Post-budget Reactions from various industry experts- Quotes

This year’s budget is highly built on the foundation of new visions and technologies. A renewed focus on agriculture and infrastructure would mean accelerated economic development, which cannot be accomplished without digital disruptions. Let’s see what various industry veterans think about the 2022 Budget.

Mayank Agarwal, Co-founder of Humsafar Diesel Door Delivery startup

The Union Budget of 2022 announced by the government today is a welcome approach as it has drafted many things to boost investments in the country and the startup ecosystem overall. The eligibility of tax exemption claiming tax holidays for startups would be exempted till March 31st, 2023. We welcome this new move focusing on the MSME sector which would further boost the lower end of the spectrum. The new move can also lead to an increase in the demand for diesel door delivery startups. This would encourage budding micro-entrepreneurs to come up in this segment. This had begun last year by introducing Fuelent, this would only further expedite it.

The government aims to create 60 lakh jobs in the MSME sector by 2023. This is where industries like ours can play a pivotal role in creating employment. We can pass similar benefits to our Fuelent and build an ecosystem around it.

Incentivising OPC Setup: To benefit startups in setting up one-person companies (OPCs), Finance Minister Sitharaman announced OPCs to grow without any restrictions on paid-up capital and turnover. The Minister also allowed their conversion into any other type of company at any time and reduced the residency limit for an Indian citizen to set up an OPC from 182 days to 120 days and also allow NRIs to incorporate OPCs in India. We are hoping that with this the NRI are encouraged to invest in smaller setups and if it happens it would be a win-win for both parties.

 

Mr Navin S. Rao, Co-Founder, The Kaftan Company

As apparel manufacturers, we are continuously monitoring the various factors of production that impact us regularly. We look forward to the implementation of the amended proposal for ‘The Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme’. This opportunity reduces external dependencies in terms of machinery and accessories procurement and as a result, improves production efficiency with potential for further scalability. Newer technologies also factor in sustainable practices of production which plays a significant positive role within the apparel industry.”

Mr. Palash Agrawal, Founder / Director, Vedas Exports

The Union Budget 2022 is a very progressive and inclusive budget. We welcome the new announcements, especially from the manufacturing sector. The budget puts great focus on labor welfare. The government has allotted a huge amount towards the digital training of the laborer’s which is a great step forward.

This means that the Karigars and artisans from various sectors will be hugely benefited and this would bring in more skilled talents in the sector. “One class, one TV channel” program is a positive initiative announced which will provide education to those in need. It is the right step to provide supplementary education in all regional languages. This move will positively impact the literacy rate in India and improve the overall well-being of the country.

 

Mr. Sanjay Dangi, Director – Authum Investment and Infrastructure Ltd., & Financial investor to many startups

This is a der aaye dust eye budget. Let’s go from the negatives to the positives. My pipe dream of tax rationalism stays a dream. Some tax relief would have immediately pumped billions into an economy that’s not seen growth. But
perhaps in these turbulent times, it was best to leave the tax structure alone. With the higher spending announced, we can do with more capital inflows to close the deficit. I am in two minds over the digital tax. On one hand, it shows a welcome tax-don’t-criminalize attitude.

We need to broaden the basket of choices for people to invest their savings in. Nevertheless, 30% for any tax only incentivizes evasion.

Higher Capex expenditures on health, education, and capacity building are more than welcome. Our healthcare and education systems were ripped apart by the pandemic last year, and unemployment has skyrocketed. This budget’s emphasis on expanding the pie gets an enthusiastic welcome from me.

 

Dr. Gunjan Bhardwaj, Founder, and CEO, Innoplexus

We congratulate the govt on the budget and hope this encourages entrepreneurship and new research in the blockchain.

It’s a welcome sign from the GOI to bring cryptocurrencies into the tax ambit. It also puts an end to all the speculation and confusion. The 1% TDS is a masterstroke for also tracking the trading volumes and monitoring the movement of liquidity through cryptocurrency exchanges.

The government has also announced the National mental health programs. This is a great approach and startups like us, are working towards solving these problems.

We would like to partner and comply with the government to address the rising mental health problems in the
country.

 

 

Mr. Anshul Aggarwal, Founder, and CEO of Derma Totale

From bolstering the expansion and enhancement of domestic capacities to supportive policies and facilitative actions towards the promotion of R&D, the budget shed a positive light on the future of the Indian pharma sector. The national digital health ecosystem is a step ahead in fostering a much-needed organized healthcare system, which will further aid in swift and better diagnosis. This will also encourage the inclusion of a much larger population who are still living in areas having inadequate medical facilities.

