AI & Digital Infrastructure
Sachin Panicker, Chief AI Officer, Fulcrum Digital –
“India stands at a pivotal moment in its AI journey, with the AI ecosystem entering a phase where scale, trust and global competitiveness will define the next decade, and the Union Budget 2026 should reinforce the nation’s ambition to become a global AI innovation hub. We expect the Budget to prioritise strategic investments in foundational infrastructure — particularly in world-class data centres, cloud ecosystems, and sustainable high-performance computing — that can unlock enterprise-grade AI adoption across sectors, efficiently and responsibly. Enhancing policy clarity and regulatory certainty for AI deployment and data governance will accelerate private-sector investment and innovation, while targeted incentives and support for R&D, early-stage AI ventures and domestic IP creation will help India move from being a consumer of global AI to a significant creator.
Equally important is ecosystem-wide support, including robust skilling initiatives that prepare India’s diverse workforce for an AI-augmented economy, and alignment of AI frameworks with ethical and inclusive growth goals. By focusing on infrastructure, policy and human capital, the Union Budget can catalyse next-generation digital services to accelerate India’s transition into a globally competitive AI economy and ensure that India’s AI growth benefits every sector — from healthcare to manufacturing to public services.”
Data Centres, Cloud & Digital Sovereignty
Mr. Narendra Sen, Founder & CEO, RackBank & NeevCloud –
“As we move from vision to execution, Budget 2026 must recognize that Data Centers are the new sovereign territory and AI is the new electricity. While the projected 1.7 GW capacity is a milestone, our focus must shift from just ‘housing’ hardware to ‘powering’ intelligence.
To truly build an Atmanirbhar AI ecosystem, we need a Production Linked Incentive (PLI) for Compute that prioritizes indigenous cloud platforms over foreign hyperscalers. By treating AI infrastructure as a strategic national asset—similar to highways or power grids—we can ensure that India’s data remains within India’s legal framework, securing our digital sovereignty for decades to come.
Cybersecurity & Digital Trust
Sunil Kr. Sharma, Managing Director & Vice President – Sales (India & SAARC), Sophos –
“India’s digital economy continues to grow rapidly, requiring a commitment to cybersecurity as a fundamental component of creating an economy built on trust, economic growth and resilience as a nation. With budget 2026, we are now in a position to elevate cybersecurity as a strategic priority and make targeted investments to build cyber resilience across multiple sectors including BFSI, healthcare, government, MSMEs and more. We want to see continued policy support for AI based threat detection and ransomware prevention, as well as secure cloud adoption. This should also include incentives for the MSME sector to assist in improving their security posture. Additionally, it is essential to continue investing in developing cybersecurity skills, as well as developing stronger relationships between the public and private sectors to facilitate sharing of threat intelligence and help keep India’s future in the digital space secure and resilient.”
