As India heads into Budget 2026, two realities are becoming impossible to ignore. One, the country is ageing faster than its policies are keeping up. Two, infrastructure and housing growth are being held back not by demand, but by delays, complexity, and rising costs. Voices from senior living and real estate are converging around a simple message: India needs clearer frameworks, faster systems, and more humane planning.
India’s Longevity Shift and the Case for Senior-Centric Policy
Shreya Anand, Director, Vedaanta Senior Living, points out that India is entering a longevity era that will reshape how ageing is understood and supported. In the next decade, seniors are expected to make up nearly 20 percent of the population, yet public spending and policy attention remain limited.
According to Anand, seniors today are not looking for institutional care alone. They want autonomy, dignity, connection, and meaningful engagement. At Vedaanta Senior Living, these expectations show up daily in the form of demand for intuitive technology that supports safety, health monitoring, and family connection without being overwhelming.
She highlights a growing concern around forced digitisation. While digital systems are meant to improve efficiency, many older adults struggle with complex processes such as insurance claims or KYC updates. Anand stresses that reducing digital barriers and making systems senior-friendly is essential for true inclusion, not just access on paper.
She also underlines the need for stronger policy frameworks as demographic change accelerates. Assisted living, retirement living, and rehabilitation care are no longer lifestyle choices for a few, but emerging necessities. Anand argues that these services must be covered under insurance, while GST reforms are needed to reduce the cost burden for seniors choosing organised community living. Beyond urban centres, she calls for better geriatric care in rural and semi-urban areas, senior-safe public spaces, improved public transport design, and age-friendly employment opportunities that keep older adults socially and economically engaged.
Recognising Senior Care as Core Social Infrastructure
Echoing these concerns, Rajit Mehta, Chairman, Association of Senior Living India (ASLI), frames senior care as essential social infrastructure rather than a niche sector. As India undergoes a historic demographic transition, he urges the Union Budget to treat senior care with the same seriousness as healthcare, housing, or transport.
Mehta calls for long-term care financing mechanisms and the creation of a dedicated nodal agency to streamline regulations across states. He emphasises that GST reforms, insurance incentives, and targeted investment in care capacity are critical to making senior care affordable, accessible, and dignified. For him, Budget 2026 is an opportunity to move toward a care-led ageing framework that supports seniors with compassion and inclusivity, rather than fragmented solutions.
Infrastructure Delays and the Cost of Slow Approvals
On the infrastructure and housing front, Ashwani Kumar of Pyramid Infratech highlights that timely execution has become the defining factor for real estate growth. While demand exists, persistent approval delays inflate project costs, disrupt timelines, and undermine delivery certainty.
Kumar stresses that the long-promised single-window clearance system remains one of the sector’s most urgent expectations. Faster approvals would directly improve cost control and supply predictability. He also calls for taxation relief for homebuyers, noting that rationalised tax policies and enhanced home loan benefits could ease buyer stress while improving market absorption. For developers, predictable taxation and streamlined approvals together create the conditions for pricing discipline and long-term viability.
Housing Demand, Smaller Cities, and Balanced Growth
Preksha Singh, CEO of Agrasheel Infratech, reinforces the need to remove structural bottlenecks that slow housing delivery. Like her peers, she sees single-window clearance as critical to timely execution and better cost management.
Singh places special emphasis on first-time homebuyers, who form the foundation of sustainable housing demand. Stronger tax incentives for this segment, she believes, can unlock wider homeownership. She also points to the opportunity in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, where housing growth can be accelerated through a mix of buyer incentives and sustained investment in infrastructure and connectivity.
To truly reduce pressure on metros, Singh argues that smaller cities must see greater investment in social infrastructure such as quality schools, sports facilities, and public amenities. This would make them not just affordable alternatives, but attractive long-term places to live and invest.
A Budget Moment That Can Set Direction
Taken together, these perspectives underline a shared expectation from Budget 2026: speed, clarity, and inclusion. Whether it is senior living, housing delivery, or urban expansion, the ask is for policies that recognise changing demographics and lived realities. India stands on the edge of a longevity revolution and an urban reset. Thoughtful budgeting, backed by execution-ready reforms, can ensure both seniors and cities grow with dignity, balance, and purpose.