 

Mr. Venkat Rajaraman, Founder and CEO, Cygni

Clean mobility is a growing important segment; and keeping energy transition as the backbone, the focus has been on strengthening to enable access to clean energy to power clean mobility. This will help to develop sustainable and innovative business models for batteries and energy as a service to improve the efficiency in the EV ecosystem in India. The announcement of a battery swapping policy and push for cleantech and electric vehicles will certainly benefit the EV segment and vehicle makers in India and will promote the sales of electric vehicles, battery production, and development in the country, adding special privilege to the private sector. Adding to it, battery swapping policy and interoperability standards will be implemented to overcome some challenges negatively impacting EV adoption in the country.

 

 Ms. Simran Lekhi, Founder, Kidstack

The Budget 2022 gives a further push to Entrepreneurs in India by extending the Tax Rebate for start-ups till March 2023. Unlike the 2021 Budget, which emphasized “vocal for local” Toys, this year lacked a dedicated policy for promoting domestic manufacturing. Creating a domestic task force to serve the global demand in the Gaming, Animation and Visual Effects Sector is another boost for the Toys & Gaming Industry. Apart from digitizing education, we also need to look at prioritizing play in our classrooms, especially for younger children who have lost 2 formative years due to the pandemic.

 

Mr. Nikhil Aggarwal, CEO & Founder at Grip

This year’s budget has set a roadmap to shape the EV revolution for the next three to five years, with a slew of measures for the overall EV ecosystem growth. The Indian government’s supportive policy like FAME II has already provided a massive boost to the EV startups in the country and aided a sharp increase in investments. We’re excited to see how the announced National Swapping Policy will unfold shortly. The policy will encourage EV adoption in public transportation across states.

This is also a great step for new-age alternative investments like Grip that play a crucial role in helping EV players adopt asset-light business models to scale. The EV momentum has had a great impact on our business, with some investment deals for e-bikes closing within 24 hours. Of the INR 180Cr raised on our platform, over 40% of the investment has been in Electric Vehicles, Swappable batteries, and Charging Infrastructure. Moreover, we have deployed over 4,000 EVs with 25 companies and have seen a 30% Month-over-Month growth in leasing volume on our platform in the past year.

With alternative financing options and support from the Government, EV-focused companies, especially startups, will be able to nurture and strengthen innovative offerings to the end consumer, driving the growth of sales and unique business opportunities to further boost the economy. We are extremely confident that the upcoming year will unfold immense growth opportunities for both the EV and alternative investment sector, and the retail investors betting on the growth of this industry and gearing up for the same.

 

Mr. James Forbes-May, VP Sales APAC at Barracuda Networks

The budget rolled out this year is a significant step in the right direction. It outlays a strong focus on almost all sectors, especially focusing on digitization and tech-driven areas. As India is well poised to play an important role in Cybersecurity and Data Protection, the push towards complementing macro-growth with micro-all-inclusive welfare, digital economy and fintech, tech-enabled development, energy transition, and climate action would play a crucial role. The Government’s proposal to launch a Digital ecosystem for skilling and livelihood and Desh stack e-portal will encourage growth in the sector, apart from promoting the digital infra. Taking insights from the new budget, we are looking forward to the next phase of Tech-Savvy India, which will be a big growth driver for Cybersecurity businesses and customers alike.

 

Mr. SK Chaudhary, Founder Director at Safex Chemicals

This year’s budget is highly built on the foundation of new visions and technologies. A renewed focus on agriculture and infrastructure would mean accelerated economic development, which cannot be accomplished without digital disruptions. The initiative to promote chemical-free natural farming throughout the country will help in strengthening the agriculture industry. Considering the financial aspects of things, 2022-2023 would prove to be a highly crucial period for the agriculture industry. Farm procurement value for FY23 would be Rs 2.37 lakh crore. This would help agrochemical companies like us focus more on building reliability and march towards higher growth.

With rapid channelization of the Agrotech sector and encouragement of domestic production of oilseeds, it is an opportune time to enhance our spending in training our youths with essential skill sets related to agriculture and the use of chemicals and pesticides to catch hold of the opportunity. The government’s plan to align Rs 2.37 lakh crore towards procuring wheat and paddy under MSP operations is a huge relief to the farmers and agro players. Moreover, the year 2022-23 has been announced as the International Year of Millets.

The rationalized scheme to increase domestic oilseed production to cut down imports will foster the growth of the agrochemical industry. The key areas where we expected reform were ensuring predictability, consistency, and rationalization of levies and taxes. The announcement of the Ken Betwa river linking project worth Rs 44,605 crore along with Kisan Drones for crop assessment, land records, spraying of insecticides will drive a wave of technology in the Agri sector. All these new measures and policies make this budget wholesome, which would further help us promote innovation and investments in the industry to achieve a better productivity vision.

