India’s nutra sector’s pre budget recommendations hint at the angst of being a nascent sector, competing for fiscal support with more established big brother siblings like pharmaceuticals. But nascent is just another word for sunrise and policymakers would do well to pay attention, nurture them, create ecosystems and yes, regulate these sectors more closely.
Sanjaya Mariwala, Executive Chairman & Managing Director, OmniActive Health Technologies points out that while the nutraceutical industry has also been included in the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme to give a push to local production, the Budget must now embed nutraceuticals within an outcomes framework linking future PLI support to independent clinical validation and real-world evidence, backed by a dedicated evidence fund, so that only qualityassured, science-backed products are aligned with preventive healthcare initiatives.
Suresh Garg, Founder & CMD, Zeon Lifesciences makes the case for rationalizing GST on raw materials like botanical extracts, and streamlining FSSAI approvals with global standards, which he reasons will drive domestic production and exports.
The nutra sector has many next gen entrepreneurs testing out their business acumen. Even though they have the backing of the family business, they still need policy support. Garg’s daughter Yashna Garg, founder, Yugap Wellness pitches the case for expanding the MSME Credit Guarantee Scheme beyond ?5 crore and a dedicated budgetary allocation for digital-first women-led MSMEs- covering marketing, compliance, and scale-up costs which can directly accelerate sustainable growth.
Shafiulla Hirehal Nuruddin, Founder and Managing Director, Greenspace Herbs hopes that Budget 2026 will bring in regulations that guarantee ingredient quality to ensure a transparent supply chain, incentives for farmers to improve the quality of medicinal raw materials. He also calls out the need for more accessible advanced testing infrastructure, as routine checks for adulteration, microbial safety and active-compound levels are essential for high-precision herbal extracts, yet often expensive and limited geographically.
Not mincing words, Amit Srivastava, Founder and Chief Catalyst, Nutrify Today, highlights that the crucial call will be deciding who takes control: most people expect it to be the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, though establishing a separate new regulatory arm is also on the table. As he points out, this would not only speed up approvals but it would also make sure that safety and quality criteria are always met.
Srivastava’s wishlist includes incentives for producing indigenous ingredients, fiscal support — such as tax benefits or export-linked incentives, and support for clinical research and evidence-based nutrition. With the right policy thrust, he feels the budget can catalyse India’s transition from a largely import-dependent industry to a globally competitive nutraceutical powerhouse — generating jobs, improving public health outcomes, and reinforcing India’s place on the world’s preventive-health map.
Will Union Budget 2026-27 be the sunrise the nutra sector is waiting for, bringing policy clarity and support? Or will the policy paralysis prevail?
