Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 1 presented the Union Budget for the financial year 2022-23, which, largely, elicited a positive response from the corporate sector.
Here’s how the corporate leaders reacted to the announcements made by the finance minister.
Chandan Garg, Chairman & MD, Innovana Group:
The extension of ECLGS scheme is a welcome move for MSMEs. The credit and fiscal support of 5 lakh crores will give a huge boost to this sector encouraging new businesses to come to the fore. This announcement will certainly generate more than 10 lac of employment opportunities in a short span of time. However, a slight focus on easing the trade and the taxation policies for MSMEs facilitating more freedom to do business was also expected from this year’s budget announcement.
Siddharth Maurya, Resource Specialist, Fund Management:
The budget session has taken some prudent initiatives for MSMEs and India INC. for start-ups the tax concession period has been extended by one more year, which in my opinion is a very positive move. Likewise, a 15% tax has been decided for the newly incorporated manufacturing unit. The period of incorporation has been increased by one more year to 31-3-2024. This will further boost manufacturing activities.
Mr Sarbendra Sarkar, Founder, Cygnett Hotels and Resorts:
Extension of ECLGS scheme with additional allocation for the hospitality sector is a welcome move. As we all are aware the hospitality sector has been one of the hardest hit sectors because of COVID. This will help the small and mid sized hotels overcome liquidity issues and to return to growth. The big focus on infrastructure development will also help the tourism and hospitality sector. We also welcome the announcement of the National Ropeways Development Programme.
Mr. Virendra Ranawat, Co-Founder, WoodenStreet:
With Union Budget 2022-23, a lot of expectations have been met. Healthcare and infrastructure were the main highlights of the budget 2022 and immense investment has been allocated for the expansion of roadways and logistics networks. Just like it was expected, the youth and startups were given keen importance in the budget as well. The ECLGS credit scheme guarantee cover has been expanded by Rs 50,000 crore, which will provide collateral-free loans to stressed-out MSMEs.
The budget also announced “one station one product” programme will facilitate local supply chains, this will be a huge improvement impact on small farmers and MSMEs. The budget also revealed about 100 PM Shakti Cargo terminals, which will develop in the next three years. Overall, this year’s budget will bring positive change for the MSMEs and other small industries.
Mr. Raghunandan Saraf, Founder & CEO, Saraf Furniture:
Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for achieving the prime goal of ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’ has received excellent response from the domestic MSMEs, who were looking for the support from the government in the tough times.The government believes that these sectors, with the help of the given scheme, have a potential to create more than 60 lakh new jobs and additional production of Rs 30 lakh crore during next five years, supporting the Indian Economy.
To aid the ailing sector, the honorable finance minister has announced an Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) extended up to March 2023 in the Budget.
This scheme guarantees cover extended by Rs 50,000 crore and now total up to Rs 5 lakh crore. MSMEs such as Udyam, e-shram, NCS & Aseem portals will be inter-linked, their scope will be widened.
Mr Bhavik Chinai, Group CEO, BVC Logistics:
The government’s deep focus on tech driven change is admirable.
Gati Shakti network impetus with about 100 cargo terminals & 4 new National Logistics Parks will help boost Industrial growth and Atmanirbhar Bharat. The battery-swapping policy with interoperability is a welcome introduction toward sustainability.
Expansion of SEZ’s advantages to existing infra through new legislation is promising for the G&J sector. Alongside, the Customs National Portal with a promise to facilitate customs clearance digitally will reduce the transaction costs in jewellery exports by over 20%. The reduction in polished diamond import duty is deeply appreciated.
Overall, the budget 2022 is very positive and we look forward to quick execution of the digital initiatives.
Chandan Garg, Chairman & MD, Innovana thinklabs:
In this budget a lot of emphasis is on creating a digital India as every project announced is all about making use of technology. From e-passports to digital currency, India is well on its way to become a nation driven by the most advanced technologies. With the provision for blockchain technologies, we can witness many new sectors coming up and start-ups getting a new direction. The focus on domestic manufacturing will also have a direct impact on the tech industry reducing costs and facilitating smooth running of business. As IT industry will be a major game changer in this financial year, we were expecting direct relaxation on the import duty of technology from this budget.