 

Mr. Rajat Gandhi, Founder & CEO, Faircent.com

The Union Budget 2022-2023 tabled a multitude of policies such as setting up 75 digital banking units in 75 districts to encourage public investment and boost digital financial inclusion in India. With the Government announcing RBI’s roadmap to launch the Central Bank Digital Currency, we expect the digital lending landscape to get a further impetus. This will lead to a growth in collaborations and partnerships between banks and fintech to address the plaguing gap of organized credit in the system. These initiatives will open up the lending space in India and provide a shot in the arm to Fintechs, particularly Pro and NeoBanks.

 

Mr. Sumit Jha, founder, Fantasy Akhada

This year’s budget seems holistic and promising with an extension of forward-looking government schemes. It is encouraging to see the special mention of the AVGC segment this year. We also applaud FM’s proposal for The AICTE’s responsibility to curate syllabi for urban planning courses which will further support the youth and strengthen the AVGC ecosystem in India. It is a great move to tap the industry’s booming demand globally. Also, the initiative to set up an AVGC specific task force will help bolster our domestic capacity, helping us to meet the burgeoning market demands on a national and an international level. We are very optimistic about the focus on innovation and we firmly believe that the AVGC Task Force will seek recommendations on the way forward.

The growth of digital adoption and the role of new-age technologies in accelerating AVGC in Digital India will give importance to a greater drive on digital skills and better practices to give rise to highly innovative gaming platforms. This sector will also be booming for the people who are taking gaming & tech as a career opportunity.

 

Mr. Karan Khairajani, Head of Studio at CrazyLabs India

We welcome the announcements by the Hon’ble FM about the AVGC sector, as it will help in boosting the already growing Gaming sector. It is an opportune moment for us to see that the Government has recognized the importance of setting up an Animation, Visual Effects, Gamic and Comics (AVGC) task force. This would assist us in building the domestic capacity to serve the Indian market as well as meet the global demands. We also applaud FM’s proposal for the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), India’s regulatory body for technical education, to be responsible for shaping up the syllabi for Urban Planning courses. Having said that, given the growth of digital adoption and the role of new-age technologies in accelerating AVGC in Digital India, both businesses and the public particularly in Tier II and Tier III cities would value greater impetus on digital skilling and improved processes, in a bid to give rise to highly innovative gaming platforms.

As the country gears up to rise from the global pandemic and chart the next chapter, CrazyLabs will continue to work in tandem with the government to help bolster India’s entrepreneurial and AVGC ecosystem, by providing all the help and tools needed to succeed online. We are very optimistic with the focus given on innovation and we strongly believe that the AVGC task force would seek recommendations to create the way forward. Also, CrazyHubs will remain a strong and reliable hyper-casual gaming partner with tailor-made creative gaming activities to fulfill international market demands.

 

Mr. RCM Reddy, MD & CEO, Schoolnet India Ltd

The government’s enhanced focus on education in this year’s Union Budget signals a welcome shift in policy priorities, backed by a substantial increase of almost 12% in allocations from last year. This is an acknowledgment of the large-scale impact of the pandemic on schools. A focus on digital learning, as well as the provision of enhanced learning aids through the PM e-Vidya scheme, will give a new impetus to strengthening the school education system.

Schoolnet believes that this can be translated into a positive impact on the ground by following an ecosystem approach which includes creating adequate digital infrastructure in schools, improved teacher training, and making available world-class pedagogical aids for those in the middle and bottom of the pyramid to enhance learning outcomes. Affordable Private Schools, which cater to nearly half the schoolgoing population, also need to be included in the scope of activities to achieve meaningful outcomes. I welcome the announcements for the education sector, which are aligned with Schoolnet’s vision of providing all students, particularly in the middle and bottom of the pyramid, with equal access to a world-class education.

 

Mr. Kunal Nagarkatti, CEO, Clover Infotech

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.

 

Mr. Puneet Gupta, Managing Director & Vice President, NetApp India

I am excited to see the government’s focus on the technology sector, as a whole. The incentives towards creating digital infrastructure, education, and skilling, spell out the intent of developing the country’s human capital. The emphasis on digitized 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. Sunil Sharma, managing director – sales, Sophos India & SAARC

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 enhance efficiency and promote growth, increased digital penetration also brings with it additional cyber risks that one should vary. 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.”

 

Mr. Dhruvil Sanghvi, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, LogiNext

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 the digitization 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.

 

Mr. Niraj Hutheesing, Founder and Managing Director, Cygnet 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 January 2022, exemplifies the growing need for digital taxation solutions that promise to take the Indian economy to the next level.

 

Mr. Bhavin Turakhia, co-founder and CEO, Zeta and Founder and CEO, Nova (Flock and Titan)

It is encouraging to see the government’s support for the startup sector in the Union Budget for 2022 through tax incentives and the easing of regulatory frictions in venture capital investments. Additionally, the impetus towards the rollout of 5G and broadband services in 2022 will catalyze an entrepreneurial culture and expand India’s presence on the global map of technology innovation.

