ease of doing business through innovation, technological upgradation and sharing of data between public & private sector establishments. The extension of the SWAMIH fund is a much-expected move as several real, estate projects continue to reel under stress due to funding constraints, delaying delivery of homes. Additionally, rationalization of taxes and enhancement of exemption limits can boost disposable income spurring consumption levels and real estate investments, particularly in residential real estate and alternate financial instruments such as REITs.”

Shrinivas Rao, FRICS, CEO, Vestian 

“The Union Budget 2025 focuses on employment generation, boosting domestic consumption, and enhancing connectivity by concentrating on the rapid development of physical infrastructure and increasing disposable income of citizens. This will have a positive impact on increasing demand for all real estate asset classes across the country. Furthermore, the budget has an allocation of INR 15,000 Cr under the SWAMIH Fund for addressing liquidity issues of delayed housing projects. This along with the digitization of land records is expected to strengthen homebuyers’ confidence.”

Mr. Rao further added, “Upgradation of infrastructure facilities for air cargo will multiply the demand for warehousing across the country. Focus on setting up GCCs in tier-2 cities will transform the real estate landscape in the emerging cities of India.

Piyush Bothra, Co-Founder and CFO, Square Yards

“The recent budget introduces much-needed relief, particularly with the zero-tax provision on annual incomes up to Rs 12 lakh—a move that enhances disposable income and is expected to support homebuyers. Additionally, the allocation of Rs 15,000 crore under the SWAMIH Fund for completing 1 lakh stalled housing units is a significant intervention, providing relief to buyers impacted by delayed projects and supporting supply-side stakeholders.

However, additional measures could have further strengthened the sector. Increasing home loan deduction limits would have improved financing accessibility, particularly for first-time homebuyers and end-users. This could have enhanced affordability, eased credit constraints, reduced tax liabilities, and contributed towards meeting the projected demand of 93 million housing units by 2036.”

Rahul Mody, Co-Head Investment Banking at Ambit

“The budget has a number of provisions to boost investments significantly across sectors. These include an increase in FDI in the Insurance sector to 100%, increased focus on manufacturing including in CleanTech, extension of the SWF/Pension Funds tax exemption for investments in the Infrastructure sector to 2030, and new initiatives for the Water, Nuclear Power and Urban Development sectors. There is also a signficant Asset Monetisation target set up to 2030. We expect the FDI to go up significantly over the next five years to USD 100-125 bn a year. These provisions also put the country firmly on course to achieving the stated Net Zero target by 2070.”

Vikram Gupta, Founder and Managing Partner, IvyCap Ventures 

Union Budget 2025 takes significant strides toward fostering India’s startup and investment ecosystem, particularly in deep tech, innovation, and entrepreneurship. The government’s announcement of a new ₹10,000 crore Fund of Funds, building on the previous commitment of ₹91,000 crore, will provide much-needed domestic capital, fueling startup growth and reducing dependency on foreign investments. The increased focus on women entrepreneurs under this scheme is a progressive move toward enhancing diversity in India’s startup landscape.

The decision to increase FDI in insurance from 74% to 100%—provided the premium is invested in India —could significantly boost the country’s investment environment. A portion of this capital could potentially flow into AIFs, unlocking further opportunities for startups. Additionally, the much-needed tax clarity on capital gains vs. business income for AIF Category I & II funds aligns Indian AIFs with FPIs, improving tax certainty and encouraging more investments. The removal of Section 206C(1H), which required tax collection at source on the sale of securities, is another positive step, addressing a long-standing industry concern.

Further, the move to prospectively eliminate Tax Deducted at Source on distributed securities returns is a game-changer, likely to encourage more Limited Partner (LP) investments in venture capital firms.

The Budget’s focus on talent and infrastructure development is equally commendable. The expansion of IITs founded after 2014 and increasing the number of seats to 6,500 will significantly contribute to India’s talent pipeline, nurturing the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators. Strengthening premier institutions like IITs will create a more skilled workforce, directly benefiting India’s startup ecosystem. Additionally, the establishment of Centres of Excellence in AI and deep tech will further accelerate innovation in critical sectors.

The expansion of medical education—adding 10,000 seats in medical colleges and 75,000 more over the next five years—addresses India’s healthcare talent shortage. The announcement of 200 new cancer daycare centers will be instrumental in improving cancer care access, benefiting startups like ICanHeal and strengthening India’s healthcare sector.

For startups, the government’s extension of tax benefits to those incorporated until March 31, 2030, is a crucial step, though more clarity is needed on its implementation. The rationalization of income tax brackets will put more disposable income in the hands of consumers, leading to increased spending—a positive development for startups in the consumer sector and beyond.

In IFSC reforms, the extension of tax exemptions in GIFT City until March 31, 2030, along with the introduction of a simplified regime for fund managers, will encourage more fund management activity in India. The ability of retail funds and ETFs to relocate to GIFT IFSC in a tax-free manner enhances India’s attractiveness as a global financial hub.

Finally, the TCS rationalization for students studying abroad, while only applicable to loans up to ₹10 lakh, will still benefit many aspiring students and edtech platforms like GradRight. From a broader perspective, while the budget makes impactful changes to taxation and indirect taxes, understanding the areas where tax rates have increased will be essential for assessing the overall economic impact.

Overall, this budget brings several progressive measures to support startups, investors, and innovation-led industries. With a strong push toward deep tech, capital access, infrastructure, IIT expansion, and regulatory clarity, it paves the way for a robust and sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem in India.