As the Union Budget 2022 was announced this morning by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, we at SmartStateIndia sharing with you a budget reaction quote on behalf of industry experts from the industry leaders.
“This clearly is a futuristic and technology-driven budget presented by the honorable Finance Minister. Almost every key project announced by her talks about leveraging information technology to the fullest in bringing out the best outcome. Giving data centers infrastructure status is a welcome move. It will help in getting easy financing for the datacenter players and attract more investments. Other areas like 5G spectrum auction in 2022, PLI in 5G, optic fiber network in all villages by 2025, e-passports and emphasis on digital content development and delivery, and digitalization of education are some great moves announced in this budget. Bringing in Digital currency using Blockchain is another huge step,” said Ashok Kumar, MD RAH Infotech.
CP Gurnani, MD & CEO, Tech Mahindra, said, “The budget truly echoes India’s vision towards inclusive development and building a truly ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ by providing a blueprint for the economy over ‘Amrit Kal’ from India at 75 to India at 100. FM’s key announcements on blockchain and setting up e-passports with futuristic technologies are a step in the right direction to help India emerge as a global technology leader. The focus on innovation and R&D (Research and Development) with an emphasis on strengthening talent capacity through STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) universities and skilling courses in IIT’s will enable India to become a global hub for skilled talent. Overall, Budget 2022 promises to provide the much-needed impetus to sustain India’s economic and digital growth.”
Rajesh Maurya, Regional Vice President, India and SAARC, Fortinet said “In this budget, the Government has made a strong economic statement with its focus on public investments to spur growth. Forward-looking and catering to an aspirational Digital India the budget once again lays its emphasis on technology with the launch of Digital Currency using blockchain, Digital University for education in different Indian languages, roll out of 5G and boost to Start-ups. Climate action is among the top 4 priorities for the Government. Climate change continues to pose a significant threat, and all business and public organizations across the country must do their part to address it. Skilling programs and partnerships with industry will be re-oriented to promote continuous skilling avenues, sustainability, and employability. The launch of Desh-Stack e-portal will provide the ecosystem for skilling and livelihood. Fortinet has been dedicated to closing the cybersecurity skills gap by making all its NSE self-paced training courses free for everyone. We will further build on this commitment with a pledge to train 1 million people across the globe in the next 5 years. Essential services, Digital currency and the sensitivity of the information the government holds all calls for a shared responsibility in protecting valuable data and digital assets. Smart planning, doing the cybersecurity basics and leveraging the increasing convergence of networking and security are keys to ensuring that all services can operate efficiently and securely.”
“I am excited to see the government’s focus on technology sector, as a whole. The incentives towards creating digital infrastructure, education, and skilling, spell out the intent on developing the country’s human capital. The emphasis of digitised skilling will help make our country’s youth future-ready. Additionally, the announcement on RBI introducing digital currency and the government providing infrastructure status to data centers, will help create a framework for emerging technologies making the digital India Inc better and stronger.” Mr. Puneet Gupta, Managing Director & Vice President, NetApp India.
“The Union Budget 2022 presented by the Government of India is built on the foundation of introducing new technologies across sectors. From education to finance, logistics, and healthcare, the bedrock of change will be driven by tech. The Government has further proposed the introduction of the digital rupee. While this will definitely enhance efficiency and promote growth, increased digital penetration also brings with it additional cyber risks that one should be wary of. As a step towards mitigating cyberattacks, the Government plans to set up broadband in villages as well as the Digital DESH e-portal. This will help equip youth with the right skills, including cybersecurity skillsets, needed to operate safely in today’s tech-driven world.” Sunil Sharma, managing director – sales, Sophos India & SAARC.