 

Mr. Vishwakumara Kayargadde, Co-Founder and COO, Saankhya Labs

5G in India is soon going to be a reality, as one of the major highlights in the Union Budget was the government’s assurance to conduct the required spectrum auction in 2022. This will help facilitate the rollout of 5G mobile services within 2022-23. We welcome the Finance Ministry’s intent to launch a design-led manufacturing scheme that will help build a strong ecosystem for 5G in the country. In addition to this, the government’s measures towards promoting a semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem will attract young talent, and make the industry more efficient and competitive. This will further boost fabless companies such as ours and other MSMEs working in the deep tech space, helping them engage in product R&D and design. Another laudable move by the government is to promote R&D and commercialization of technologies and solutions by enabling affordable broadband and mobile service proliferation in rural and remote areas.

 

Mr. Archit Agarwal, Co-founder, Cross beats

The extension of 1 year for startups is a welcome move as it will, directly and indirectly, help to strengthen the ecosystem. The push to the manufacturing industry is a strategic move to reduce the dependence on imports and upgrade the capabilities of Indian manufacturers to meet the needs internally. It was nice to hear that the growth in the wearable market has been recognized by the government and custom duty calibration should bring more opportunities for domestic brands to provide unique options to the masses. Similarly, an extension of the concessional tax regime by 1 year is a welcome move during the pandemic which is not showing any sign of deterrence.

 

Mr. Arnav Kishore,  Co-Founder, Fire-Boltt

It is a welcome announcement by the Finance Minister to focus on the domestic wearable
market and boost domestic manufacturing of such devices. This is in sync with the record
growth registered recently by homegrown brands in the Indian wearable market, and would
further encourage more Indian brands to come up with innovative offerings in the segment.
We also welcome the decision to extend tax benefits for startups and the fact that startups
are being considered the drivers of the Indian economy’s growth.

 

Mr. Achin Gupta, Country Head/India, Zoook

The push towards manufacturing is a positive move to make India self-reliant and at the same time, the calibrated duty tax has put a 5% extra burden on importers. This move is in itself an indication of the government's plan for India@100, where basic consumer electronics would be manufactured in India.

The recent surge in the country’s wearables market is an indicator of success in the current scenario and the government too is targeting increased domestic manufacturing of wearable, hearable, and high-growth electronic items.

Also, this will create more jobs in the IT sector which will be working closely in sync with hardware capabilities to match the market needs and innovate.

 

 

 

Mr. Arnav Mutneja- Director at Quantum Hi-Tech

The budget seems to create a level playing field for existing and upcoming brands in the market with a push towards creating domestic manufacturing capabilities.

The move to calibrate tax structure for items like consumer electronics is a very novel move given the pandemic situation, as it will enable manufacturers to provide more and more lifestyle
devices with advanced capabilities.

The budget has given a balanced outlook of the economy in the years to come and we hope that the stress on the economy by COVID can be mitigated by this approach in a gradual but concrete manner.

 

Mr. Akhilesh Chopra Sales Director of Bluei

It is a welcome announcement by the Finance Minister to zero in on the homegrown wearable market and lift homegrown assembling of such gadgets.

This is in a state of harmony with the record development enlisted as of late by local brands in the Indian wearable market, and would additionally urge more Indian brands to think of inventive
contributions in the section.

We additionally welcome the choice to broaden tax reductions for new businesses and the way that new companies are being viewed as the drivers of the Indian economy’s development.

 

Mr. Krupal Parchure Head Fintech & Payment Solutions, MYn

I believe the budget for 2022 is an amazing take by the government. They have covered most of the key focus areas and have announced some very calculated measures and policies. Like, for MYn, an app that works in the social media space, E-registrations for content developers were one big highlight of Budget 2022. This will give a proper definition and recognition to the content creation professionals. Another landmark achievement would be the introduction of digital currency. It decreases the dependency on cash, transactional & settlement costs. It opens up-regulated & legal tender-based payments as well.

The government has also given easy access to credit for the MSME sector, which is in line with RBI’s decision to have an Account Aggregator framework. This will narrow the credit gap that exists for the MSMEs and will democratize credit.

However, many areas are not aligned well.

For example, Budget 2022 promotes gaming platforms, drones for crop digitization & land records, e-passports, and open platforms for health services which leads the path for Digital India. But it arises the question- will a citizen’s health records be exposed to big tech? The fact is these initiatives need a very strong data privacy setup and Indian data privacy laws need clarity. So, Is India ready to take data privacy seriously now?

Another achievement in this year’s budget is the taxation of cryptocurrency and NFT, as digital currency has always been in the grey area. However, there are no operational guidelines, nor regulations around crypto and NFT. So how is the government talking about taxation first, without a clear policy on operating it?