CA Amit Gupta, MD, SAG Infotech:
First of all, we must take into consideration cryptocurrencies being added by the government into taxable assets which indirectly gives crypto a legible stand in the market. The introduction of a digital rupee with the blockchain is an excellent move also. The 30% tax on digital asset transfer is a bargain however no dedction is projected on the computing while loss cannot be set off on other income. Also, the TDS introduction of 1 per cent is to be seen on transfers. All in all, a great step to make digital currency a well-established form of payment and to strengthen the technology based on it.
Harsh Verma – CEO – Tourventory Innovation Travel Pvt Ltd:
With the expansion and the extension of ECLGS, it will definitely empower our hospitality sector especially in overcoming “easily-convertible-to-cash assets”. Cash-inflow was extremely choked to death with no travel at all forcing small Travel Agents and Tour Operators to eventually shut down. Thank you to our FM for being a rescuer by announcing this monetary extension support.
Mr. Madhusudan Ekambaram, Co-Founder & CEO, KreditBee and Co-Founder, FACE (Fintech Association for Consumer Empowerment):
Union Budget 2022-23 had special emphasis on Financial Inclusion, technology adoption and entrepreneurship in the Union Budget 2022 -23, which is highly appreciable. Initiatives like Desh stack e-portal and interlinking of Udyam, e-shram, NCS and Aseem portals will surely contribute to the Digital Infrastructure and entrepreneurial push. Introduction of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), leveraging blockchain technology will influence the digital transactions and hence its implementation process will be something to pay attention to. Government’s recognition of startups as the drivers of economic growth is heartening. Measures like setting up an expert committee to suggest measures to help attract investment and extension of tax incentives period for startups incorporation by 1 year, will certainly aid in creating a healthy startup ecosystem. Equally encouraging is the Government’s bid to boost digital banking and financial inclusion with initiatives like bringing 100% of 1.5 lakh post offices into the core banking system. In a broader sense, the Finance Ministry has presented a distinctive set of measures in Union Budget 2022-23, with a streamlined focus on rapid, holistic and inclusive economic growth.
Annuj Goel, MD, Goel Ganga Developments:
In the backdrop of dropping Coronavirus cases, Ms Nirmala Sitharaman presented an enabling, positive and futuristic Union Budget 2022-23. The real estate sector has faced severe headwinds in the recent past but is hopeful of a solid recovery with several key budget announcements. With a focus on the construction of over 80 lakh affordable houses by the year 2023, focus on urban development via the concept of mega cities and enhanced focus on Tier 2 and Tier 3 cites will provide the much-needed impetus to the real estate sector.
As steel is the backbone of the construction sector, the budget announcements have extended the budget scrap duty by another year. It is in addition to the scrapping of the anti-dumping duty on stainless steel. Reduction in corporate tax for co-operative societies from 18 percent at present to 15 percent will reduce burden on the ancillary support industries related to construction and real estate sector. Overall, this is a progressive, supportive, and budget with increased focus on infrastructure development.
Ms. Manju Yagnik, Vice Chairperson, Nahar Group and Sr. Vice President, NAREDCO – Maharashtra:
The Union Budget 2022 presented by FM Shrimati Nirmala Sitharaman earlier on Tuesday morning was a growth-oriented one. The FM majorly focussed on India’s push for infrastructure project wheeling out the development plan for Railways, roads, airports, ports, mass transport, waterways and logistics. Under the master plan, the government plans to roll out big infrastructure projects including – the expansion of highways by 25,000 kilometres spread throughout the country, allocating Rs 60,000 crore to the Nal Se Jal scheme, the commencement of five river link projects across many states.
The push towards the infrastructure industry is optimistically anticipated to largely benefit the real estate sector as well. These projects will definitely be beneficial for the real estate sector with regards to better connectivity, enhanced productivity, property as well as rental price appreciation and increased employment rates. With the allocation of an additional Rs 48,000 crore to the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and the identification of 80 lakh households for the affordable housing scheme, the consumer could definitely spark a sharp boost in residential demand.
Rohit Gera, MD, Gera Developments:
The PMAY scheme has helped lakhs of Indians achieve their home aspiration dreams over the last few years. The extension of the scheme with 48,000 crores being allocated this year will continue to help the EWS and LIG sections of society get their own homes.
