As the Indian economy breaks out of the Covid shadows, expecting to clock a good 6 to 6.8% growth in Gross Domestic Product during the current fiscal, the Union Budget 2023-24 today laid a strong foundation to orchestrate India’s much vaunted digital drama. FM Nirmala Sitharaman laid a strong thrust on leveraging technology as a growth enabler.
Presenting a progressive budget, she emphasized on inclusive growth, sustainable development, harnessing the power of new-age technologies, business reforms, green growth and empowerment of MSMEs, farmers, youth and women. Despite the global recession and the Russo–Ukrainian war, India demonstrated an impressive 7% GDP growth in fiscal 2023. The fiscal deficit for FY23 is estimated at 6.4% of GDP while the fiscal deficit target for FY24 is pegged at 5.9%. The reduction is expected to pave the way for the country’s robust economic growth.
Further building upon the foundation of the previous budget, the FM offered a blueprint for India@100, dubbing it as the ‘Amrit Kaal’ budget. In line with that, the budget lists seven priority areas: inclusive development; reaching the last mile; infrastructure and investment; unleashing the potential; green growth; youth power; and the financial sector.
“Union Budget 2023 is a great development and comes with many positives keeping people at the heart of Amrit Kaal vision. With the level of technology disruption and digital adoption witnessed in the last year, it is exciting to see the government’s inclined interest towards a technology-driven and knowledge-based economy,” says Triveni Rabindraraj, Head of Sales at GoTo, India.
For the benefit of our readers, let’s take a deep dive into the fiscal matrixes and their ramification for the business community in general and the IT industry in particular. And while doing so, we shall hear the voices of the poster boys of Indian IT.
The FM’s message was loud and clear as she carried the budget on a digital tablet in the red bahi khata-style pouch. To the delight of the IT industry, the capital investment outlay has been increased steeply for the third year in a row by 33% to 10 lakh crores, which would be 3.3% of GDP – this will be almost 3 times the outlay made in 2019-20.
Commenting on the budget, Nilanjan Banik, Economist, Mahindra University, says, “It is a fantastic budget! It has elements of unleashing purchasing power both from the perspective of consumers and businesses. For the common man, there has been an increase in tax rebates. For businesses and the economy as a whole, there has been an increase in the allocation of capital expenditure. Capital expenditure is hiked to Rs 10 trillion and this money when used for building roads, ports, and airports will lead to a further round of income and employment generation. Additionally, an all-time high allocation towards the railway sector will complement this connectivity pan-India and will make India a better place to do business. And all of this spending towards capital expenditure is undertaken by taking into consideration that the fiscal deficit is kept under control. Money is being spent judiciously and towards the infrastructure sector, keeping in mind the long-term (amrit kaal) growth.”
“Extremely happy to note that the vision of ‘Saptarishi’ outlined in the budget today is a vision for Bharat@100 – a democratic and developed nation by 2047. India’s growth plans are ambitious, ‘unleashing potential’ requires intense capital investment that must be financed by exploring current avenues such as FDI which continues to be a key catalyst for growth. Foreign Investors who are more committed to the motherland require certain liberalisation in terms of taxation of global income on extended stays in the country. Several reports and case studies have shown a strong positive correlation between FDI and economic growth and a lot of our Asian neighbours have successfully used FDI to achieve exponential growth. For India too, this must be the next immediate step to direct the nation towards “Amrit Kaal,” says Preeti Malhotra, Chairman, India – Foreign Investors India Forum.
Vishak Raman, Vice President of Sales, India, SAARC and Southeast Asia at Fortinet, said, “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.”
Hardware industry body MAIT welcomed the budget with open arms. “MAIT congratulates Hon’ble Finance Minister for the third successive year of emphasis on technology-led growth. This Digital transformation is silently and surely taking India to another orbit of economic efficiency. The Use of Technology and Digitization will lead to demand for Electronic Products and Technology Solutions; Emphasis on Ease of Doing Business and Agile Policy making – with a trust based policy approach. A key enabler for the Fast moving Electronics Hardware industry. The Kick off of PMP for Hearables, Wearables & Smart meters a continuation of India’s Electronics Atamnirbhar strategy. Other than these, the proposal to build domestic capability to address a 80Bn dollar Global market by 2025, this budget focuses on bring in Capex investment to Indian Industry,” says Nitin Kunkolienker, President Emeritus, MAIT & Director & Board Member Synegra EMS Ltd.