Overall, Budget 2022 fuels the digital growth of the nation and we hope the government will take proper measures in the wake of the new initiatives.

 

Mr. Vishwastam Shukla, CTO at HackerEarth

The future of the world is tech-driven, and the sooner our policies align with the industry demand, the better it will be for our country’s talent pool and long-term growth. This year’s budget lays down the government’s vision in the same direction.

The digital university announced by the Hon’ble Finance Minister has the potential to make education more accessible and democratic, and bridge class divides that exist among students from Tier 1, 2, and beyond. This ensures skill and aptitude are given priority over mere pedigree and geographical advantages.

Too often, in the developer world, it is seen that good talent falls by the wayside when compared to a good ‘resume’.

A digital ecosystem for skilling and livelihood can, in theory, provide many with the access to learn to code and explore other technologies. Self-taught coders are on the rise, and comprehensive and skilling programs aligned with the industry can improve the tech talent pool across the country, helping us stay ahead. In theory, skill assessment functionality will only add to the future readiness of the company’s youth. In practice, it will be interesting to know how the API-based skill credentials and payment layers will function.

With time, the impact and effectiveness of these actions will unfold, however, I will have my eyes peeled for our first self-taught, digital university-certified, tech leader.

 

Mr. Rakesh Goyal, Managing Director, Probus Insurance

The most important announcement in today’s Union Budget was that Finance Minister has announced that the initial public offering (IPO) of the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) will come out soon.
Apart from that, the FM also announced an open platform, for the National Digital Health Ecosystem will be rolled out.

It will consist of digital registries of health providers and health facilities, unique health identity, consent framework, and universal access to health facilities. This move will create a strong digital framework for universal healthcare in India.

The government has also announced a ‘National Tele Mental Health Programme’, which will give access to quality mental health counseling and care services.

The budget also widens progress for MSMEs and Agriculture sector. We are optimistic that collectively these steps will aid in improving insurance penetration in the country.

 

 

Mr. Amit Chadha, CEO, and MD, L&T Technology Services

Digital Engineering is the future and steps taken today will shape the country’s journey ahead on this. And the announcements under Union Budget appear to precisely embrace this proactive approach as the fundamental impetus has been on leveraging digital technologies to further the nation’s growth and march ahead. As a pure-play ER&D services provider, we believe that such a mass scale enablement of the digital ecosystem will also result in complementing uptake of digital engineering capabilities resulting in the country maintaining its stronghold as a global preferred destination for engineering services.

 

 Mr. Arjun Bajaaj, Director, Videotex International Group

The GatiShakti Masterplan is a great step by the government to improve the logistics infra of the country which was much needed and we hope it can be accomplished at the earliest. The overall budget does not have a direct impact on the TV Industry.

We were expecting a cut in the GST slab for TV sizes above 32”. There should have been some relief in the Income Tax Slab but the same has not been touched which is another disappointment.

The Digital University Initiative is another great initiative for education taken by the government. The overall budget seems to be positive to strengthen the Indian Economy.

 

 

Mr. Ashok Rajpal, CEO & Founder, Ambrane India

We welcome the budget positively as it is aimed at furthering the Indian manufacturing industry. Additionally, the increase in PLI benefits to the sector is also beneficial to the companies directly, as well as indirectly. The 15 percent

income tax for new manufacturing companies poses immense relaxation for the companies following the attrition of Make in India.

Lastly, the duty concessions being given to promote electronic manufacturing, wearable, and hearable products are calibrated to provide a graded structure and give growth to the manufacturing industry considering the sales would surge as a result of the subsidized end product.

 

 

 

 

Mr. Avneet Singh Marwah, CEO at SPPL, Exclusive Brand Licensee of Blaupunkt in India

The retail and consumer durables sector contributes a lot to India’s economy. Because these sectors have been hit hard in the pandemic, we were surprised to see there were no relaxations or amendments provided to the manufacturers. I would rate this budget on average.

Despite the overachieving GST collection from the past 4 months, the tax on smart TVs above 81 cm remains at 28%, which is the highest in any developing economy. We were expecting it to be reduced to 18% so that people could get TVs at a cheaper rate.

There was also a talk that television would be included in the PLA scheme, which was also missing. A few things that interest us in the budget is that the announcement of the launch of 5G this year will help consumers adopt better Smart TVs and content quality. The Government has spoken about adding 80 lakhs affordable homes, which will benefit the consumer electronics industry. Apart from that, we were expecting big announcements on inflation, income tax, manufacturing sector, etc which could have improved market sentiments.

Ms. Pallavi Singh, Vice President, Super Plastronics PVT LTD (SPPL), India brand licensee of Westinghouse TV

The FM announced no change to the current tax structure or tax relief has been provided in any form for the existing manufacturing industry and no reduction has been announced on GST rates, which is a disappointment.