Mr. Nitin Gupta, President- Sales, Marketing, and CRM (Head) at Mantra Properties and Developers:
We welcome the Union budget which is full of optimism with the growth and development agenda. It’s promising and almost all of the industry-specific requirements have been addressed in this budget. The main focus was on the upcoming sunrise industries. Along with that a sum of Rs. 48000 Crore has been allocated for affordable housing, which is certainly for the betterment of the real estate industry.
On the other hand, a fiscal deficit of 6.4 percent is absolutely the right figure at present, and the plus point with that is the capital expenditure which has seemingly gone up. On a whole, it’s a very positive move keeping in mind the real estate sector growth. Battery swapping policy has been introduced keeping in mind the electronic energy vehicle system which is again a visionary step towards clean and sustainable energy development policies. Also for the first time, it has been announced in the budget to introduce digital currency by the Reserve Bank of India, which is a revolutionary idea altogether. Overall, the 2022 Government budget is visionary, sustainable have almost everything with a growth perspective for various sectors
Akash Sinha, CEO & Co-Founder, Cashfree Payments:
Budget 2022 is a reflection of consumers’ trust in digital-first approach to banking & finance. Economic Survey 2022 highlighted that UPI is currently the single most extensive retail payment system by volume, reiterating its wide acceptance. This has contributed immensely towards driving digital transformation in the country. Additionally, the idea of setting up digital banking units in multiple districts will help in the homogenisation of the financial services in rural and semi-urban geographies. The launch of digital currency by RBI is both encouraging and critical in empowering the digital native youth to take a transformational leap from the conventional currency tools. We have witnessed an increasing use of blockchain technology to simplify and secure the consumer’s journey, and this push was required to encourage innovation in this domain. Fintechs and startups must help stakeholders establish connections with remote locations and provide value-added services to the underserved and unbanked segments.
Moreover, the 5G spectrum technology and the scheme for the penetration of fibre optics across villages will boost the growth of rural and gig economies. We also compliment the Hon’ble Finance Minister for the support extended to the startup ecosystem via reforms in taxation, incentives, investments and other benefits that will promote Make in India and Digital India initiatives. We feel that the announcements made during the budget session display the growing importance of startups and their ability to exhibit agility and purpose alike.
Pawan Goyal, Director JRG Automotive Industries India Pvt. Ltd.:
The government’s proposal to introduce a battery swapping policy with interoperability standards for electric vehicles (EVs) will benefit the entire ecosystem of the EV business, particularly the electric two-wheeler and three-wheeler segments. The regulation will hasten the development of battery swapping stations, where EV owners may recharge their vehicles by exchanging out depleted batteries for fully charged ones. It will ease range anxiety and charging time, which are two of the most common concerns among potential electric vehicle purchasers.
Mr. Pritam Chivukula, Co-Founder & Director, Tridhaatu Realty and Treasurer, CREDAI MCHI:
The Government has once again laid an emphasis on infrastructure in the Union budget announced today. Infra spending in PPP mode seems to be the thrust of the Union Budget 2022. The Budget made several announcements to spur the growth of the infrastructure sector in the country that includes the announcement of 25,000 km of new highways, Gati Shakti Masterplan for expressways, 100 new cargo terminals for multi-nodal logistics, and development of urban metro systems. This will propel the growth of the real estate sector and will also help drive demand for the warehousing and logistics sector across the country. The Government also extended the ECLGS up to March 2023. This will go a long way in supporting the MSME sector and revive industrial activity.
The good news for the real estate sector has been the allocation of Rs. 48000 crore for PMAY along with 80 lakh houses expected to be completed by 2023 across the country. This has yet again highlighted the Government’s vision of Housing for All. The move will not only boost the affordable housing segment but will also encourage a lot of homebuyers to buy their dream homes.
Through Ease of Doing Business 2.0, the Government continues to encourage digitization and fin-tech innovation. The focus on creation of digital infra, single portal for ease-of-doing business and digital skilling will strengthen the start-up ecosystem.
Overall, a progressive budget with the Government’s emphasis on job creation, building a robust infrastructure and revitalizing the economy.