Strengthening the Digital ecosystem
The Union Budget has focused to strengthen the Digital ecosystem in the country. “India’s digital advancements in this decade have been remarkable, especially the integration of digital infrastructure and identity framework. Establishing a strong national identity system is crucial as it boosts security, drives economic growth, and strengthens social unity. The adoption of a unified KYC process, utilizing Digilocker and Aadhaar as the primary means of identity verification, is a positive step forward and will increase financial accessibility for marginalized communities,” says Matthew Foxton, India Regional President & Executive Vice-President, Branding & Communications, IDEMIA.
Sudhir Kunder, Country Director, DE-CIX India, says, “It’s encouraging to see continued support for digital payment systems, digital document integration, and the creation of a digital public infrastructure for agritech and Fintech. Introduction of Digital lockers, Digital Library, E-Courts, and the promise of one hundred research labs to create applications for 5G were the landmark announcements.”
“Empowering youth with 30 Skill India Centers imparting skills like Coding, AI, robotics, mechatronics, IoT, 3D printing, and drones with other NextGen cutting-edge technologies will make them economically independent,” he adds.
Alok Dubey, Chief Financial Officer, Acer India, says, “The Union Budget unveiled today echoes the government’s objective of “Digital Development” for the country. It places a high value on technology and innovation as a whole. Realizing the vision of “Make AI in India and Make AI Work for India” is projected to strengthen the country’s standing in the technology industry globally and generate numerous possibilities for the youth. The mention of lowering the minimum TDS threshold and clarifying taxability linked to online gaming is an encouraging step towards gaming industry in India, and it is expected to open up more prospects in the following year.
Ravindra Katti, Founder and Director of Techpartner Alliance, says, “The Union Budget 2023-24 is reflecting the advancements made by the country’s digital technology sector, which also includes contributions from MSMEs and startups. By expanding the digital ecosystem for skilling and establishing 3 Centers of Excellence for AI in top educational institutions, the budget further stresses the importance of skill development. Such initiatives will provide immense benefit to businesses, which today are facing skill-shortage challenges.”
Ramanujam Komanduri, Country Manager, Pure Storage India, says, “This budget provides numerous growth opportunities for the technology industry by bringing digital solutions and innovation in legacy sectors like infrastructure, manufacturing, education, railways, healthcare, financial services, and regulatory bodies to turn India into a technology-driven, knowledge-based economy. Overall, the budget 2023 promises to sustain and catalyze India’s economic and digital growth with a strong role played by technology.”
Setting up National Digital Library
In what’s viewed as a great boost to the education sector and further carrying forward the process of digitalization, a National Digital Library will be set up for children and adolescents, although States will be encouraged to set up physical libraries at panchayat and ward levels.
Bringing 5G onto the Forefront
With the ongoing 5G rollouts in India, the government’s decision to establish 100 5G application Labs is a timely move to spur innovation in developing the 5G ecosystem and India relevant use cases. “There is a great opportunity to combine 5G and AI to improve network speed, responsiveness, and efficiencies. The special emphasis on establishing AI centres of excellence shall help produce specialized talent to enable India preserve its global advantage and leadership. These are extremely positive initiatives and shall bring technological advancements to the country as AI and 5G are the two most critical elements to enable futuristic innovations and developed related 5G ecosystem,” hopes Manoranjan Mohapatra, CEO, Comviva.
Arvind Bali, CEO, Telecom Sector Skill Council, says, “The government’s focus on the skill development of India’s potential youth talent through initiatives like NEP, PMKVY 4.0 for skilling in niche new-age technologies like 5G, AI, 3D printing, drones, coding, mechatronics, robotics, and IoT draws further impetus to the ongoing efforts. Blue and grey-collar job demand in India grew by up to four-fold in 2022. Annual demand in telecommunications and 5G have increased by 33.7 per cent in September 2022. There was a demand for 1.3 million workers in FY22-23 which is growing each year and. New use-cases including cloud computing, robots, and the Internet of Things (IoT) are also seeing a sharp rise in hiring. We believe the initiatives will be beneficial to close country’s growing demand supply gap of technical talent workforce. With the government’s push to establish 30 Skill India international centres, 100 premier labs for developing applications to use 5G services, and centres of excellence for AI, India has the potential to deliver talent not only across domestic markets but also to the international market. The initiative like the Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) is also a progressive move by the government to uplift the tribal population and empower the students to take up new job opportunities.”