We hope that the FM’s announcement of carrying on the legacy of SEZs and replacing it with the new legislation is a welcome move and as mentioned, existing manufacturing units will be allowed to participate in the same to promote the export of goods.

The current budget has focused on building the infrastructure in India which is a welcome approach to make India at par with global infrastructure which will also help us in the long run.

 

 

 

 

 

Mr. Lokesh Harjani, Founder & CEO – OnSpot Solutions

ECLGS scheme is a welcomed initiative and will help the MSME segment with their cash flows and help fuel growth for companies across segments. The interlinkage of government portals will help credit facilitation and enhance entrepreneurial growth for tenders and new business opportunities in a single reformed structure. This level playing field should yield a chance to start-ups and young companies registered as MSME to offer their products and services. Further integration of government portals will help ease the financial burdens with cleaner payment lines making payments more on time than in the past. This itself, will once again, help very important cash flows and credit lines of MSME companies.

The extension of the 15% tax scheme for start-ups for an additional year, is of course, welcome. Additionally, the government has allowed public sector undertakings/government companies to accept surety bonds thereby making it easier for smaller companies to provide performance guarantees which may help in the bidding stipulations for tenders. This step should make competition thrive across different sized companies listed under MSME, especially those in start-up mode. The digital Rupee initiative may open up opportunities for the IT sector in the future.

Overall, the reforms inculcated in the budget are positive for the MSME segment, and hopefully, it shall provide them with growth opportunities, and the government in the next budget can look for reforms and allocations of programs for the MSME segment.

 

Mr. Mitesh Thakker, CEO & Founder, MissCallPay

This 2022 Budget is a real booster budget, As it is focused on vulnerable sections to increase adoption of technology and digital payments in Bharat.

Firstly due to the announcement of 75 Digital Banking Units (DBUs) in 75 districts.. a unique initiative and digitization of 1.5 Lakh post offices to provide core banking to the nook and corner of Bharat. Secondly, there is mention of a focus to promote the use of payment platforms that are “economical and user friendly.”

It seems the government has heard my prayers to bring some reforms for feature phone and voice-based payments as there are 97.3 Crore mobile subscribers who are still not on UPI, while top UPI apps like GooglePay, PhonePe, PayTM,

AmazonPay, Govt’s own BHIM as well as app of other 55 Banks have only been able to enroll 20 Crore users on UPI and most of these users are from the Lower Middle-Income segment non-tech savvy, from villages and elderly who struggle to make cost-free zero MDR money transfers, while we zip through addictive UPI based apps that ease of UPI has led to a big increase in UPI Payments, but UPI user-base has kind of hit the glass ceiling at 20 Crore / 200 Million.

This renewed focus in Budget to the marginal sections, will get channeled in the right direction and rapidly increase the users on UPI and thus bolster the growth of our economy in the coming year, Real Aacche Din for Bharat seems to have arrived at the door.

 

 

Mr. Shivjeet Ghatge, CEO, StepSetGo

The Union Budget 2022 presented by our Honourable Finance Minister, Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman, has projected an encouraging mega push to the start-up economy in India. Some of the transformative policies such as the 100% tax rebate on the profit made for three years can help us conductively tackle our working capital requirements and grow steadily. This will also largely expedite the start-up revolution in the country.

The focus on 5g connectivity as a part of the ‘Digital India’ initiative will pose as a game-changer to players like us and enable us to contribute more significantly to the economy while leading India to a healthier way of living. Moreover, it will help us change the face of fitness in the country and will allow us to make fitness more inclusive and infrastructure-agnostic. It will provide us the opportunity to mitigate any tech-related inadequacies caused due to data speed and help us augment our product offerings by aiding comprehensive R&D in smaller pockets of the country.

Additionally, we believe that the Union budget has taken into consideration the plight of the entrepreneur and is focussed on both relief and recovery. The extension of the tax incentives till 2023 and the impetus to digitalization will give us the financial freedom to focus on innovation and scale up operations. We are glad that the government is extremely enthusiastic about fuelling the aspirations of young entrepreneurial India as we believe that we have it in us to become the start-up superpower of the world.

 

Mr. Avneet Singh Marwah, CEO, Super Plastronics Pvt Ltd, Kodak brand licensee

While I’m very happy about the big announcements on 5G technology, which I’m sure will go a long way to improve Internet connectivity which will, in turn, help the Smart TV industry grow, I was expecting more for the consumer electronics industry. We were expecting a GST reduction on televisions from 28% to 18% on 81cm and above or PLI schemes…

We also welcome the move to provide 80 lakhs affordable homes this year, which will expand the consumer electronics market, but to give the current market sentiments a fillip and improve consumer confidence, more needs to be done for healthcare, education, manufacturing.

