Aravind SundaramBusiness leaders from different industries are sharing reactions on the budget and they are talking upon specific issues ranging from e-Vidya scheme and PPP schemes in various industries. Below are some of the business leaders who are sharing their views on the budget.
Richard Pattle, Co-founder and CEO True Beacon Global
As a foreign entrepreneur working in India and co-founder of one of the first funds in GIFT City – True Beacon Global – I am delighted with the focus of Narendra Modi’s government to develop the SEZ. This will further develop the ecosystem into a world-class fintech hub. Along with my co-founder, Nikhil Kamath, we are confident this announcement by the FM will further accelerate the international investor trust and attract further capital one of the fastest growing economies in the world.
Achin Bhattacharyya, Founder and CEO Notebook
Expansion of the “One class, one TV channel” program of PM eVIDYA from 12 to 200 TV channels is a welcome step as encouraging supplementary education in regional languages is the need of the hour as language cannot act as a barrier to receiving a quality education, especially for first-generation learners. Encouraging PPP projects which will help in a centralised build-up of quality content in regional languages and ensure their easy access through mass mediums will help the country reap the demographic dividend in the years to come.
Aniruddha Sen, Co-Founder, Kenko Health
The rolling out of the Open Platform for the National Digital Health Ecosystem is a noble step. It will go a long way in digitising our data about healthcare providers and extending universal access to health facilities on a digital platform.
Also, the announcement of the National Tele Mental Health Program is a progressive step towards recognising the mental health burdens that face our country in the wake of the pandemic. Besides these direct measures, the extension of household tap-water access is another big win when it comes to universal access to health and the hygiene necessities.
Shams Tabrej, Ezeepay, Founder and CEO
Witnessing the digitalization in India, we think it is a sound decision by the Finance Minister to work towards a digital ecosystem. The plan of this fiscal year hints towards encouraging digital courses by setting up more Digital Universities and making people more digitally educated. Also, the inclusion of digital banks in rural areas, bank ATMs in post offices, and digital payments will help make banking in rural areas better. This year, the government has shown promising improvement in rural banking and tech literacy. This would lead to a better banking experience in rural areas and make the country’s digital come true. Furthermore, the government plans to set up a fintech hub at Gandhinagar Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) — popularly known as the GIFT City — to offer a platform for fintech startups to expand globally. With all these initiatives, we can improve the banking experience for our customers.
CA Amit Gupta, MD & Co-Founder, SAG Infotech
We have deeply realized the benefit of the latest provisions for the taxpayer community. One better scheme is for the tax deduction limit which is now hiked to 14% on the employer’s contribution to the NPS account of the state government employees. And the updated return filing provision is much better than the previous with the time bracket of 2 years at maximum to the end of the assessment year. To add a delight, the tax benefits to the startups have been offered redemption of taxes to the 3 consecutive years is now extended to one more year.
Gaurav Kapoor, Director & Co-Founder, Fincorpit Consulting Private limited
Hike to 14% on the employer’s contribution to the NPS account of the central & state government employees is a good step to ease the tax burden of the employees. The time limit extension to 2 years for return filing would alleviate the burden of the assesses and ITOs. However, we were expecting that the budget would enhance the limit of the standard deduction from Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 1,00,000 and WFH employees were also expecting some tax relief especially for them.
Sarbojit Mallick, Founder and CBO, Instahyre
The Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme across 14 sectors, including IT hardware manufacturing, has the potential to generate at least 60 lakh new job opportunities in covering key sectors like pharmaceuticals, medical devices, large-scale electronics manufacturing, food products, solar EV modules, automobiles/auto components, ACC battery, textile products, etc. More emphasis on technologies like deeptech, agritech, EV tech, defence & digital payments will help tech startups. The “Digital Rupee” is a book boost to the blockchain. The Indian startups will be at the forefront and global fintech firms will also be targeting Indian talent on this. More funds have been allocated to the power and manufacturing segments. We will also see that the hiring will be boosted with the increase in technology adoption in the above sectors. The Digital university on the hub and spoke model to provide skill-based education will smoothen the overall recruitment process.
Swapnik Jakkampudi, Co-Founder, Skye Air Mobility
The FM announced a very progressive budget keeping a horizon and outlook of 3-4 years. The budget has covered multiple avenues for drone industry to rise, the focus on promoting Agricultural Drones and NABARD fund to support startups will result in ensuring that the Drone Industry reach a new milestone. The development of 100 new cargo terminals in the next 3 years will also add to the growth of Drones enabled to use for cargo deliveries within the terminals and terminals to delivery locations. The budget has been a very guiding force towards our Hon’ble PM’s vision for “Making India a Global Drone Hub by 2030.
Aravind Sundaram
Guest Author