Rajiv Bhalla, Managing Director, India & Vice President APAC, at Barco, says,
“The Budget is perfectly aligned with Barco’s aim to make India a popular tourist destination with visible impact, allowing people to enjoy compelling entertainment experiences. Further, Budget has focused on overall growth & sustainability as India has the potential to be a world-class infrastructure centre, moving toward net zero carbon emissions by 2070 & setting up the AI based solutions in health, education, and sustainable cities will give additional push towards the extensive use of technology”.
“Union Budget 2023-24 brings out surely brings out positivity in terms of technology’s perspective, starting from establishing many 5G Labs, excellence centers for Artificial Intelligence, “Credit Guarantee Scheme” for MSME, along with collateral loans, could really help underfunded MSMEs,” Tarun Kumar Taunk, Director, Informatic Computech Pvt. Ltd.
Shot in the Arm for Electronics Industry
The budget has been welcomed by the electronics industry. As discussed earlier, industry body, MAIT has been very vocal in welcoming the budget.
“This year’s budget is a strong effort to consolidate the Indian economy in post-pandemic dynamics, raising the personal tax exemption limit will certainly boost consumption and the electronics industry will surely benefit from it. Continuing the import duty cuts on Camera Lens and batteries for mobile manufacturing is a welcome step and this will continue to fuel the remarkable growth India has witnessed in domestic manufacturing,” says A. Gururaj, MD, Optiemus Electronics.
Mainstreaming AI
The budget highlighted the role of new-age technologies such as AI, IoT, 5G and Robotics in technological advancement. What’s being viewed as highly visionary is the Govt’s attempt to mainstreaming AI and taking steps to produce skilled workforce to drive transformation across verticals. The announcement of the setting up of Centers of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence is a great step in that direction. For realizing the vision of Make AI in India and Make AI Work for India, 3 centers of excellence for artificial intelligence will be set up in top educational institutions.
“The 2023 union budget plays a crucial role in driving the adoption of AI across all sectors like healthcare, finance, retail, manufacturing, and transportation. As we move towards a world led by real time engagement based on data and insights, innovations in AI will be instrumental in empowering businesses to stay ahead of the curve. Supporting research and development of AI and bringing initiatives to promote AI adoption has the potential of impacting the development and growth in the technological landscape in India. This move will also be critical in enabling an ecosystem of skilled technology talent to foster India’s innovation journey,” says Ranga Jagannath, Senior Director, Agora.
Suresh Pansari, Vice Chairman and Whole-time Director – Rashi Peripherals, says, “The FM highlighted the role of new-age technologies such as AI, IoT, 5G and Robotics in technological advancement. Announcements of setting up Centers of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence and 100 labs for developing apps using 5G services, roll out of phase 3 of the eCourt’s project, and National Digital Library for children and adolescents etc. will trigger demand for IT and datacentre solutions.”
“It is encouraging to see the government focus on building a digitally-driven nation in the Union Budget. By expanding innovative services in the fintech space, along with announcing the vision of Make AI in India and Make AI Work for India, we have a lot to look forward. Though not explicitly highlighted in the Budget, we can also expect to see the cybersecurity landscape evolve and benefit from increased use of AI in operations, products, and services. In addition, the government’s relief measures for startups in areas of tax benefits and setting off losses comes as a welcome move, and will go a long way in encouraging the Indian startup ecosystem to continue to innovate,” echoes Manish Mimani, Founder & CEO, Protectt.ai.
Sudhir Kunder, Country Director, DE-CIX India, says, “Establishing three Institutes of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence Development is a major step forward for our country and will help to create AI in India and make AI work for India.”
Vijendra Katiyar, Country Manager, India & SAARC, Trend Micro, says, “The adoption of AI, ML and cloud computing is rapidly increasing across various sectors, which necessitates the adoption of cybersecurity not only after, but during the build process as well. The strengthening of skilling infrastructure announced in the budget is a timely response to this development. The Data Governance policy, which will enable access to anonymized data, is also a crucial initiative that provides hope in the face of the growing threat of cyber-attacks.”
“The three proposed centres of excellence for Artificial Intelligence too is a good opportunity for industry players to partner in interdisciplinary research, develop cutting-edge applications and scalable problem solutions. These initiatives will pave the way for building a workforce that will be skilled and ahead of the curve in their respective industry,” says Nitin Varma, Managing Director, India & SAARC, CrowdStrike.