 

 

 

Mr. Sandeep Lodha, Co-founder at Netweb Technologies

With this rational allocation, the government intends to increase capital investment significantly. The government has announced several 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, 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…

 

Mr. Alok Dubey, Chief Financial Officer, Acer India

The Union Budget announced today showcased the government’s initiative towards Digital Transformation. From announcing a Digital University, for online learning to high-quality e-content across languages will enable the youth to skill, upskill and reskill themselves. These programs under digital learning and the connectivity expansion will further strengthen the availability and accessibility of the internet in rural areas.

With Govt infrastructure spending push, we are likely to see more employment and growth opportunities and enhanced private sector investment in manufacturing. We are confident that the exemption of duty on parts of select electronic items will further boost the domestic manufacturing of electronics goods under the PLI scheme. Overall, the Union Budget 2022-23 is a promising budget and a step forward towards ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.

 

Mr. Nilesh Patel, CEO, and Founder of Leadsquared on the Startup Industry.

This Budget proposal enables India to make digital progress across sectors and contributes to creating a digital, tech-enabled ecosystem. With the launch of the Digital DESL Stack portal, the government will empower the Indian youth to attain more relevant jobs, entrepreneurial opportunities and help them to upskill through online training.

I believe start-ups will contribute greatly to the Government’s mission of driving job creation across the skill spectrum.

Also, the introduction of digital currency through the use of blockchain technology in 2023, will make money management easier than ever.

 

 

 

Mr. Kumar Gaurav, Founder & CEO of Cashaa

The industry was waiting for the government to recognize crypto technology and innovation. Today, it is the beginning of a revolution when the government has itself announced the launch of digital cryptocurrencies.

We, as an industry, have taken a step ahead towards the adoption of digital currencies. Yes, currently taxation imposed is a little on the higher side, but the industry which was already growing rapidly in the absence of regulation will now thrive with the government’s clear support

 

 

Mr. Alok Mittal, Co-Founder & CEO, Indifi Technologies

This year’s budget has taken significant future-forward steps towards financial inclusion; the integration of post office banks, widening the scope of MSME portals, and setting up digital banking are all incredible steps in extending access to finance. Moreover, the budget has also addressed the current pain points of the MSME ecosystem by extending ECLGS, with the additional allocation to be earmarked for hospitality and related industries. This provides the renewed impetus for the lending ecosystem to lend to MSMEs and empowers them. Steps taken to leverage portals like Udyam, e-shram, NCS & Aseem will go a long way in further strengthening credit facilitation and enhancing entrepreneurial opportunities for MSMEs

In terms of startups, initiatives taken towards amping up the ease of doing business in India are welcome additions to the budget. Moreover, the steps taken for existing start-ups like extending tax redemption and steps taken to attract more investment into the ecosystem are encouraging for the entrepreneurial spirit of India.

 

Mr. Nilesh Mali, Founder, KDM India

Budget 2022 has given a boost to domestic electronics manufacturing and provides the much-needed incentive to the manufacturers and help in building manufacturing bases in India. Concessions in customs duty to electronics manufacturing is a positive move and will promote manufacturing across wearables, and specific mobile phone components.

Though the government is pursuing policies that promote the ‘Make in India’ concept, giving incentives and subsidies for companies designing products or doing Research and Development (R&D) in India would be a step in the right direction.

Besides, the rollout of 5G is going to be a big game-changer for us as this will increase demand for our products which are all 5G compatible.

 

Mr. Rajeev Agarwal – CEO & Founder, Innoviti Payment Solutions

The Union Budget 2022 echoes that this year will be an exciting one for the Indian FinTech industry with the government continuing to play a supporting role.

With India @ 100 in mind, this budget gives the much-needed thrust on financial inclusion by expanding the access of digital banking, digital payments, and FinTech into the remote areas of the country. Initiatives such as bringing all post office banks under the core banking umbrella while setting up 75 digital banking units in 75 districts of the country are a welcome move that will take India forward.

Digital Rupee will further decrease friction in the movement of money, reducing the cost of money and in the long-term contribute to fuelling economic growth

The budget gives a boost to the overall fintech ecosystem, especially to the start-ups in the FinTech sector who are working towards making digital payments safer and more frictionless than before,” said Mr. Rajeev Agrawal, CEO, Innoviti Payment Solutions.

 

Mr. Nitin Bansal, MD, India & Head-Networks – Southeast Asia, Oceania, and India at Ericsson

We are pleased that the budget for 2022 seeks to leverage technology for enabling the next phase of sustainable socio-economic development of the nation with the use of drones for land surveys and crop assessments, the introduction of digital currency, infrastructure status to data centers, e-content delivery, and e-passports. Apart from this, the announcement of the DESL stack portal to upskill Indian youth as per industry needs will help to fill the talent and skill gap.

