Ashish P. Dhakan
MD & CEO Prama Hikvision India Pvt. Ltd.
The Union Budget 2023-24 clearly has the visionary roadmap to put India on the path to become $5 trillion economy. The seven priorities of the budget ‘Saptarishi’ are inclusive development, reaching the last mile, infrastructure and investment, unleashing the potential, green growth, youth power and financial sector. It shows the government’s vision and missionary zeal for a developed India.
We welcome the growth oriented budget positively as it is aimed at furthering the cause of the Indian manufacturing industry. The Union Budget has the blueprint of a sustainable economic growth in Amrit Kaal {Amrit Kaal refers to the next 25 years (up to 2047) leading to the centenary of India’s independenc}, backed by consistent and well-planned strategy. It also shows the strong commitment towards electronic manufacturing sector and infrastructure development. The budget shows clear intent to offer calibrated customs duty rates to provide a graded rate scheme to facilitate domestic electronic manufacturing sector.
The government’s commitment to empowering the youth by introducing mandatory courses such as AI, coding, drones, IoT, 3D printing, and other soft skills under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0 and establishing of 30 Skill India international centers, will connect skilled youth with employers and leaders in the industry and encourage entrepreneurship. As an integral part of India’s fast developing electronic security manufacturing ecosystem, we are sure that this Union Budget will help to realize the vision of ‘Surakshit Bharat’ (Secure India) through the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ (Self-Reliant India) roadmap.
From the security industry perspective, this is an industry friendly budget as it acknowledges MSMEs as growth engines of the economy, the Budget proposes enhanced limits for micro enterprises and certain professionals for availing the benefit of presumptive taxation. To support MSMEs in timely receipt of payments, the Budget allows deduction for expenditure incurred on payments made to them only when payment is actually made. The Union Budget offers a solace to the MSME sector. The revamped credit guarantee scheme for MSMEs to take effect from 1 April 2023 through infusion of Rs.9,000 crore in the corpus. This scheme would enable additional collateral-free guaranteed credit of Rs.2 lakh crore and also reduce the cost of the credit by about 1 per cent.
At the hindsight, the Union Budget strikes a fine balance between big capex and fiscal discipline, it will spur the growth of Indian economy, improve the infrastructure and empower the common people.
Dr. Niranjan Hiranandani
Vice Chairperson NAREDCO
India has prudently maneuvered global and economical storms. It has aptly addressed the economic growth of India by augmenting the capital expenditure outlays in infrastructure upto Rs.10 lac crores accounting to nearly 3.3% of GDP. This will have a multiplier effect on real estate asset classes like the residential, commercial, industrial and logistics sector. The last mile connectivity will reduce the logistics cost substantially, enhancing India’s global competitiveness and investment index. Infrastructure development is pivotal for employment generation and opens up hinterlands across geographies for all sorts of real estate developments. Setting up of Urban Infrastructure Development Fund managed by NHB will ensure governance, speed in execution and timely delivery under PPP ties. Incremental PMAY allocation upto Rs.79,000 crores will give impetus to affordable housing and benefit a wide segment of homebuyers. Rebates in personal tax will permit additional disposable income in the hands of the discerning homebuyers to be invested back in a safe asset ‘home.’ The capital gain tax benefit on the sale of property above the value of Rs.10 crores is sought to be withdrawn. families are liable to pay capital gain tax which will disincentivize families to buy multiple properties as a security provision for their children. Emphasis on skilling to foster research and knowledge-based economy will garner a job ready workforce for the highly labor-intensive real estate sector. The measures for digital adoption and green economy will augur well for sustainable development and help achieve a low carbon economy. Terming it a fiscally ‘balanced’ budget, I rate it at 8/10.
The Union Finance Minister, Smt Niramala Sitharaman has expressed a clear commitment to capital expenditure, which will have a positive impact on the Indian industry and create employment opportunities. The Centre has granted 50-year interest-free loans to state governments for an additional year with a total outlay of Rs.1.3 lakh crore, encouraging infrastructure investment across the states and fostering local industries.
The government has also taken measures to ensure that all sections of the salaried class benefit from the Union Budget, with reduced tax slabs from the lowest to the highest brackets. This will be advantageous for all income taxpayers, with a considerable growth in the tax base over the past five to six years.
The finance minister has also taken steps to benefit the MSME sector by launching a new Rs.9,000 crore credit guarantee scheme. This revamp will offer an additional collateral-free loan of Rs.2 lakh crore to MSMEs while reducing the cost of credit by 1%, as stated in her budget speech.
This budget also focuses on inclusive development, by establishing an Agriculture Accelerator Fund to nurture agri-startups and promoting digital public infrastructure. This will provide farmer-centric solutions for crop planning and storage. Substantial agricultural credit targets up to Rs.20 lakh crore by 2024 will place a priority on animal husbandry, dairy, and fisheries. This ambitious plan has the potential to significantly strengthen the economy.