Vishak Raman, Vice President of Sales, India, SAARC and Southeast Asia at Fortinet, said, “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.”
Hemant Tiwari, Managing Director, India, Hitachi Vantara, says, “With the AI revolution happening globally, the AI centres of excellence will provide exciting opportunities for cutting-edge innovations to be deployed across important sectors such as healthcare and sustainable cities, while providing new employment opportunities. Additionally, ‘The Green Credit programme’ as well as the initiatives towards building ‘Sustainable cities of tomorrow’ are strong leaps forward in building India’s green future. These are indicators of our nation’s commitment to climate action and efficient use of resources.”
Rajiv Srivastava, Managing Director, Redington Limited, said, “We welcome the progressive initiatives announced in the Union Budget 2023, focusing on Artificial Intelligence, 5G, youth skilling, Green Growth, data governance, consumer empowerment, and customs duty relief for mobile phone components—all these initiatives will help intensify the focus on making India a skill capital for the world, a consumption growth economy. The budget’s focus on green growth will have a multiplier effect on the industrial sustainability, leading to country’s goal of net-zero carbon emission by 2070. Centres of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence, one hundred labs for 5G applications in engineering institutions are very positive steps taken to spur breakthrough innovations in the field of education, agriculture, transport, and healthcare.”
“Further, an impetus to R&D for startups and academia that utilizes data for their growth will be secured under National Data Governance Policy (NDGFP).
Overall, the first budget of Amrit Kaal lays the foundation for a developed India by providing a framework of growth and development through Skilling, Green Energy, R&D, and Technology, which will accelerate the country’s journey to becoming a $10 Trillion economy in the near future,” adds Srivastava.
Piyush Somani, Managing Director & Chairman, ESDS Software Solution Ltd., says, “The Union Budget 2023-24 has put a lot of emphasis on Agritech, fintech, Co-operatives and future technologies like AI, ML, IoT and etc., signaling a positive push towards technologically advanced Digital India & a greener India. The government’s emphasis on digital infrastructure through 100 labs to facilitate apps employing 5G services will aid technology adoption that will help the country advance towards more digital applications like smart classrooms, precision farming, intelligent transport systems, and healthcare in order to realize new range of options, business models, and job potential.”
Warming up Start-up Incubation
Start-up ecosystem too received a new boost from the budget. The budget has delighted many Start-up players. Tarun Sharma, Founder and CEO, Yodda Elder Care, says, “The budget is inspiring and encouraging for the start-up ecosystem. For the elders and seniors, setting up 157 new nursing colleges is a positive step in increasing the number of caregivers and is in line with the commitment to increasing public health expenditure to reach 2.5% of GDP by 2025. Also, the limit enhancement in the senior citizen savings scheme to Rs 30 lakhs is likely to encourage more savings from seniors.”
He adds, ”While this budget might is very positive for the masses, it misses the intent and lacks inclusiveness for the senior citizens. With the rise of the ageing population, there is an urgent need for professional at-home care services for elders. While businesses like caregiving or home visits from nurses have been freed of tax burdens, at-home elder care continues to be taxed at a rate of 18% GST – a factor limiting the affordability and reach of such services. We urgently need these services to be tax-exempt or taxed at a lower rate to ease the burden on the senior citizens.”
Neha Bagaria founder & CEO of JobsForHer, says, “We appreciate the emphasis on training the young population, and the decision to decrease the total tax obligation, which encourages domestic spending. However, we were hoping for a gender-inclusive budget that would offer more chances for women’s career growth, tax incentives to hasten their skills development, lower the cost of higher education for women, and provide support for female entrepreneurs. Hope these are also included in future drafts”.
Mainak Sarkar, Co-founder & CEO, Explorex, says, “The allocation of funds to bolster the growth of start-ups is a noteworthy decision undertaken in the 2023 budget. The introduction of the National Data Governance Policy to unleash innovation by start-ups in the country will prove beneficial to many new age start-ups. Further, the government digital certificate depository Digilocker services for the MSMEs and fintech sector will hasten the germination of more innovative fintech services and further allow fintech solutions in India to function smoothly using India’s digital public infrastructure, including Aadhaar, PM Jandhan Yojna, video KYC, India Stack, and UPI. The budget will prove to be of immense help with regard to the start-up ecosystem through the proposal of the extension of the date of incorporation for income tax benefits from 31st March, 2023 to 31st March, 2024. We applaud Union Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman for taking all factors into account and presenting a budget focused on growth and the future in these trying times.
