Budget 2026 Media Mentions: Sameer Nigam’s Vision for India as a Global AI & Digital Talent Hub

Across Outlook Business, CXO Digital Pulse, and Zee Business, Sameer Nigam (Co-Founder & CEO, Stratbeans) positions Union Budget 2026 as a decisive opportunity to move from “AI intent” to AI execution—by backing the talent, innovation, and MSME enablement needed to make India a credible global AI and digital talent hub.

In Outlook Business’ Budget 2026 expectations coverage, the priorities are sharply practical: a clear policy roadmap for AI skilling, incentives that make enterprise-wide reskilling economically viable, and R&D tax credits that accelerate homegrown AI and SaaS innovation. The same narrative also calls for targeted MSME support—especially through affordable cloud access and digital vouchers—so smaller businesses can adopt AI-ready infrastructure without prohibitive cost barriers.

Sameer anchors these asks in the growth outlook—highlighting that India’s technology sector is poised to reach USD 300 billion in FY 2025–26, contribute over 7% to GDP, and see the digital economy rise to one-fifth by 2030—arguing that the Budget’s smartest impact will come from converting this momentum into measurable productivity and workforce readiness. Zee Business echoes the same thrust, referencing the need to incentivise AI skilling, reskilling, and indigenous AI innovation to strengthen India’s digital talent leadership at scale.