Vishak Raman
Vice President of Sales, India, SAARC and Southeast Asia Fortinet
A steep increase of 33% in capital investments to 10 Lakh Crore almost three times the outlay made in 2019 shows why India is one of the most buoyant economies in the world. While Investments and development programs are all tech-driven the budget realises the potential of 5G by setting up 100 labs in engineering institution to develop Apps to assists in all verticals including smart classroom, precision farming, smart transport systems and healthcare.
The capital flowing into AI-Startups last year was $2.7 billion globally. The race in AI is heating up after the success of ChatGPT and the budget has realised this potential with the vision of Make AI in India and Make AI Work for India. The setting up of 3 centers of excellence for artificial intelligence in top educational institutions will combine tech and computing power with some of the best engineering brain power in our country.
A robust financial sector, expanding the scope of Digilocker to allow more documents to be made available and setting up of e-courts will all go hand in hand with maintaining data privacy. There simply cannot be any data privacy without data protection and cybersecurity will require an entire system of people and technology working together to protect data and networks.
Rajendra Chitale
CFO Crayon Software Experts India
The first Union budget of Amrit Kaal holds true for the technology vertical too. The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled her 5th budget this year. This budget proves the government’s intent on spearheading the Indian economy and growth backed by technology. The FM said that the government’s vision for Amrit Kaal includes a technology-driven and knowledge-based economy. I believe that the budget has the right blend of initiatives with the inclusion of technology as the foundation of development.
The government’s focus on integrating technology and aiding agriculture, healthcare and education verticals needs to be applauded. The focus given to agritech will now have a scope for tech companies in diversifying their portfolios. The efforts of enterprises in trying to bring 5G for every sector are enhanced with the setting up of 100 5G labs in engineering colleges. A big boost has been given to Artificial Intelligence with the setting up of 3 Centers of Excellence in top education institutes under the guidance of industry veterans. This will further our efforts in easing our lives and achieving better outcomes with the help of AI. We are certainly looking ahead to the government’s National Data Governance Policy which aims at anonymizing individual data. This is of much need when data is the main ingredient for 360-degree development. The announcement made under Ease of Doing Business is what most SMBs are looking forward to. The government has reduced more than 39 thousand compliances and decriminalized more than 3 thousand legal provisions. This will certainly boost the confidence of entrepreneurs and organizations to take up more risks in their initiatives and feel less persecuted. Overall, this budget has helped businesses and individuals by reassuring them that technology is the booster dose that a fast-growing nation like India needs and that we are on the right track.
Prashanth GJ
Chief Executive Officer TechnoBind Solutions
The Union Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the Union Budget 2023-24. She began by stating that the government sees the next 25 years as ‘Amrit Kaal’ marking the centenary of India’s independence. This is the first budget of this period and the government aims to achieve a technology-driven and knowledge-driven economy. The budget certainly reflected the FM’s statement and the plans being laid out to achieve this milestone. The budget has focused on youth, their skill enhancement and job creation, and the strengthening of the macroeconomy.
Technology will be a driving force in achieving these goals. 5G has been the center of focus with enterprises diving to benefit the most by using it as an instrument for development. The government’s focus on setting up 100 5G labs in engineering colleges to develop 5G-based applications will further enhance the efforts being made by the private sector. The initiative of having an open-source standard for the agriculture sector will help technology firms and startups in helping the farmers, which is still one of the largest sectors in India. The focus given to youth through various announcements shows the government’s focus on the future of the country. Apart from the 5G labs set up in the colleges, the government’s recognition towards new-age skills will help SMEs with a competent workforce. The access to courses on coding, mechatronics, IoT, robotics, drones and 3D printing will help the youth enter the workforce. Make AI in India and Make AI Work for India – this slogan boosts the tech vertical’s efforts in including artificial intelligence in every aspect of our life as it betters the living and boosts development in every vertical. The government announcing the setting up of 3 Centres of Excellence for artificial intelligence has strengthened the efforts. Experts from the industry will be helping in the research and development of AI-based applications to help the agriculture, healthcare and sustainability sectors. These announcements in the budget will definitely have a positive outcome and help India’s tech vertical to achieve bigger milestones in the coming years.
Sean Yalamanchi
President Infovision
Several measures have been taken for Digital India from the standpoint of the IT sector. All of these are encouraging signs for the IT industry, as they will increase demand for candidates and services. To begin with, the announcement of a National Data Governance policy will allow access to a wealth of anonymized data. To realise the vision of ‘Make AI in India, Make AI Work for India,’ the establishment of three centres of excellence for Artificial Intelligence in collaboration with top educational institutions is a bold step. Furthermore, the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0 will assist in the skilling of lakhs of youth over the next three years by covering new age courses for Industry 4.0 such as coding, AI, robotics, mechatronics, IOT, 3D printing, drones, and soft skills.