Mr. Jitesh Lalwani, President, HomeSync Real Estate Advisory:
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented a growth-oriented Budget by hosting several measures to encourage leading sectors of the economy. Looking at the medium and long-term goal for the overall economy, it seems a desirable budget where the efforts will be made to increase private capital in the infrastructure sector. The announcement of 25000 kms of new highways along with Gati Shakti Masterplan for Expressways will pull forward the economy and will lead to more jobs and opportunities for the youth. In a boost to affordable housing, FM announced Rs 48,000 crore towards the Affordable Housing Scheme (PMAY) and will build 80 lakh homes for identified eligible beneficiaries, and identify eligible beneficiaries for 60,000 houses under PMAY in rural and urban areas that will directly support the Government’s mission of Housing For All. Although, the real estate sector was further eyeing sops such as relaxation in GST on under-construction properties, a reduction of GST on key raw materials, a higher interest exemption for homebuyers and above all, the long-awaited demand of granting ‘infra’ status to the sector; there were a few big announcements which will augur growth across the major sectors of the country.
Ms. Shraddha Kedia-Agarwal, Director, Transcon Developers:
As anticipated, in today’s Budget 2022, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman addressed the nation with the overall focus on national infrastructure development that will act as a catalyst to growth. It was a neutral budget where FM talked about rolling out the next phase of ease of doing business and ease of living. Besides, there were various implementations of reforms to boost digitization that might grab some attention from the NRIs to invest in the housing sector from around the globe. However, the major announcements on the economic front will surely benefit the overall GDP of the country in the near future.
Mr. Bhushan Nemlekar – Director, Sumit Woods Limited:
The real estate sector had high hopes from the Budget 2022. Although the focus of the Union Budget 2022 was on overall economic development, the only thing to cheer for the real estate industry was the budget allocation of Rs 48,000 crore for the PM Awas Yojna. In urban and rural areas, 80 lakh houses will be constructed for identified beneficiaries for affordable housing under the PM Awas Yojana and 60,000 houses will be identified as beneficiaries. Also the Government has given a lot of importance on urban planning by showing it’s desire to set up a high-level committee for urban planners and economists. This will lay a foundation for Tier 2 & Tier 3 cities to transform into centres of economic growth. It is undoubtedly a progressive budget especially with its emphasis on building infrastructure for the country.
Mr. Harish Sharma, Founder and CEO – PLINTHSTONE REMA:
FM’s decision of allocating Rs 48,000 cr for affordable housing under PMAY for rural and urban categories is a brilliant move by FM. A large portion of the Indian population (EWS & LIG) will be benefitted by this move. Food, clothing and shelter being the necessity of every individual, having a roof under head of every Indian citizen should be a priority to contribute to the development of the nation. Since, additional 80 lac houses will be constructed in the upcoming FY, we can see the forecast of India being one step ahead in becoming a “developed country.
Mr. Shachindra Nath, Executive Chairman and Managing Director, U GRO Capital:
Hon’ble Finance Minister today announced an encouraging set of measures, targeted towards rapid growth of MSME sector and the economy. The extension of ECLGS scheme by Rs. 50,000 upto March 2023, with a special focus on ailing hospitality sector is crucial to facilitate its faster recovery. The credit support has also been provided in the form of Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) revamp with credit of Rs 2 lakh crore for micro and small enterprises. These initiatives will help financial institutions to mitigate risk and stimulate credit outreach to MSMEs. The Government also announced inter-linking of Udyam, e-SHRAM, NCS & ASEEM portals and providing services such as credit facilitation and entrepreneurial opportunities. This will certainly aid in the MSME sector’s formalization and growth. The Government has time and again shown distinctive support to the country’s MSME sector and encouraged its contribution to the Atmanirbhar Bharat imperative. The outlay of Rs 6,000 crore for programmes to accelerate MSME performance will surely assist in boosting the sector’s resilience and operational efficiency. Overall, the measures announced in Union Budget 2022-23 will unlock rapid recovery and holistic growth of the MSME sector.
Mr. Sandeep Runwal – President, NAREDCO Maharashtra and Managing Director, Runwal Group:
For the first timethe Finance Minister has sought to transform the real estate sector by bringing in transparency and efficiency in the business. This will help to reduce the cost of transaction and will ultimately benefit the homebuyers.
