“India should definitely aim to be self-reliant in the sense that whenever a big global power sneezes, our economy shouldn’t catch a cold. This means becoming a strong export-driven economy with a meaningful role in global supply chains where we matter to the world as much as the rest of the world matters to us,” said Piyush Doshi, operating partner at Foundation for Economic Development (FED), a policy think tank.

Rahul Ahluwalia, Founder-Director, Foundation for Economic Development, said 2026 is likely to bring high policy uncertainty globally, with both geopolitical and trade tensions affecting growth. “Improving India’s competitiveness, across ease and cost of doing business, is critical. Customs reforms hinted by the FM would be an important step, while supporting last year’s reform initiatives would signal policy consistency,” he noted. Piyush Doshi, Operating Partner, Foundation for Economic Development, added that last year’s focus on consumption and tax relief leaves little room for new tax tweaks. “The challenge now is to boost investments and jobs, particularly in manufacturing. The budget should build on deregulation, deepen customs reforms, liberalise FDI, and push asset monetisation, with a focus on sectors like tourism and labour-intensive manufacturing,” he said.

“With global uncertainty set to remain high, improving India’s competitiveness by easing and lowering the cost of doing business will be critical. Clear signalling on customs reform and continuity of last year’s reform agenda would be a strong positive for the economy,” said Rahul Ahluwalia, Founder-Director, Foundation for Economic Development.