“The emphasis on the co-operative sector, Millets, agriculture sector by facilitating Agri-based rural startups certainly will improve the livelihoods of farmers, increase food security and boost exports through open-source digital public infrastructure,” says Piyush Somani, Managing Director & Chairman, ESDS Software Solution Ltd.
A Big Leap Towards Green Energy
One of the highlights of the budget has been its stress upon creating a Green Energy infrastructure. Dr. Prateek Kanakia, Chairman and Founder, TheGreenBillions, states, “This budget should be labelled as the first Green Budget as the businesses can now adopt a greener approach and cultivate sustainable solutions practices with the allocation of ₹35,000 for priority capital investment towards energy transition. Launching the national green hydrogen mission is a significant step in moving towards clean and green energy. Further, municipal solid waste can play an important role in achieving a hydrogen production capacity of 5 metric million tonnes by 2030. Given India’s G20 presidency, this budget is a watershed moment in India’s fight towards climate change.”
Stress on Upskilling
The budget has laid due importance on upskilling the youth on various futuristic tech platforms on a major scale. “The measures introduced in the Union Budget 2023 in terms of ease of doing business such as reducing compliance requirements and legal provisions will play a key role in attracting global investments into India. By relaxing contract execution policies, facilitating availability of credit, and extending tax benefits to start-ups and MSMEs, the FM has taken progressive steps to build a favourable support ecosystem for start-ups and MSMEs. The training and skilling initiatives under the ‘Make AI in India’ and ‘Unified Skill India Digital Platform’, will create a highly skilled workforce that can significantly accelerate our economic growth,” says Javed Tapia, Founder & Managing Director, Clover Infotech.
Triveni Rabindraraj, Head of Sales at GoTo, India, says, “The renewed emphasis on growth in the MSME sector, women empowerment, and skilling is a welcome move as it strengthens inclusive and sustainable progress across all industries. The Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0, Make AI in India, and increased focus on 5G continuum will prove to be a big push to bridge the talent gap and prepare country’s youth for Industry 4.0 by empowering them with new-age technology skills needed to make India one of the world’s preferred innovation hubs. These initiatives will level the playing field to enable MSMEs to invest in and improve their digital talent, enhance employee value proposition, and drive better business outcomes.”
“Initiatives such as the Skill India Digital platform, which provides training in cutting-edge technologies and soft skills, are commendable as the youth need to upskill to succeed in the rapidly changing job market. This investment in human capital is critical to ensure that India remains competitive and well-positioned for future growth,” Rajesh Ganesan, President, ManageEngine.
Varun Babbar Managing Director – India & SAARC, Qlik, says, “The FY24 Union Budget is a progressive take on technology and skill development in the country. The proposed Centres of Excellence for AI to further “Make AI in India” and “Make AI work for India” could significantly boost STEM students and tech organisations and set India on the journey to becoming a hub for AI talent. It can provide the next generation of engineers an opportunity to develop their specialisation in AI. A robust AI ecosystem can help India generate multi-disciplinarian specialists like Data Analysts and Scientists, which aligns with the industry’s current requirements. The collaboration between the top education institutions and industry players will help convert these plans into reality very soon. It is time for the technological revolution to activate private and public collaborative efforts. This will reinforce data-rich sectors to make impactful decisions in near real-time with intelligent analytics while delivering essential citizen services.”
Arun Balasubramanian, Vice President & Managing Director, India & South Asia, UiPath, says, “For India to adopt and implement emerging technologies, a robust skilled workforce is needed. And the provision of the Skill India Digital Platform is the right step in making a highly skilled workforce. It will unify and enable demand-based formal skilling, which has been much needed to bridge the gap between academia and industry. With the Skill India Digital Platform and the proposed National Digital Library, we are confident that young Indians will have the resources to upskill in areas like AI, automation, and robotics, which will in turn make Digital India a reality.”
New Strength to “Make in India”
“The budget introduces new tax reforms and incentives for the “Make in India” program, as well as duty rebates for manufacturing, like TV Panel, li-ion batteries etc, which are expected to drive growth in the modern electronics and mobility sector. These rebates will help in setting up the local electronics manufacturing ecosystem in the country, which is the need of the hour. We can surely see India becoming one of the manufacturing hubs in the world,” says Rajesh Doshi, Director and Co-founder at Zebronics.