“We welcome the move by the Government of India to boost logistics as a means towards ensuring economic growth. The proposal to set up a Unified Logistics Interface Platform is a welcome move. Leveraging technology to complement the development of infrastructure will help bring in better efficiency. Furthermore, with real-time tracking, and inventory management as a part of the platform, this will go a long way in bringing India at par with global supply chain networks. LogiNext has always been an advocate for digitisation of supply chains, and it is reassuring to see the Government work towards this. The decision taken to extend the tax incentives provided to startups till March 31, 2023 is a reflection of the Government’s commitment towards ease of doing business in India. Dhruvil Sanghvi, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, LogiNext
“The Government’s focus on creating a strong digital ecosystem to enhance banking and financial inclusion is a step in the right direction. Bringing all post office banks under the core banking ambit will enable seamlessness in digital payments and online transfer of funds and accelerate financial inclusion. The setting up of the Digital DESH e-portal for skilling initiatives is the need of the hour as it will bridge the gap between the supply and demand for digitally skilled and technically strong resources.” Kunal Nagarkatti, CEO, Clover Infotech.
“The advancement in enhanced transparency of payments is a huge stride forward for India in terms of fintech innovation. The proposed end-to-end online e-Bill system will enable increased productivity for industries that go completely paperless. This will prove to be extremely fruitful for digitization. Furthermore, the acknowledgment that India’s GST collection stands at Rs.1.4 lakh crore for the month of January 2022, exemplifies the growing need for digital taxation solutions that promise to take the Indian economy to the next level.” Niraj Hutheesing, Founder and Managing Director, Cygnet Infotech.
Rajiv Bhalla, MD, Barco India said The emphasis on growth, digitization, and being future-ready outlines the government’s commitment to cohesive development and ‘Make in India’. Focus on Gati Shakti masterplan, youth, women, job creation, technology, and infrastructure development among others will drive India’s Amrit Kal, the journey from 75 to 100 years as a democracy. India has the potential to be a world-class infrastructure center, and the Budget has provided enough impetus to propel the same. In addition, we expect the digital ecosystem for skilling will boost human capital and empower industries significantly.
Mr. Kapil Bardeja, CEO & Co-Founder – Vehant Technologies said, “Government’s decision to provide an extension under Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGMSE) till march 2023 to the MSMEs was much-needed support & boast to the MSME sector and this financial support will strengthen the confidence of small & medium scale industries who were struggling during the pandemic. The percentage growth of Capex 2022-23 and the overall rise in infrastructure, will eventually boost the security industry as the need for security & screening equipment will increase. The Government promotes Make in India, Vocal for Local, and Atmanirbhar Bharat visions, by laying out more money for local contractors under the defense sector, now the defense will have to invest 68% of its budget procuring equipment from domestic players. Given the current times, the budget is focused on India’s growth and we anticipate this should act as a multiplier effect to the Indian MSME ecosystem. Overall, the budget is well designed to give a boost to local manufacturing and improve the infrastructure of the country.”
Mr. Sandeep Lodha, Co-founder at Netweb Technologies shared his opinion, “With this rational allocation the government intends to increase capital investment significantly. The government has announced a number of targeted spending initiatives that will boost the IT industry both directly and indirectly. Project Gati Shakti, on which the government is concentrating its efforts, will usher in a major shift in the country’s supply chain management. For projects like these, the use of technology, as well as the expanded use of technology, will be critical. This will boost Cloud usage even more, with various AI use cases and benefits for technologies like blockchain.
The government’s commitment to education and Edutech will have a greater impact on education quality, resulting in more highly skilled individuals accessible in the country. Giving a license to a renowned international university will strengthen this skill much more. The introduction of 100 television channels will benefit the media and broadcast industries, which will necessitate a large amount of IT-related equipment, as well as a large number of portals for learning management systems. This will be a significant benefit to the IT business, and essential technologies such as cloud, servers, and other forms of technology distribution will benefit greatly, with that the government’s investment in digital banking and fintech will help to improve financing and overall encourage the entrepreneurial spirit, as well as boost the IT sector by providing the necessary infrastructure.
The government’s announcement of a digital rupee and the adoption of blockchain technology will boost the IT sector. The government’s announcement of a 5G spectrum auction between 2022 and 2023 was on track. It’s encouraging to see the PLI plan for design-led manufacturing announced; this will aid in the development of Make in India goods and solutions. We applaud the government’s commitment to R&D, which has been formalized by allocating 5% of the Universal Service obligation to it, but we’ll have to wait and see how effective it is on the ground; R&D has a cycle, and the sooner we get in, the sooner we can start rolling out products when the actual implementation begins.”
