Will budget 2026-27 lay down the roadmap for a tech-sovereign India?

As India approaches Budget 2026-27, the national dialogue has pivoted from "Digital India" to a more formidable goal: Viksit Bharat 2047. While the ambition of a USD 30 trillion economy by 100 years of independence is well-articulated, industry experts warn that the gap between current growth and this future vision can only be bridged by treating technology not as a sector, but as the country's "strategic backbone."

The "AI Factory" imperative

The core of the Viksit Bharat vision lies in moving India from being a consumer of global technology to a primary architect. To do this, the industry is calling for a massive shift in how the government funds physical digital infrastructure.

Vipin Jain, President – Hyperscale Growth, Delivery & Innovation at CtrlS Datacenters, emphasizes that the 2026 Budget must be the catalyst for "AI readiness."

“To bridge the gap toward Viksit Bharat 2047, the 2026 Budget must accelerate India's AI infrastructure readiness. We urge dedicated fiscal incentives for datacenter infrastructure development, hosting AI factories and GPU compute facilities, to support the exponentially growing AI workload demands that will define our digital economy over the next two decades.”

This "AI Factory" model is essential. While India generates 20% of the world's data, it currently hosts only 3% of global data center capacity. Closing this gap is the first step toward Infrastructure Sovereignty.

Digital sovereignty and the "Data Embassy"

As global supply chains shift and geopolitical tensions rise, the industry is looking for more than just financial support, it is seeking a new regulatory status. The demand for "Critical Infrastructure" status for data centers is no longer a request; it is a strategic necessity.

“Granting datacenters 'critical infrastructure' status with special regulatory frameworks, akin to data embassies ensuring sovereign data protection, will strengthen digital sovereignty,” says Jain. “It serves as a crucial safety net protecting Indian tech interests while making India a more attractive destination for global tech giants seeking secure, stable locations for their investments.”

Sushant Rabra, Partner & Head (Digital Strategy and Transformation) at KPMG in India, echoes this sentiment, viewing the budget as a timely opportunity to anchor India's growth on a domestic tech backbone.

“The Budget can bridge the gap by treating AI as core growth infrastructure through scaling affordable compute, enabling data centres, and pushing enterprise adoption. With the IndiaAI Mission already setting the base, Budget 2026 is a timely opportunity to shift India from an AI consumer to a global AI leader by building infrastructure sovereignty through high-performance and increasingly indigenous accelerators, secure cloud capacity, and reliable green power.”

The Green-Compute framework

Data centers are power-hungry, and a "Developed India" must also be a "Green India." The industry expects the Finance Minister to introduce fiscal instruments that align massive capital expenditure with climate goals.

• Fiscal Asks: Extended tax holidays and accelerated depreciation for green data center investments.

• Mandates: Clear renewable energy procurement targets and the creation of Data Centre Economic Zones (DCEZs) with pre-approved green power corridors.

The human-AI implementation gap

Finally, both Jain and Rabra point toward a critical bottleneck: the "Human Readiness" factor. While the Rs 10,372 crore IndiaAI Mission is a strong start, the 2026 Budget must ensure that the talent pool scales at the same rate as the silicon. This includes funding for a "Future Skills 2047 Mission" to train 10 million youth annually in robotics, semiconductors, and agentic AI.

As the Finance Minister rises to present the budget on February 1st, the tech industry will be watching for more than just numbers, it will be looking for the "structural plumbing" that ensures India doesn't just witness the AI revolution, but leads it.