Union Budget 2026: Women Founders Share Budget Expectations

By: WE Staff

As the Union Budget 2026-27 approaches, India’s startup ecosystem is looking beyond headline incentives and short-term boosts, seeking policy measures that can sustain innovation over the long haul. After years of rapid startup creation, the focus is now firmly on scale, stability, and global competitiveness. Founders and investors alike expect the budget to reflect a maturing ecosystem, one that prioritises tax certainty, easier compliance, deeper capital access, and long-gestation deep-tech innovation.

The past year has seen meaningful policy momentum, from the Rs 1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund to progressive state-level startup policies aimed at regional inclusion. These steps have strengthened confidence, especially among deep-tech and science-led ventures.

With Budget 2026 around the corner, startups are hoping for targeted reforms that convert early policy intent into durable growth, enabling Indian ventures not just to start up, but to stay, scale, and succeed globally.

To understand the pulse of women founders, we hear from diverse women founders, including Meenakshi Kumarr, Bindu Sharma, Niharika Jalan, and Pavneet Kaur Chimni. From sharing their hopes for the development of women-led enterprises to sectoral needs, these women entrepreneurs highlight key pointers.