Union Budget 2026: Vapi industrialists seek manufacturing push, export-friendly policies

As the Union Budget approaches, industrialists in Vapi, Gujarat, one of India’s largest chemical and pharmaceutical clusters, are voicing expectations for policy support aimed at strengthening manufacturing and improving global competitiveness.

According to industry representatives, Indian manufacturers continue to face scale-related challenges when compared to global competitors, particularly China. They are urging the government to encourage the development of large, well-planned industrial parks to increase production capacity and bring down operational costs.

Pharma Industrialist: Sharad Thakar says, "In the Union Budget, we expect the government to address the challenges faced by industries, especially the fact that our manufacturing scale is far smaller compared to international standards or countries like China. The government should promote the development of well-planned industrial parks with strong production capacity. This will also help reduce production costs and enable Indian industries to remain competitive in the global market.’’

Alongside infrastructure development, industrialists are also seeking smoother execution of policies announced in previous budgets, saying that implementation gaps often hinder growth at the ground level.

According to Satish Patel, President, Vapi Industries Association: "Our expectation is that the policies formulated in the past are implemented in a timely and smooth manner, and that a single-window system is put in place, especially for export promotion. The trade agreements that have been signed are extremely useful for industries, particularly in Vapi, as they present a major opportunity for them. However, for effective implementation, the small issues that arise at the ground level should be resolved smoothly. If this is done, the Vapi industry has the potential to compete with, and even outperform, China.

Another important anticipation from this year's budget is financial assistance. Industrialists are calling for enhanced subsidies and expanded tax benefits for salary-based employees and MSMEs across various sectors.

"The benefits that the government provided last year, such as subsidies and tax relief for salary-based workers employed in industries, with benefits extended up to Rs. 12 lakh - we hope that these will be increased by another 10 percent this year. Secondly, for the MSME sector, the subsidies that were announced in last year’s budget across different sectors, such as the power sector and the nursing sector, we expect not only that they will be further enhanced.", says Rajul Shah, another industrialist

Industrialists think that, with consistent policy implementation, recent trade agreements, such as those with the European Union, could greatly increase exports from Vapi.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the second full budget of the Modi government’s third term on February 1.