By: S Shashank, R&D Lead

Budgets are not just financial documents.
They are statements of intent.

They reveal what a country chooses to prioritise, what it chooses to postpone, and what it believes time will fix on its own.

As a founder, an engineer, and a citizen, I look at budgets the same way I look at systems - not by asking whether they are popular, but whether they are balanced, and whether that balance can sustain long-term growth.

I broadly support the present government’s direction.
That support, however, comes with a responsibility to ask a harder question:

Is this budget good enough for India’s future - and for its people today?

'Budgets are statements of intent- they reveal what a country chooses to prioritize, postpone, or leave to time.'

What This Budget Is Trying to Do

The intent behind the Union Budget 2026 is clear.

It is a strategy-first budget, not a populist one.

The government has chosen to:

▶ Push record public capital expenditure

▶ Deepen domestic manufacturing and strategic supply chains

▶ Discourage excessive financial speculation

▶ Maintain fiscal discipline rather than expand short-term giveaways

At its core, the budget places a bet on long-term capacity building over immediate consumption.

That is a defensible choice.
But every choice comes with trade-offs.

What People Needed vs What They Got

Most citizens entered this budget cycle with simple expectations:

▶ Relief from rising living costs

▶ Greater tax simplicity

▶ Reassurance on jobs and stability

What they received was mixed.

On the household front, there was limited direct relief.
Tax structures remained largely unchanged, and immediate disposable-income gains were modest.

On the growth front, the signal was stronger.
Infrastructure spending, manufacturing incentives, and clean-energy support point toward future job creation- but those benefits arrive with a delay.

This creates a gap:

▶ people feel pressure now

▶ policy promises relief later

That gap matters.

Short-Term Impact: Momentum With Friction

In the near term, the budget is likely to:

▶ stimulate construction, capital goods, and allied sectors

▶ benefit businesses aligned with public procurement and long-cycle projects

▶ cool speculative activity in financial markets through higher transaction costs

For certain industries, this is positive.

For individuals and small investors, the experience may feel uneven.
Speculation may reduce- but so may liquidity and participation.

Momentum exists, but so does short-term discomfort.

Long-Term Promise: Where the Budget Gets It Right

Where this budget deserves credit is direction.

India’s future resilience depends on:

▶ domestic manufacturing strength

▶ energy security

▶ reduced dependence on fragile global supply chains

Investments in semiconductors, rare earths, clean energy, and infrastructure are not fashionable choices- they are necessary ones.

If executed well, these decisions can:

▶ create higher-quality employment

▶ stabilize long-term growth

▶ strengthen India’s strategic autonomy

This is where the budget aligns with long-term national interest.

Where the Balance Feels Incomplete

Balance is not only about the future.
It is about carrying the present along with it.

This budget underestimates three pressures:

1. Household fatigue- people can support long-term goals, but not sustained strain.

2. MSME friction- small businesses need simpler compliance and faster cash-flow relief, not just policy intent.

3. Execution risk- capital expenditure only delivers value when contracts, logistics, and governance work smoothly on the ground.

A system designed for growth can still fail if its weakest layers are ignored.

'Balance is not only about the future. It is about carrying the present along with it.'

What Could Have Strengthened This Budget

A more balanced approach could have included:

▶ targeted, temporary relief for vulnerable households

▶ sharper MSME-focused simplification rather than broad announcements

▶ stronger links between large public projects and local employment absorption

None of these require abandoning fiscal discipline.
They require precision.

Understanding the Deeper Intent

This budget reflects confidence and patience.

It assumes that:

▶ global conditions will stabilize

▶ private investment will follow public signals

▶ citizens will absorb short-term discomfort for long-term gain

That is a bold assumption.

In systems thinking, assumptions must be revisited continuously.
Unexamined assumptions are where imbalance quietly grows.

A Founder’s View on Responsibility

From a founder’s lens, this budget is not reckless but it is demanding.

It asks citizens to trust execution.
It asks businesses to align with long-term signals.
It asks institutions to deliver without delay.

Support for direction must be matched with accountability in delivery.

In older Indian wisdom, progress was always tied to responsibility not intention alone, but action that sustains balance.

Choosing Direction

This budget is directionally sound.
It is structurally ambitious.
It is strategic rather than emotional.

But it is not complete.

Its success depends less on what has been announced, and more on how carefully balance is maintained between:

▶ future growth and present strain

▶ ambition and execution

▶ policy vision and lived reality

India’s long-term growth will not come from speed alone.
It will come from balance that people can carry.

I support the direction.
I will judge the outcome by its delivery.

'India’s long-term growth will not come from speed alone. It will come from balance that people can carry.'

IISSII

(Feb 2, 2026)