FICCI Pre-Budget Survey Signals Strong Industry Optimism, Calls for Jobs, Infra Push and Export Support

New Delhi, Jan 2026 : A pre-Budget survey conducted by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has reflected strong optimism across Indian industry, with nearly 80 per cent of respondents expressing confidence in India’s economic growth prospects despite ongoing global uncertainties. The findings underline sustained faith in the country’s medium-term fundamentals as policymakers prepare for the Union Budget 2026–27.

According to the survey, almost half of the participating industry leaders expect India’s GDP growth to remain in the 7–8 per cent range in FY 2026–27, indicating resilience driven by domestic demand, public investment and structural reforms. This optimism comes even as global trade faces volatility, geopolitical tensions and tightening financial conditions in major economies.

The survey also highlighted the industry’s emphasis on fiscal prudence and consolidation. Around 42 per cent of respondents believe the government will achieve the fiscal deficit target of 4.4 per cent of GDP in FY 2025–26, reinforcing confidence in the Centre’s commitment to a disciplined fiscal roadmap. Industry participants noted that maintaining fiscal credibility remains crucial for sustaining investor confidence and macroeconomic stability.

FICCI identified three key macroeconomic priorities for the upcoming Union Budget—job creation, a sustained push for infrastructure development, and stronger support for exports. Respondents indicated that sectors likely to be in focus include infrastructure, manufacturing, defence and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), all of which are seen as critical drivers of employment and long-term growth.

The survey stressed the need for the government to continue its strong thrust on manufacturing and capital expenditure. It recommended the establishment of a mega electronics industrial cluster that would co-locate original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), electronics manufacturing services (EMS) firms and component suppliers. Such clustering, the report said, would strengthen supply chains, enhance competitiveness and accelerate India’s ambition of becoming a global electronics hub. Alongside electronics, the industry also called for greater emphasis on defence manufacturing, aligning with the government’s focus on self-reliance.

In the defence sector, respondents suggested that the capital outlay share in defence allocations be increased to 30 per cent. This would enable faster modernisation of frontline assets and support investments in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), counter-UAV systems, electronic warfare platforms and artificial intelligence-enabled capabilities. The survey further proposed enhancing the Drone Production Linked Incentive (PLI) outlay to ₹1,000 crore and setting up a ₹1,000 crore Drone Research and Development Fund to boost this emerging and strategic sector.

On the external trade front, the survey noted heightened expectations of export support in the Union Budget, given rising global trade frictions, uncertainty over tariffs, and non-tariff barriers such as carbon border adjustment mechanisms (CBAM) and deforestation-related regulations. To strengthen India’s export performance and integration into global value chains, respondents emphasised the need to streamline trade facilitation and customs procedures, reduce logistics and port-related bottlenecks, and strengthen export incentive and refund mechanisms.

Industry recommended enhancing allocations under the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme to improve export competitiveness. Expectations also include reforms in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) policy and further rationalisation of customs tariffs. The survey suggested converging customs duty slabs into three simplified rate levels, which would reduce compliance costs and improve certainty for businesses.

On the direct tax front, respondents called for simplified compliance through greater digitisation, improved tax certainty, and more efficient dispute resolution and litigation management, all aimed at creating a predictable and business-friendly tax environment.

(The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)