‘Bilkul Time Waste’: Ashneer Grover’s Shark Tank Remark Resurfaces As He Slams Union Budget 2026
Entrepreneur Ashneer Grover, widely recognized for his role as a judge on Shark Tank India, has criticized the Union Budget 2026, calling it “bilkul time waste”. His reaction on X came hours after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Budget speech in Parliament on Sunday. In his tweet, Grover stated, “This budget reminded of my rebuke on Shark Tank to one of the pitchers: ‘Bilkul time waste kiya aapne – apna bhi aur humara bhi !'”
HOW DID SOCIAL MEDIA REACT TO ASHNEER GROVER’S POST?
Multiple users echoed Grover’s sentiment, labeling the Budget 2026 a “total time waste.”
“Agree with you total time waste budget,” one user commented.
“True. 1.5 hours of absolute disappointment!” another wrote.
“Sunday barbad,” one user remarked, while another stated, “Budget was ok.”
UNION BUDGET 2026
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman delivered her ninth consecutive Union Budget in Parliament on Sunday. During her speech, she emphasized ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ and unveiled multiple announcements aimed at boosting the economy and offering relief to consumers and ordinary taxpayers. However, the most notable highlight was that the Income Tax slabs remained unchanged.
The Finance Minister also proposed reducing the TCS (Tax Collected at Source) rate from 5% to 2% for education and medical education under the liberalised remittance scheme. Additionally, she announced plans to expand manufacturing across seven key sectors, along with a renewed emphasis on infrastructure, among other initiatives.
HOW DID OTHERS REACT TO BUDGET 2026?
Responses to this year’s budget have been varied. While the opposition has voiced disappointment, several prominent industrialists and CEOs have praised the Budget’s emphasis on healthcare, semiconductors and technology.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor stated that the Budget 2026 did not include anything for the middle class and the lower middle class. West Bengal chief minister accused the government of wanting to “destroy the economic structure of the country”.
Meanwhile, Fortis Healthcare’s Managing Director & CEO, Dr Ashutosh Raghuvanshi, remarked that the Budget “sends a strong and timely signal that healthcare is central to India’s growth and resilience.” Saurabh Agarwal, tax partner at EY India stated, “Budget 2026 shifts India’s focus toward becoming a global manufacturing powerhouse. Schemes like ISM 2.0, addition of budget in ECMS, bio-pharma, heavy construction machinery and VGF for domestically manufactured sea-planes create vital demand.”