The Government’s plan to launch ‘Ease of Doing Business 2.0′ is a step in the right direction and it’s continuous efforts to promote the same along with digitization will help the economy and the real estate sector business going forward. Single Window clearance mechanism too will go a long way in improving ease of doing business in India. This should include more dynamic aspects and make India a more investment friendly destination.
In 2022-23, 80 lakh households will be identified for the affordable housing scheme and Rs. 48,000 crore allocated for PM Awas Yojana. This together will boost the affordable housing segment and help to achieve the Prime Minister’s vision of Housing for All. Also, the 60,000 houses to be identified as beneficiaries for PMAY in rural & urban areas will ensure that more and more homebuyers get to avail this benefit.
As anticipated, it’s a very futuristic budget focusing on economic recovery benefitting from public investment and capital spending.
Mr. Kaushal Agarwal, Chairman, The Guardians Real Estate Advisory:
The budget’s resolute focus on infrastructure will certainly aid the real estate sector growth trajectory. The impetus given to road infrastructure through the new 25,000 km National Highway network will offer new momentum for the sector by opening a new market in tier-2 and tier-3 cities. The allocation of INR 48,000 crore for PMAY Urban and Rural will push the affordable housing segment.
The move to appoint a high-level panel for urban planning and designating the five existing academic institutions as the Centre for Excellence for urban planning with endowment fund of Rs 250 crore will prove pivotal for the real estate sector as both the emerging urban landscape and decaying city infrastructure need a complete overhaul. The emphasis on promoting the use of public transport in urban areas is futuristic, considering the traffic and pollution scenario in all metro cities.
Bringing 1.5 lakh post offices under the core banking system will enable financial inclusion and provide access to accounts through net banking, mobile banking, ATMs to the marginalized section. This will prove significant for farmers and senior citizens in rural areas to invest by enabling interoperability and financial inclusion. Eliminating 75,000 compliances and repealing 1,486 union laws for facilitating ease of doing business environment is a great step to promote young entrepreneurs and start-up ecosystem. In a nutshell, the budget is progressive.
However, the budget missed the opportunity to accord the long pending industry status to the Real Estate sector as a whole; currently the same has been accorded only to affordable housing. This long-pending demand would have helped developers raise funds at lower costs.
Kavitha Subramanian, Co-Founder, Upstox:
The Hon’ble Finance Minister has presented a digital-first Budget that focuses on quick, holistic, and inclusive economic growth. The focus on start-ups and fintech in this year’s Budget is a fantastic step that will help these sectors grow further.
The introduction of 5G and the spread of optical fiber to villages would provide a boost to the Fintech industry. It encourages digital investment platforms like ours to expand their services, resulting in an increase in retail activity in Tier 2-Tier 3 cities and towns. The Central Bank Digital Money (CBDC) will help to enhance the digital economy by making currency management more efficient and less expensive. The capping of surcharge at 15% on Long-Term Capital Gains (LTCG) tax for all listed and unlisted corporations responds to a long-standing demand for new-age businesses.
Amit Relan, Co-Producer, Woot Factor Events:
The budget is focused towards wealth creation in the long term, as well as adapting technology in forums that weren’t identified or are newly introduced even at rural levels. The newly announced emphasis on entrepreneurship and digital skilling will help us proliferate our nexus to make operations more connected and hassle-free. It will also lead to job employment opportunities and will create ‘work-ready’ taskforce for speedy development. It will eliminate labour costs in labour intensive sectors and will drastically bring down logistic costs.
The RAMP programme can revitalize the MSME sector although we are not sure if 6,000 crore can suffice the ecosystem whole-meal. This is the encouraging story that emerges but we would have expected the entertainment and events industry to get some breathing room from the Govt which is lacking in this budget. While the Union Budget 2022 has shown some degree of consideration towards the MSMEs, it has missed emphasis on immediate relief measures to the sectors that were decelerated because of the lockdown.
Having said that, we believe that opportunities with this magnitude of investments in a developing India definitely has the potential to reorient future endeavours to our businesses and the increased focus on digitalization and broadband connectivity has the power to open us to an enormous untapped audience base.
Dr Prathap C. Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals:
This year the budget has truly put the spotlight n key issues facing the nation as it emerges from two years of the pandemic. The Union Budget 2022 moves to address the pressing needs with announcements that will act as an emollient not just for the economy but also the people. The budget with its digital push in education and skilling for all shows that it has its heart in the right place.