From a telecom sector perspective, FM’s announcement around the 5G spectrum auction, 100 percent liberalization with the PPP model will provide the required impetus to build upon ubiquitous and reliable internet connectivity. Thereby, bridging the digital divide for a conducive and inclusive development of the nation in keeping with the ‘Digital India’ initiative. Further, design-led initiatives for 5G under the PLI scheme and 5% of USOF for R&D purposes will strengthen the ‘Make in India’ initiative, and contribute to making India a global manufacturing hub.

 

Mr. Sandeep Lodha, Co-founder at Netweb Technologies

“It is heartening to see the government focus on the rural areas. This can accelerate the government’s earlier declared digital banks and overall enhance and enrich the rural economy. Digital banking and fintech spending by the government is going to enhance the financing and overall support the entrepreneurial spirit as well as benefit the IT sector to provide the required infrastructure.

Emphasis on 5G: The government’s announcement of a 5G spectrum auction by 22- 23 was on the expected line. It is good to see the announcement of the PLI scheme for design-led manufacturing, this will help in getting ready with Make in India products and solutions. We welcome the government commitment to R&D and formalizing the same by allocating 5% of Universal service obligation to this but will need to see when this can be effective on the ground. R & D has a cycle and sooner we get in we can start rolling the products when the actual implementation starts.

 

Mr. Akash Gupta, Co-founder & CEO, Zypp Electric

The formulation of battery swapping standards and interoperability is a much-needed step in the right direction. There’s been a lot of confusion in the swapping companies, which has dampened EV adoption. Seamless and widespread charging infrastructure is the need of the hour to accelerate the EV revolution in the country. The focus and thought towards the EV sector by the honorable finance minister reflects the government’s poise towards accelerating EV adoption. This will also help us achieve our vision of expanding our battery-swapping network across 100 cities in the next three years I would have loved if GST in battery and spare parts had also been reduced to 5% like it’s there for E-vehicles purchases; this would also help the entire electric vehicle ecosystem.

 

Mr. Sambit Chakraborty, Board of Adviser, Indigrid Technology

The policies should take a holistic approach to ensure that there is a proper and adequate supply network of swappable packs and swap stations so that it works as if someone is fuelling their vehicle and can “swap” in 2-3 minutes. Ground charging does not work except at home (not for commercial purposes) because of the load it will exert on the grid and the time it takes. Convenience especially for the last mile operators, gig economy players, and home tests/collections is key. Second, there is a proliferation of low-quality Chinese players who are “cheap”. Substantial safety and dependency issues are being built into the system. If the policy can build in a structure to raise the safety and “atmanirbhar” aspects and the made in India aspects – that will be a boon for India in the long run. There are many Indian manufacturers of safe batteries and swap stations who would then not have to choose to lower quality and safety standards.

 

S Sriram, Chief Strategy Officer at iValue InfoSolutions

It was a consistent and pragmatic budget with a lot of thrust around infrastructure spending to enhance growth. Despite multiple elections around the corner, great to see no populist announcement with a focus on reducing the fiscal deficit starting next fiscal. 5G rollout and extension of sops around “make-in-India” for new start-ups should augur well for the tech-enabled industry.

Central Government focus around Digitization will offer business opportunities for domestic-focused ITeS players with the Government taking the lead role on capex investment recovery post-pandemic. Overall exciting times are ahead as India is poised to be the fastest-growing economy for the next few years.

 

 

Rajendra Chitale, CFO at Crayon

India’s General Budget 2022-23 introduced several measures ranging from taxation to investment to help boost the country’s economic activities, digital governance, ease of doing business, creating jobs, and ensuring the country’s transition to a digital economy. The budget promotes technology-enabled development, energy transition, public-private partnerships, skilling, and climate action, along with the use of emerging technologies.

The news on the 5G roll-out is commendable as it will be a key enabler for digital growth and development in the country. Also, glad to see that the government is focusing on expanding the digital horizon in the country. This shall encourage continuous skilling avenues, sustainability, and employability through online training programs, and simulated learning environments using e-labs. The budget also focuses on emerging technologies, such as drones, deep tech, fintech, health tech, and Ed-tech, highlighting India’s commitment to exploring change and innovation.

 

Prashanth G J, CEO at TechnoBind

It is commendable that the government in the new budget is coming up with modern and progressive concepts like trust-based governance. This is in the best interests of both society and enterprises. It will also help in building more coordination between the government and enterprises, provide more empowerment to enterprises, and certainly help with the ease of doing business.

Also, the 5G rollout will open the gates for aggressive digitization in the country which will help the Indian IT landscape to expand further in all-tier markets. Better internet connectivity will ramp up digitization making inroads for datafication and AI-based technologies. We can expect the IT expansion to go pan-India and new avenues of digitization will see light in the coming year.