Gujarat business leaders hail Budget for maintaining balance between growth and fiscal discipline

GIFT City Managing Director and Group CEO Sanjay Kaul said the Budget offers strong long-term tax certainty for entities operating from Indias first International Financial Services Centre IFSC, significantly enhancing the countrys offshore financial competitiveness.

Business leaders in Gujarat on Sunday welcomed the Union Budget, saying it focuses on long-term policy stability, domestic manufacturing, healthcare innovation, clean energy investments and ease of doing business, while maintaining a balance between growth and fiscal discipline. GIFT City Managing Director and Group CEO Sanjay Kaul said the Budget offers strong long-term tax certainty for entities operating from India's first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC), significantly enhancing the country's offshore financial competitiveness. ''The extension of the tax deduction window to 20 years out of 25 years from 10 years out of 15 years, coupled with a clearly defined 15 per cent tax rate thereafter, offers clarity and predictability that global financial institutions and investors look for when making long-term location and capital allocation decisions,'' Kaul said. According to Kaul, this policy stability strengthens GIFT City's position as a globally competitive financial hub within India's jurisdiction and reinforces confidence among banks, fund managers, exchanges and other IFSC participants. CEO and Managing Director of CORONA Remedies, Nirav Mehta, termed the Budget a transformative milestone for India's pharmaceutical and biopharma ecosystem with the launch of the Rs 10,000 crore Biopharma Shakti programme. He said the programme aims to strengthen domestic manufacturing of biologics and biosimilars and position India as a global innovation and production hub. ''With the country's disease burden steadily shifting towards non-communicable conditions such as diabetes, the focus on advanced therapies, expanded clinical trial infrastructure, new NIPER institutes, and faster regulatory approvals will significantly accelerate research, scale and timely patient access to next-generation treatments,'' Mehta said. Transformers and Rectifiers (India) Ltd CEO and MD Satyen J Mamtora said the enhanced Rs 40,000 crore outlay under the Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme highlights the continued focus on strengthening domestic manufacturing capabilities. ''For the power and energy sector, a stronger local electronics ecosystem is increasingly relevant as digitalisation and advanced systems become integral to transmission and grid infrastructure, supporting supply chain stability and capacity building,'' he said. CEO and MD of Hester Biosciences Rajiv Gandhi said the Budget primarily aims at ease of doing business and ease of living. He noted there is a strong focus on simplifying administrative processes. The Budget has addressed MSMEs, agriculture, tourism, animal husbandry and fishing by allocating higher budgets to set these sectors on a high growth path, Gandhi added. ''Overall the budget aims at increasing domestic consumption, which in turn will generate employment and raise disposable incomes, creating a cycle of sustainable economic growth,'' he said. Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) president Sandeep Engineer said the Union Budget 2026-27 is strategically crafted to build resilience in a volatile global environment while enhancing productivity and competitiveness. The Budget maintains a balance between growth and stability, with public capital expenditure proposed at Rs 12.2 lakh crore to crowd in private investment, while adhering to a disciplined fiscal consolidation path, he pointed out. ''The fiscal deficit has been estimated at 4.3 per cent of GDP for FY 2026-27. The Budget complements Gujarat's industrial strengths and would accelerate investment, employment generation and long-term economic resilience,'' Engineer opined. Welspun World Chairman BK Goenka said the Budget sends a strong and reassuring signal of the government's commitment to sustaining India's growth momentum under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said the focus on infrastructure, manufacturing depth and institutional mechanisms will encourage private sector participation and reinforce economic resilience. ''The enhanced capex, along with measures to de-risk infrastructure financing and widen access to long-term capital, will significantly improve project viability across sectors such as energy, water, transportation and urban development,'' Goenka said. Managing Director of GVFL Mihir Joshi said the Budget lays out a strong roadmap for India's next phase of growth, with a clear focus on manufacturing, infrastructure and structural reforms, while ensuring financial prudence. Measures such as the dedicated Rs. 10,000 crore SME Growth Fund, higher allocation for the Self-Reliant India Fund, expansion of PLI-linked sectors and sustained public capex will strengthen the startup and investment ecosystem, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)