Nikhil Rathi, Founder and CEO, Web Werks said, “There is excellent scope for the IT sector, building on the past, to provide a stronger foundation for the future. The budget is sure to strengthen the foundation by infra status to data centers with a focus on gaming and tech, in addition to digital currency. This budget further accelerates the Digital India push. Infra Status to data centers will provide further impetus to a fast-growing industry giving access to benefits like cheaper finance. Growing energy costs globally can be mitigated with — Focus on Green Clean energy and energy storage as infrastructure will make India a location that can build the backend to the data center industry even better. This helps set the stage to make India a data center Hub. Gaming, tech, and digital rupee will create more transactions, thus more data which in the country will further increase the need for data centers. It will also facilitate an increase in the timeline for Startups, as a foundation will further build for startups with the extension of benefits for another year, and with infrastructure getting a boost they can build on a sound foundation in India.”
“The Union Budget 2022 has recognized the digital growth of the country as a primary focus. In order to promote cleaner mobility, the battery swapping policy and interoperability standards that government plans to introduce, incorporates the concept of energy/battery as a service. This will also help in developing the charging station ecosystem which is imperative for massification of EVs. The announcement will give impetus to the private sector to develop sustainable and innovative business models for battery and energy as a service.”
He further added, “The scheme for design-led manufacturing to be launched for 5G ecosystem as part of PLI will be a boost to the overall telecom and electronic sectors. It will also provide and promote research and development of technology and solutions and will enable affordable broadband and mobile communication.
The plan to roll out E- passports with embedded chip and futuristic technology, digital rupee using blockchain by RBI, Drone Shakti and Kisaan Drones and opening Defence R&D for industry, startups and academia are welcome moves that will accelerate the growth and development of the semiconductor industry in the country. As the government continues to accentuate focus on Atmanirbhar Bharat and Digital India, we are hopeful that this year’s budget will propel India towards becoming a global electronic hub.” Sanjay Gupta, Vice President and India Managing Director, NXP Semiconductors.
“Budget 2022 sets an ambitious blueprint for steering us towards India@100. We particularly welcome the strong push to develop the country’s infrastructure through the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan which will be a game-changer not just in spurring economic activity but also for human capital development and employment generation in some of the most critical sectors of the economy. We believe the Budget provides for continued policy thrust on enhancing the digital payment ecosystem is a clear positive for the FinTech sector. Specifically, the introduction of the Digital Rupee based on blockchain by the RBI will be an interesting catalyst in powering Digital India 2.0.
The extension and enhanced allocation towards the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) till March 2023 will provide much needed relief to the MSME sector which are a core engine for employment generation and economic growth. Budget 2022 also proposes to extend the existing tax benefits for startups by 1 more year – a promising and welcome move that will support the startup ecosystem in the country. We also welcome the government’s funding support to sunrise sectors such as climate action, deep tech, digital economy, and agri tech. We also welcome the strong focus on skill development by aligning the National Skill Qualification Framework with dynamic industry needs and promoting skilling programmes in partnership with the industry to promote upskilling and employability. This is an important but often overlooked area, which is critical in ensuring the upward economic mobility of the masses.” said Ashish Nayyar, Co-Head of India, OakNorth.
“The 2022 Budget has prioritized climate change in a big way. There are multiple policies from energy efficiency measures like energy audits and measurement/verification protocols to sovereign Green Bonds that will mobilize resources for green infrastructure projects. The government has also reiterated its commitment to EVs and recognized the importance of sunrise opportunities in industries like artificial intelligence, genomics, semiconductors, and clean mobility systems. Hopefully, their commitment to support R&D for these industries will increase the amount of innovation in India, which will be crucial in the long run.” said Omer Basith, Co-founder and CEO, Virtual Forest
“Budget 2022 has a positive impact on the IT and Telecom Sector. Calibration of custom duty rates will help local manufacturing of electronic products including computers. The inclusion of 5G in the PLI scheme is a welcome decision. The game-changer is the schemes pronounced for MSMEs which will lead to better liquidity and expansion outlook in the MSME sector. IT sector can expect significant investment and expense in IT services and products by MSME sector.” said Vishal Shah, Co-Founder and CEO, Synersoft Technologies Private Limited