During the pandemic, we saw an immense contribution of start-ups to innovation in healthcare and the extension of the tax benefits for another year should encourage more start-ups in the healthtech space to come up and invest in R&D especially in the field of AI powered smart wearables and predictive healthcare. This will in turn be invaluable in strengthening our fight against non-communicable diseases, which can otherwise derail the economic recovery by impacting our productive demographic.
The budget keeps us on track on enabling universal health accessibility with the proposed National Digital Health Ecosystem. With digital registries of health providers and health facilities, unique health identity for each individual, this will help in providing universal access to health facilities. Along with the national tele-mental health program, this shows the enhanced focus on health. At Apollo Hospitals, we look forward to contributing to the success of these path-breaking initiatives along with rest of the private sector healthcare.
Mr Nandan Kundetkar, CSO (Chief Scientific Officer) of Femto Green Hydrogen Ltd.:
The Government’s impetus to the private sector to create sustainable and innovative business models for battery and energy as a service, will create enormous innovative opportunities in the Electric Vehicles ecosystem. Particularly, on the energy front, more options such as green hydrogen and EV sector will come into vogue, which will improve efficiencies and entail more investments into the sector. Currently, the green hydrogen production is only five percent worldwide and the same should increase gradually.
In the EV sector, more options such as quick charging, charging stations for the home segment, decarbonised public charging booths and its application in the EV segment would boost the prospective investment into the sector. The focus should be more on reducing the distributed road-carbon-emission caused by the normal fossil fuel-based vehicles. But in the pursuit, the EV sector should not become a satellite centre for carbon emission. But, on a positive note, introduction of the new battery swapping policy will increase the use of electric vehicles and achieve broader decarbonisation goals. It is a big step for EV adoption in line with India’s net zero emission goals by 2070.
Further, energy transition initiatives and focus on reducing carbon footprint by enhanced funding will create space for technologies like green hydrogen, as it is directly related to climate change actions. Issuance of green bonds to bring investment into the sector speaks about the Government’s resolve towards developing a low carbon strategy. It also added the inclusion of energy storage in the Harmonised List of Infrastructure will facilitate quick and cheaper finance to electric vehicle (EV) battery makers.
Prithipal Singh – Director & Head Business Development, Aequitas Investment Consultancy Private Limited:
The budget is forward looking and one that is focused on propelling the Indian economy forward post COVID . With its focus on Capex , an increase of 37% over last year and infrastructure development ( PLI for Solar and defence manufacturing added to the earlier 13 sectors) its addressing the twin needs of the Indian economy that of Generation of employment across sectors and debottlenecking through creation of better networks – whether physical or digital.
The Govt has also kept a keen eye on the Fiscal deficit which has been budgeted at 6.4% , down from 6.9% this year – this too is in line with the enhanced Fiscal deficit limits that the house passed last year due to COVID. The higher number will surely help revive the economy.
Focus on PM AWAS yojana helping generate employment as also creating housing for the lower end of the economic strata.
Mr Akhil Gupta – Head of Technology/CTO, Faballey:
The amount of focus technology has received in this budget is truly a wonderful and welcome step towards a great future. The introduction of the digital Rupee based on blockchain will give a tremendous boost to the whole cryptocurrency and blockchain ecosystem by providing legitimacy and formal acceptance. Blockchain, which can be used to solve innumerable problems, will now be explored with a lot more trust by many Indians who were still hesitant in doing this. Considering that this domain is still very new, providing Indian industries and startups with this kind of encouragement would really help India in becoming a world leader in new-age tech. The transition from Potli to Tablet in the hands of the financial minister is a sure sign of great future in the digital space.
James Forbes-May, VP Sales APAC at Barracuda Networks:
The budget rolled out this year is a significant step towards 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.
JSK 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 channelisation 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 rationalised 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 Ken Betwa river linking project worth Rs 44,605 crore alongwith 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.
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 further impetus. This will lead to a growth in collaborations and partnerships between banks and fintechs 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.
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 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.
Karan Khairajani, Head of Studio at CrazyLabs India
We welcome the announcements by the Hon’ble FM pertaining to 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) taskforce. 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 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 fulfil international market demands.
