Budget 2026 Focuses on Services Growth, Eyes 10% Global Market Share
High-powered panel to chart growth roadmap as government sharpens focus on jobs, exports and skills
NEW DELHI, Feb 2: The Union Budget 2026 has placed renewed emphasis on India’s services sector, proposing the creation of a high-level committee to outline measures aimed at lifting the country’s global share in services trade to 10 per cent by 2047.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the Education to Employment and Enterprise Standing Committee will identify high-potential areas for growth, employment generation and export expansion within the services domain. The panel will also assess how emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence could reshape job roles and future skill requirements.
The proposed strategy is designed to build on India’s established strength in software and technology led services, while widening the country’s footprint across newer segments. Sitharaman said the government’s renewed focus seeks to unlock opportunities for a growing skilled workforce and support long term economic transformation.
To expand career avenues for young professionals, the Budget outlined targeted interventions in digital and AI-enabled services, healthcare, education, wellness sectors such as yoga and Ayurveda, medical tourism, hospitality and creative industries, alongside focused skill development initiatives.
The Budget also announced policy support to reinforce India’s position in information technology and allied services. Measures include enhanced safe harbour provisions and tax incentives for global cloud service providers operating data centres in India, with eligible firms set to receive tax holidays extending up to 2047.
Services continue to be a key pillar of the Indian economy, accounting for over half of GDP and nearly half of total exports in 2024–25. The sector also plays a stabilising role in external trade, with the services surplus rising to $152 billion in the first three quarters of the current fiscal, helping offset a widening goods trade deficit.
Industry leaders welcomed the proposals, saying the Budget provides a forward-looking framework to strengthen competitiveness, deepen global integration and support sustained growth in services exports.
