Pooja Lahri, Vice President, Primus Partners shared her opinion that Budget 2026–27 must convert India’s growing clean tech and nuclear ambitions into a design-led innovation ecosystem, as low R&D intensity and weak lab-to-market translation continue to limit scale. She argues that stronger private R&D incentives, deeper manufacturing-linked research, secure critical minerals, and a clear roadmap for clean energy and Small Modular Reactors are essential for India to emerge as a global innovation leader rather than a technology-dependent market.