Raghunath Subramanian, Founder and Global CEO, actyv.ai, said, “Under the larger umbrella of Atmanirbhar Bharat, the government has focused on making Indian companies more competitive in the global market, attracting investments from outside India, promoting startups and an ecosystem driven by innovation. India is poised to shine!”
Greater Tax Rebate Means Greater Consumption
Probably the biggest respite for the general public comes from the announcement of raising the lower limit of the tax slab. The move is being viewed by many as an attempt to put more purchasing power in the hands of the consumer. This will drive consumption in many sectors including IT.
“The Union Budget 2023 was presented by the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman today. The budget is being received positively as a progressive step towards improving the economy. One of the notable changes is the increase in the tax slab limit from 5L to 7L, providing more purchasing power to the general public. The new tax regime also offers relief to law-abiding taxpayers. These rebates on income tax will infuse a new life in the economy. The reforms in agriculture and health sectors are expected to have a positive impact on the economy,” says Rajesh Doshi.
Suresh Pansari, Vice Chairman and Whole-time Director – Rashi Peripherals, “The Finance Minister also announced relief on Customs Duty on the import of certain parts & inputs like a camera lens and continued the concessional duty on lithium-ion cells for batteries for another year. It will help boost local manufacturing of mobile phones and drive mobile penetration in rural India.”
National Data Governance Policy for Unleashing Innovation
A National Data Governance Policy will be bought out to unleash Innovation and research by startups and academia, enabling access to anonymous data.
Arun Balasubramanian, Vice President & Managing Director, India & South Asia, UiPath, says, “With the launch of The National Data Governance Policy, Indian users and companies can now access anonymized data, which will provide greater opportunities for innovation. These are exciting times for a tech-enabled India, and soon the country will become a talent powerhouse for the world.”
Pan As a Common Identifier For Digital Systems
The budget make provisions utilizing PAN as a Common Identifier for all Digital Systems. For business establishments required to have Permanent Account Number, the PAN will be used as a common identifier for all digital systems of specified government agencies. Suresh Pansari, Vice Chairman and Whole-time Director – Rashi Peripherals, says, “The Finance Minister also announced a slew of measures for ease of doing business such as the reduction of more than 39,000 compliances and decriminalisation of more than 3,000 legal provisions. Also, PAN will be used as a common identifier for all Digital Systems of specified government agencies. The Union government will set up a DigiLocker digital document storage capability to enable the storage of documents digitally and ease the process of digital application of credit for MSMEs. This will encourage the thriving startup ecosystem and also attract global players to invest in India. The development of 50 new airports and helipads will aid seamless connectivity.”
Ease of Doing Business for MSMEs
The budget also paves the way for smoothening business experiences. Mahesh Krishnamoorthy, Managing Director at Core Integra, says, “It is also nice to note the Government’s continued focus on ease of doing business, simplifying compliances and making the legal framework friendlier towards startups and entrepreneurs. Unified KYC process with control in the hands of the filer looks to be a first step towards data privacy and user controlled information governance, definitely a positive move.”
Pramod Sharda, CEO, IceWarp, India and Middle East, says, “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,” he adds.
Raghunath Subramanian, Founder and Global CEO, actyv.ai, says, “MSMEs, one of the largest sectors in India and an integral part of the country’s growth journey is on a swift recovery path post the pandemic and easy access to working capital would be critical for smooth recovery. Under the larger umbrella of Atmanirbhar Bharat, the Indian government’s move to set up a separate entity of DigiLocker MSME will have a significant impact on the sector. As a platform with embedded offerings that drives business growth for enterprises and their partners, we see this as a step in the right direction.
Hemant Tiwari, Managing Director, India, Hitachi Vantara, says, “The government’s initiative around Fintech services, enhancing the usage of the national level cloud platform DigiLocker, will further boost technology adoption among individuals and MSMEs. The introduction of National Data Governance Policy will enable safe access to anonymized data and increase transparency.”
Sustainability Underlined
This year’s budget also has prioritised sustainability. “This is a step toward a green future that allows businesses and SMEs to enter the market with green products and services; this is a commendable and promising move. Overall, the Union Budget 2023 is promising and represents a significant step toward digital transformation and a holistic sustainable growth,” says Alok Dubey, Chief Financial Officer, Acer India.
