The pattern of India’s reform cycle has become predictable by now. The government announces a major restructuring—labour codes, tax simplification, decriminalisation—and the media narrative orbits around this headline moment. Papers fill with analysis of the announcement. Opposition parties deploy their critiques. Economists parse the implications. Then, quietly, comes the harder part: making it actually work.

2025 was India’s year of headline reforms. Four labour codes consolidating 29 existing laws took effect in November. The GST simplified from a four-tiered structure down to two slabs in September – ushering in a much-needed consumption impetus. The Jan Vishwas Act continued its quiet work of decriminalising minor offences across central legislation. These were significant moves, each one a genuine simplification of the regulatory landscape.

But 2026 will be different. The government is not resting on the momentum of what it announced. Instead, it is shifting gears towards what might be called “execution-intensive" reform — changes that are harder to headline because they involve the plumbing of governance rather than its philosophy. In the words of Prime Minister Modi, India has now boarded the “reform express." Municipal finance restructuring. Electricity market architecture. Regulatory cleanup at the sectoral level. These reforms will reshape how India actually functions at the ground level, where citizens and businesses confront government every day.

The infrastructure for this shift already exists. India’s fourth-quarter growth of 8.2 per cent, the sharpest in six quarters, indicates resilience despite global trade turbulence. The Reserve Bank has revised its FY26 growth forecast upward to 7.3 per cent. Domestically, consumption remains robust. The government has political........

© News18