A majority of industry stakeholders have identified boosting domestic manufacturing and strengthening the ‘Make in India’ initiative as the top priority for the Union Budget 2026-27, citing high compliance burden, logistics and energy costs, and limited access to long-term capital as key constraints to scaling up manufacturing in the country, according to a pre-Budget survey recently conducted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India (ASSOCHAM). The survey, conducted among professionals across manufacturing, services, infrastructure, IT/ITeS, start-ups and allied sectors, found that 55 per cent of respondents remain optimistic about the business outlook over the next 12 months, while 32 per cent maintain a neutral stance and only 13 per cent expressed a pessimistic outlook.
Boosting domestic manufacturing emerged as the single most important Budget priority to advance the vision of an Aatmanirbhar and Viksit Bharat, followed by strengthening MSMEs and simplifying tax and compliance systems. Infrastructure and logistics development, skills and job creation, and accelerated digital and AI-led growth also featured prominently among industry expectations from the Budget. While government initiatives such as infrastructure capital expenditure, GST 2.0 reforms and Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes are seen as directionally positive, their on-ground impact remains muted. Around 35 per cent of respondents said these measures have delivered limited benefits so far, while 39 per cent felt the impact has been only moderate, underscoring the need for improved design, wider accessibility and stronger last-mile execution.