India’s growth story is often narrated in terms of investment, infrastructure, and industry. We hear about highways being built, factories being expanded, and foreign capital flowing in. But let’s be clear: the real engine of this economy is the consumer. private consumption accounts for nearly 60% of GDP. Every rupee spent on food, fuel, housing, healthcare, education, or leisure keeps factories humming, shops open, and services thriving.
And yet, year after year, budgets are framed around fiscal arithmetic and corporate incentives, while the consumer’s voice is barely audible. Union Budget 2026 must change that. It is again hightime Consumer Representatives must get consulted while preparing for the budget. One can get away saying, we are all consumers and those consulted are also consumers. Such arguments do not hold good as most of the time I have observed none speaks on behalf of the consumers, including the Department of Consumer Affairs, who never proposes a position paper on behalf of the consumers, prior to Union Budget preparations. It is the right time to count for consumers—not just count consumers.
Taxation That Doesn’t Steal Growth:
Taxation is the most direct interface between citizens and the state. When income tax slabs fail to keep pace with inflation, rising incomes are quietly clawed back by rising taxes. This stealth taxation erodes purchasing power and undermines confidence.
Consider the salaried middle class. A modest annual increment often pushes them into a higher tax bracket, even though their real income—adjusted for inflation—has barely grown. Freelancers and gig workers face even greater complexity, navigating a maze of compliance requirements that were designed for traditional employment structures.
Indexing slabs to inflation, expanding deductions, and simplifying compliance are not populist giveaways—they are basic fairness. A consumer‑centric budget must ensure that taxation is predictable, transparent, and aligned with economic reality. If households feel punished for earning more, they will spend less, save less, and trust less.
Affordability at the Household Level:
Growth is meaningless if families feel squeezed at the kitchen table. Inflation in food, fuel, healthcare, and education hits hardest where it matters most: household budgets.
Take healthcare. A single hospitalisation can wipe out years of savings for a middle‑class family. Education costs, from school fees to coaching classes, have risen sharply, leaving parents anxious about their children’s future. Fuel prices ripple through every sector, raising transport costs and food bills.
Rationalising GST on essentials and strengthening price monitoring are urgent steps. If growth doesn’t ease the monthly bills, it isn’t growth at all. A budget that prioritises affordability ensures that prosperity is not just visible in macroeconomic charts but felt in everyday life. We must encourage a robust price surveilance mechanism but not at the cost of killing creativity, innovation and fair competition. We have to make products and service not only affordable but also accessible to encourage consumption.
Housing as Shelter, Not Speculation:
For millions of Indians, owning a home remains the ultimate aspiration. It is not just an asset; it is shelter, dignity, and security. Yet affordability, delayed possession, and opaque contracts have turned that dream into a gamble.
Affordable housing schemes have lost momentum, leaving first‑time buyers stranded. Developers often overpromise and under deliver, with possession dates stretching endlessly. Buyers are left with EMIs but no homes.
Budget 2026 must revive affordable housing incentives, enhance loan deductions, and protect buyers from unfair practices. Shelter is a necessity, not a speculative asset class. A consumer‑centric housing policy would treat homes as the foundation of family life, not chips on a real estate roulette table.
Social Security beyond the Office Desk:
India’s workforce is changing. Millions now work in the unorganized sector like gig and platform jobs—driving cabs, delivering food, freelancing online. Flexibility should not mean fragility. These workers sustain urban demand every day, yet they remain outside the safety net of social security. A sudden accident, illness, or economic downturn can push them into destitution. Our benchmark should be wages and amenities paid to Government employees as the gold standard because we cover such expenses from the taxpayers money. So why discriminate, we must follow a uniform minimum wage structure linked with performance, which is missing in our country. Union Budget 2026 should set performance targets based on best practices and standards.
Extending health insurance, accident cover, and pensions to gig workers is not charity—it’s recognition of their role in sustaining demand. Simplifying tax and credit systems for self‑employed individuals would further strengthen their financial resilience. A budget that protects workers in the unorganised sectors like gig workers is a budget that protects the future of work itself. Union Budget 2026 must expand the scope of ESIC and similar social security schemes like pension.
Rural Consumers: Stakeholders, Not Dependents:
Rural demand is the bedrock of India’s consumption story. When rural incomes rise, demand for goods from tractors to televisions surges. Yet rural consumers are too often treated as passive beneficiaries of welfare. Fair incomes, affordable credit, and access to healthcare, education, and digital services are essential. Farmers deserve fair pricing for their produce, not endless cycles of debt. Rural households need affordable energy and internet access to participate fully in the modern economy.
Empowering rural consumers is both social justice and sound economics. A budget that strengthens rural demand strengthens the entire consumption chain, from village shops to urban malls. We must establish dedicated 24×7 Helpline facilities for rural consumers to enable them to seek prompt redressal and not make them incur avoidable expenses.
Protecting the Vulnerable: Seniors and Youth:
Two groups stand at opposite ends of India’s demographic spectrum, yet both face acute vulnerabilities: senior citizens and youth. Senior citizens grapple with shrinking interest incomes, rising healthcare costs, and predatory financial practices. Longevity should come with security, not anxiety. Higher exemptions on pension and interest income, expanded geriatric care, and strong action against mis‑selling of financial products are essential.
Youth, meanwhile, face soaring education expenses and predatory lending. Student debt is becoming a trap, threatening to turn opportunity into burden. Affordable education, skill‑linked employment pathways, and safeguards against exploitative practices are investments in dignity and future growth.
Budget 2026 must recognise that protecting the vulnerable is not a cost—it is an investment in social stability and economic resilience.
Markets Must Serve, Not Exploit:
Markets thrive only when consumers believe they are fair. Yet from telecom to aviation, insurance to healthcare, unfair trade practices erode trust. Hidden charges, opaque contracts, and poor grievance redressal leave consumers frustrated and powerless. Strong enforcement of consumer protection laws, faster grievance redressal, and deterrent penalties are essential. Accountability of service providers across sectors must be non‑negotiable.
A consumer‑centric budget would strengthen regulatory frameworks, ensuring that markets serve consumers rather than exploit them. Trust is the currency of consumption; without it, demand falters.
Myth vs Fact:
- Myth: A consumer‑centric budget is populism.
Fact: It is sound economics and sustainable growth.
- Myth: Tax reforms only benefit the wealthy.
Fact: Indexing slabs protects middle‑class households.
- Myth: Rural consumers are passive beneficiaries.
Fact: They are active stakeholders driving demand.
The Bottom Line:
The Union Budget is more than a financial statement—it is a social contract. By recognising consumers as active stakeholders, Budget 2026 can ensure fairness, affordability, and protection for every household. India’s growth story depends not just on investment and infrastructure, but on the confidence of its consumers. A budget that counts for consumers is a budget that truly counts for India.
