Budget 2026: The ad industry isn’t asking for SOPs, it’s asking for certainty

New Delhi: For India’s advertising and media ecosystem, Budget conversations often begin with the same question: what will change for business next year? But this time, the industry’s opening demand is not a shiny new scheme or a headline-grabbing incentive. It’s something far more operational and far more urgent. Because when policy uncertainty increases, it doesn’t just complicate paperwork. It disrupts planning, slows down decision-making, and squeezes working capital. That’s why for agencies and marketing firms, the Budget 2026 expectation begins with compliance clarity.

Fix the friction: TDS, GST, and cashflow

For agencies and digital businesses, compliance is often framed as an operational detail. But for CFOs, it is a business constraint. Tax ambiguity and procedural delays can lock up working capital, inflate administrative cost, and create avoidable disputes. That’s why one of the most consistent demands from the industry is rationalisation, especially on issues that directly impact cash flow. These aren’t niche finance demands, they’re structural fixes that determine whether agencies and marketing firms can operate efficiently at scale.

Chetan Borkar, CFO, Madison World, highlighted a long-standing structural friction that directly affects how agencies bill and manage transactions: “TDS deduction only on Agency commission/Fees U/s 194 H or 194 J and not on the amount billed by agency to client on cost incurred on behalf of the client on Media published.”

Simply put, Borkar refers to a systemic taxation issue where agencies are often subjected to TDS on media spends that are not their income, creating cash flow and accounting headaches.

On GST compliance, he pushed for a system that makes credit flow smoother and less dependent on vendor-side delays: “GST Shift the onus on the supplier of service to file his returns and allow input credit to recipient of service on receipt of purchase invoice and timely payment.”

And on procedural bottlenecks that impact liquidity, he flagged the need for faster timelines: “Issuance of Lower TDS certificates U/s 197 within a month of filing the application.”

Essentially, Borkar explains that GST input credit should be available to agencies as soon as they receive an invoice and make timely payment, rather than being delayed due to the supplier’s return filing, while lower TDS certificates should be issued faster to prevent unnecessary cash flow blockages.

Digital-first India needs digital-first policy

Ravanan N, CEO, Oneindia, said the digital media industry is looking for sharper, more decisive policy direction from the Union Budget, especially as audiences have already moved decisively towards digital and regional platforms. He said:

“As India prepares for the Union Budget, the digital media industry is looking for decisive signals, not broad statements. Audiences have already moved to digital and regional language platforms. Policy now needs to catch up. The priority should be clear support for content tech, AI-led newsroom tools, and skilling for regional digital talent. Media today runs on data, automation, and distribution intelligence, yet incentives for tech-driven publishing remain limited. A focused push on AI infrastructure and digital innovation will directly strengthen how information reaches citizens at scale. This budget is an opportunity to recognize digital media as a core part of India’s information ecosystem. Supporting platforms that build trust and serve India’s linguistic diversity will shape a more informed and resilient digital public space.”

Ad budgets depend on spending power

It’s easy to assume that advertising budgets rise when the economy looks good on paper. But agencies know it works differently in the real world. Marketing follows consumer confidence. It follows spending power. It follows momentum. That’s why the ad industry’s expectations from Budget 2026 are tied closely to how the government plans to sustain consumption.

Yasin Hamidani, Director, Media Care Brand Solutions captured the chain reaction that brands and agencies track: “Any continued push on capital expenditure, MSME support, and middle-class spending power directly impacts ad spends, because marketing follows demand, not policy alone.”

This is not an abstract point. When consumption slows, marketing budgets don’t just pause, they shift into short-term performance channels, leaving brand-building and long-term storytelling vulnerable. When consumption grows, brands invest across the funnel, and the entire media economy benefits, from publishers and platforms to production houses and creative shops. A Budget that supports demand, therefore, becomes a Budget that indirectly supports advertising.

AI adoption must shift from novelty to utility

The industry is clear-eyed about where growth is headed. MarTech, AdTech, and AI are no longer add-ons, they are increasingly central to how modern marketing functions and scales.

“Standing at the cusp of a revolution, the Indian media and advertising industry is looking for clarity and confidence from the Union Budget 2026,” said Anand Bhadkamkar, Group CFO, LS Digital. He underscored how deeply technology is now embedded in business expansion: “MarTech, AdTech, and AI have increasingly become indispensable elements for businesses to scale and operate.”

However, Prashanth Naik, Co-founder & Head of Tech/Creative, IndieVisual, pointed to a funding imbalance that has made early-stage innovation harder: “While AI continues to attract significant attention in India’s startup ecosystem, most capital today is flowing towards late-stage companies.” He added, “Early-stage AI startups, especially those building applied solutions, have seen funding tighten considerably.”

His expectation from the Budget reflects that reality: “Budgetary measures that incentivise early-stage AI investments and support applied AI in workflow-heavy industries would help Indian startups build durable, enterprise-grade media technology.”

Compliance clarity is Adland’s biggest ask

With technology becoming indispensable, the industry’s focus is also shifting to the guardrails needed to support long-term adoption. Regulation, data governance, and broader economic headwinds have created pressure points. Bhadkamkar noted, “For Indian companies, navigating through the impact of regulations like the DPDP Act alongside broader economic headwinds has been challenging.”

In this environment, what the industry wants is not a free-for-all push for AI adoption, but a stable framework that encourages responsible innovation. Bhadkamkar said the Budget can play a role by offering “clear direction around AI-led innovation, along with incentives that encourage domestic digital businesses to invest and expand.”

“Overall, a Budget that reinforces innovation while strengthening the digital ecosystem can help Indian companies compete strongly and effectively on the global stage,” he added.

If AI is becoming the backbone of marketing, the next constraint is talent, not just creative talent, but hybrid talent that can navigate strategy, data, automation, and customer engagement.

“The marketing sector is a critical driver of brand growth and digital economic value.” But for it to scale globally, he argued the Budget must step in with targeted intervention. “For it to scale globally, strategic intervention in the upcoming Union Budget is imperative,” Senthil Kumar Hariram, MD and Founder, FTA Global, added.

Certainty is the real stimulus

Taken together, the industry’s expectations from Budget 2026 are mature. They are operational. And they are strategic. Agencies and marketing firms are saying: reduce friction. Clarify rules. Speed up processes. Support skilling. Enable innovation. Keep consumption strong. And above all, signal confidence. Because in advertising, confidence is contagious. It shapes business decisions. It shapes budgets. It shapes investment. As Hamidani put it plainly: “Overall, the sentiment is pragmatic. Brands are willing to invest, but they want predictability.”