In the Union Budget 2026-27, the government has positioned artificial intelligence, cloud services and digital infrastructure as central drivers of economic development. Presenting the budget in New Delhi, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced measures to strengthen AI infrastructure, cloud services and the data centre ecosystem, alongside initiatives in electronics manufacturing and cyber security.
The budget outlines the government’s objective of expanding the use of AI-based solutions across healthcare, agriculture, education and other key sectors to improve service delivery and accessibility. To support this, emphasis has been placed on strengthening digital public infrastructure and enabling a broader technology ecosystem.
The budget also focuses on promoting electronics component manufacturing to reduce import dependence and increase domestic production capacity. The measures are aimed at supporting the technology manufacturing base while creating additional employment opportunities within the sector.
For cloud services and data-driven businesses, the budget proposes tax relief for cloud services and clearer, secure regulatory frameworks for IT services. These measures are expected to support companies and startups operating across sectors such as finance, logistics, healthcare, education and tourism, where the adoption of AI- and data-based platforms is set to deepen.
Initiatives such as integrating AI with AgriStack, expanding digital education systems and developing medical value tourism hubs reflect the government’s focus on data-driven decision-making as a foundation for future growth.
Cyber security has been identified as a key pillar of digital expansion in the budget. According to Quick Heal Technologies CMD Dr Kailash Katkar, the increasing adoption of AI and digital services has made the protection of data and digital identities more critical than ever. Seqrite Joint Managing Director Dr Sanjay Katkar said that with the expansion of cloud services and data centre ecosystems, cyber security has become a necessity rather than an option, adding that self-reliant cyber security solutions are essential alongside government skilling programmes and the expansion of digital services.