Pramod Sharda
CEO, IceWarp India and Middle East
The Union Budget 2023-24 by FM today has announced attractive incentives and rebates. The Income limit for rebate of Income Tax increased from 5 Lakhs to 7 Lakhs is a welcome note for the employee base. The budget includes renovations in the digital framework of the nation focusing on increasing the accessibility of these services for rural and tribal areas. We highly support the government’s initiatives to create jobs, and are keen on contributing towards the projected employment generation initiatives.
We are excited to witness the development of a tech-driven economy while contributing towards the same and enabling the growth-bound MSMEs sector, which will be infused with Rs.9,000 crore in revamped credit guarantee scheme, with our affordable, seamlessly integrated, secure Email & Collaboration solutions to effectively communicate and collaborate towards the growth path.
It certainly boosts our morale when we noticed that investment and job creation continue to be the government’s top priority as they announce capital investment outlay being increased by 33 per cent to Rs.10 lakh crore, which would be 3.3 per cent of GDP. Announcement of National Data Governance policy is also a positive move to protect the data privacy.
Three cheers to the Union Budget 2023-24 presented by our Hon. Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman in our Parliament on February 1, 2023.
First it gives lot of opportunities for various industries to grow and expand, second it provides enough room for saving and spending for the middle class which is the backbone of an economy and the third ‘Amrit Kaal’ takes care of all round development of the country unleashing its true potential.
An outlay of Rs.2.40 lakh crore for the Railways, 50 additional airports to improve regional connectivity, big push for defense, infra development, tourism, education, agriculture, housing, ease of doing business, emphasis on green growth with focus on green fuel and green energy are indeed laudable. The tax relief to the middle class, MSMEs, Startups and Agriculture are positive steps taken to stimulate our economy. The proposed three centers of excellence for Artificial Intelligence R&D in top educational institutions will help realize the noble vision of ‘Make AI in India, Make AI Work for India’ and boost AI related R&D in the areas of agriculture, health and sustainable cities.
Further, increasing capital investment outlay by 33.4% to Rs.10 lakh crore, 100 transport infrastructure projects for end-to-ed connectivity for ports, coal, steel, fertilizer sectors, creating Urban Infrastructure Development Fund for tier 2 and tier 3 cities will not only spur growth but provide lot of opportunities for many sectors and create thousands of jobs for our people.
Certainly, it is a growth propelling progressive budget giving ample scope for all segments to fulfill their goals. It augurs well for the security industry in India, as a growing economy like India needs more security to safeguard its humongous assets, properties, infrastructure and vast population.
Kishan Tiwari
Co-Founder and CEO, TSAW Drones
The Hon’ble Finance Minister’s announcement in the Union Budget 23-24 to revitalize 50 additional airports, heliports, water aerodromes, and advanced landing zones is a landmark decision. This will jumpstart the fourth industrialization by effectively utilizing drone technology for automation in logistics, transportation, infrastructure, and rural development, as well as create new-age jobs for the nation’s youngsters. TSAW is committed to supporting the government’s mission by assembling state-of-the-art ‘Made in India’ drones and DRONECO is committed to providing end-to-end drone services for internal sovereignty, last-mile connectivity, agriculture, healthcare and others. The announcement of the Agri Accelerator Fund by the government will encourage more entrepreneurs to serve Indian rich and heritage agriculture Industry. Being a Drone manufacturer, TSAW sees a big opportunity of collaborating with Agri start-ups to serve and show a real case of Drones in the Agriculture industry.
Sarvagya Mishra
Co-founder & Director, SuperBot
(PinnacleWorks)
This Budget is notable for its renewed emphasis on the development of digital infrastructure. The Indian Government’s intention to establish three ‘Centers of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence’ in prestigious educational institutions to make ‘AI Work for India’ is a dose of encouragement for entrepreneurs who have been working in the field, hoping to give a new face to sectors and services. These centers will undoubtedly serve as a bridge between educational institutions and leading industries, with the goal of researching and developing practical AI applications across different verticals including agriculture, health, and sustainable cities. Furthermore, the focus on building a strong AI ecosystem in India and training skilled AI professionals will assist new businesses in acquiring the right talent. This also puts a lot of responsibility on education institutes to strengthen the curriculum in the field.
Pinaki Chatterjee
CEO and Founder, AADONA
The Union Budget 2023 has given a fresh push to make in India for the electronics sector. We are pleased with the government’s decision of lowering custom duties on several components while increasing them on the finished product. The Budget extending concessional custom duty on several input parts by one more year to boost local manufacturing investment is a great move of the government and a good opportunity for manufacturers like us.
