Budget 2023: What tech industry said on new announcements

How tech industry experts and startups responded to the FM’s speech today

Anil G Verma, Executive Director & CEO, Godrej & Boyce

“This is a balanced and inclusive budget which will provide further impetus to growth. The renewed thrust on investment in infrastructure will drive the productivity of our economy and generate employment. Our competitiveness in the global economy will also be improved through the thrust on research in fields like 5G services, AI and agriculture. Together with the initiatives to reduce the compliance burden and de-criminalise several regulatory provisions, it will improve the ease of doing business in India and attract fresh investments.

Measures to improve rural incomes and reduce personal income tax rates will deliver more disposable income in the hands of people, driving consumption. This will likely generate a virtuous cycle of fresh investments leading to higher employment, incomes and productivity, further spurring consumption. The Green growth focus will orient the entire economy towards adopting sustainable practices in all areas and put us in a good position to play our role in the efforts to improve the future of our planet. The key to realization of the planned outcomes is effective implementation.”

Arusha Mittal COO and Co-founder, Dapps and UniFarm

“We are excited to see a special focus on start-ups in the Union Budget 2023-24. The creation of an agriculture accelerator fund is a bold move towards driving innovation and creating more jobs for the youth of our country. The start-up space will get a big boost from the extension of the tax holiday as it is expected to increase the cash flow which is critical for the growth of any start-up.

Sanjeev Chandak, Co-founder & CEO, ftcash

“The Budget laid much-needed importance on MSME sector which is still recovering from the pandemic-induced challenges. The infusion of INR 9,000 crore corpus for revamped credit guarantee scheme significantly addresses the credit gap and is aimed at enhancing credit access thereby paving the way to encourage entrepreneurship in the country. This apart, this year’s budget also laid focus on another important aspect i.e., the introduction of National Data Governance Policy which will ease the KYC process and reduce privacy breaches. It will also enhance the use, access and quality of data and improve the Government’s data collection and management while enabling inclusive development. This is still at a very nascent stage and will require consistent efforts to truly create a digital economy.”

Niranjan Nayak, MD, Delta Electronics India

“We are firmly aligned with the Government’s vision of ‘Amrit Kaal’ which includes a technology-driven, knowledge-based sustainable economy. For the vision of 2070 Net-Zero CO2 Emission, investment in the energy transition will play a crucial role. We at Delta have already implemented many programs for reducing carbon emissions and signed up for many sustainable initiatives like RE100, net zero, green products etc. for a greener tomorrow. Also, all our products offerings are energy-efficient and green solutions that aid in achieving the overall nation’s carbon footprint reduction targets ranging from power quality improvement products to green EV charging solutions etc.

The Budget 2023 further focus on sectors that include setting up labs for developing applications using 5G services, railways and enhanced focus on the smart city infrastructure to keep the economy on a steady growth, these are progressive measures and we feel that they will play a critical role for us to become key contributors in these areas and further development. The budget has particularly emphasized on efficiency and sustainability as the key driving forces in the coming years and let all key stakeholders identify and utilise these opportunities to drive the robust growth agenda of the country.