As Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman prepares to present the Union Budget for 2026–27 on February 1, there are expectations around a sharper policy push to stimulate growth via private consumption, rather than through fresh capex-heavy spending. According to Goldman Sachs’ India 2026 outlook, a broad-based recovery in household demand is expected to act as a key cushion for growth amid tighter fiscal conditions. The Goldman report detailed that, “The nascent recovery in urban consumption growth in CY25 is likely to have more legs in CY26, supported by the lagged impact of monetary easing and the recent GST rate rationalisation.”