Tarun Katial, Founder & CEO at coto

“The Union Budget 2026 marks an important shift in how India is re-imagining healthcare and human development. By reinforcing preventive healthcare, holistic wellbeing and early intervention, the Budget creates space to recognise emotional and mental wellbeing as a foundational pillar of long-term health and quality of life.

The articulation of the government’s third core kartavya aligns with the vision of “Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas” towards a Viksit Bharat, and its explicit focus on empowering vulnerable communities to access mental health and trauma care is a significant and timely acknowledgement of emotional well-being as an inclusion priority.

Equally important is the government’s forward-looking approach to technology, including the announcement of a high-powered committee to assess the impact of artificial intelligence on the services sector. This reflects a clear intent to enable responsible, technology-led innovation.

Together, these policy directions create an enabling environment for platforms like coto to expand access to emotional wellness through human-centred, digitally delivered and ethically designed solutions that support individual resilience and societal wellbeing.”