India’s economic growth story hinges on strategic interventions, and as the Union Budget 2026-27 approaches, stakeholders are outlining bold recommendations. Sanjeev Kumar Gupta, CEO of Karnataka Digital Economy Mission, shared his insights with IANS, urging a sharp focus on accelerating technology uptake in MSMEs, especially those in Tier-2 and Tier-3 urban centers.
These enterprises already pump $1.5 trillion into the national economy with a solid 10 percent growth trajectory. By infusing cutting-edge tech, Gupta predicts a leap to 18 percent growth. ‘We need a robust policy to make this happen, and we’re hopeful the budget will deliver it,’ he stated.
Gupta’s vision extends to creating Digital Economy Zones across Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, potentially birthing 100 new growth hubs that could transform regional economies.
Addressing the startup ecosystem, he noted around 100,000 startups in these areas and proposed a national scheme to multiply them fivefold to 500,000. This, he argued, would spark a job creation revolution.
Scheduled for February 1 at 11 AM by the Finance Minister, this budget breaks tradition as the first Sunday presentation post-2000, echoing rare weekend budgets like 2025 and 2015.