By Shruti Madhavan, Senior Vice President, KLAY Preschools and Daycare, shares the following quote on expectations from Budget 2026:

“With increasing emphasis on women’s workforce participation across industries, we expect that the upcoming Budget to prioritise Early Childhood Education and Care, rather than limiting support to nutrition and health alone. Targeted budget support and subsidies for organizations and government bodies involved in the care economy would be crucial to sustain this momentum and enable more women to participate in the workforce. For NEP 2020 to be implemented effectively, learning in the early years needs to be more hands-on and experience-based. This requires the government to allocate funds to make investments in training teachers and early childcare workers, especially those caring for children under six. Early education and care, like healthcare and insurance, should be recognised as essential social infrastructure. Stronger public–private partnerships can further support this labour-intensive sector by helping to scale affordable, high-quality childcare, particularly in urban centres where the needs of working families continue to grow.”