The Union Budget 2022-23 tabled in the Parliament by the Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman seeks to complement macro-economic level growth with a focus on micro-economic level all-inclusive welfare. Team Taazakhabar News reached out to people across the country to know their views about the budget. Here’s what a cross-section of people from the salaried and business class had to say:
CP Gurnani, MD & CEO, Tech Mahindra
The budget truly echoes India’s vision towards inclusive development and building a truly ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ by providing a blueprint for the economy over ‘Amrit Kal’ from India at 75 to India at 100. FM’s key announcements on blockchain and setting up e-passports with futuristic technologies are a step in the right direction to help India emerge as a global technology leader. The focus on innovation and R&D (Research and Development) with an emphasis on strengthening talent capacity through STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) universities and skilling courses in IIT’s will enable India to become a global hub for skilled talent. Overall, Budget 2022 promises to provide the much-needed impetus to sustain India’s economic and digital growth.
Vikram Agarwal, Managing Director, Cornitos
The Union Budget 2022-23 is a progressive budget, our Government is concentrating on infrastructure, employment generation, and future developments. This appears to be a growth-oriented budget as efforts are being made to reduce compliance burdens and improve ease of doing business. The Budget has given an extension of the ECLGS Scheme which would provide much-needed help to the MSME sector especially the hospitality and related food processing segments. The past few years have been tumultuous for the hospitality segment and I am hopeful that this initiative gives the industry a much-needed boost.
Sai Srinivas, Co-Founder and CEO, Mobile Premier League (MPL)
It is very encouraging to see that the Union Budget has taken into consideration some of the long-pending suggestions for the Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics (AVGC) sector while noting the strong potential this industry holds for employment generation as well as taking ‘Made in India’ game titles global.
We welcome the Hon’ble Finance Minister’s announcement to set up an AVGC Promotion Task Force to provide a much-needed boost to the sector. This announcement highlights the need to build capacity to serve both domestic and global markets and is a strong indicator of the impetus that the government is willing to provide for its growth. It is also heartening to see the government’s commitment to work with the industry, allowing for a balanced approach that accommodates the needs of all stakeholders and strengthens the ecosystem holistically. A progressive tax regime, predictable regulatory framework and supportive funding policies will allow the industry to compete on the world stage and fulfil the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision for the Indian digital gaming sector to be a global powerhouse. Moreover, it will also help develop a workforce of young and employable AVGC professionals to usher in the next tech revolution from within India.
The Budget rightly mentions that promoting the digital economy and sunrise sectors will be a priority in the next 25 years (75 to 100 years of India’s Independence)—the Amrit Kaal of India. With a renewed focus on the AVGC sector, blended financing for deep tech and IT, hardware and electronics manufacturing combined with the deployment of 5G and affordable internet in underserved areas, it is clear that the government is committed to taking the Indian startup ecosystem to the next level.
We are hopeful that with the positive support of the government, the coming years will see online gaming, VFX and esports startups leading the charge in the global economy. By developing deep tech intellectual property and exporting services, they can help cement India’s position as a world leader in the sector.
Agendra Kumar, Managing Director, Esri India
Union Budget 2022 has announced the PM Gati Shakti program as one of the priority areas of the government. Seven engines of the PM Gati Shakti initiative are roads, railways, airports, ports, mass transport, waterways and logistics infra. As the Indian economy moves towards strengthening these initiatives, geospatial technology will gain more prominence in the process. As shared by the Hon’ble Finance Minister, the Gati Shakti program would involve huge investments in the construction of about 25,000 km highways, multimodal transport, and modernization of land records.
These are welcome steps, and GIS and other geospatial technologies will facilitate the efficient implementation of these schemes. With the launch of Jal Jeevan Mission (Urban), the government is aiming at a universal water supply in all 4,378 Urban Local Bodies with 2.86 crores household tap connections, as well as liquid waste management in 500 AMRUT cities. GIS-based water distribution network planning, execution and operations will go a long way in bringing these plans to fruition more quickly and efficiently.
Gurpreet Singh, Co-Founder & CRO, Awign
Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, has pushed the engine of digitization forward with a focus on addressing the frothing issue of Employment and Skill Development through this budget presentation.
With the digital ecosystem expanding into more sectors, the government is focusing on skilling, reskilling, and upskilling Indian citizens through online training, which will be the source of their livelihood. This initiative will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the gig economy, as digital integration will aid in further crossing the borders between urban and rural geographies.
These efforts to formalise growth into an opportunity are progressing, thanks to its ongoing support in the form of increased budget allocation for skill development and job creation. We at Awign believe that with this boost for skill development, businesses will be more focused on investing in gigification, allowing them to have a stronger presence in Tier-II and Tier-III markets.
Sonam Srivastava, Founder, Wright Research
This is a Capex boosting budget which is prudent in other expenditures as the FM looks to contain the fiscal spending while enhancing growth. As expected in the election year, there is an increased focus on welfare schemes and agriculture. However, for India to keep up cyclical recovery, the government needs to focus on infrastructure. The FM has increased the Capex investment target by 20% to 7.5 lac crore and announced critical investments and policies for infrastructure development via railways, metro systems, highways primarily through the PM Gati Shakti initiative. Railway and Logistics linked stocks, Capital Goods, Cement, and Real Estate will gain with this.
FM has focused on Fintech instead of Banking, Electric Vehicles instead of Autos, and Edtech instead of Education which has brought back focus to the new-age innovative sectors. Moreover, FM has kept an increasing focus on digitization, leading to gain for the platform companies and fintechs. FM has also given some relief to the pandemic hit hospitality sector. The budget has tried to contain crypto investments by increasing taxation.
The budget also announced healthcare, education, banking, and urban & rural development policies to decrease compliance burden through digitization and increase education and skilling.
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.
Vijay Kumar Mikkilineni, Head of Marketing, TCL India
“We welcome the Finance Minister’s increased focus on the consumer electronics industry and formation technology, which will definitely benefit all worldwide companies, including ours. The 2022 Union Budget allocated 1.97 lakh crore ($26 billion) for PLI projects, notably electronic components, which are among the 13 vital sectors that would undoubtedly help our economy expand.
Furthermore, reduced customs taxes will encourage electronics manufacture, which will benefit the electronics industry.
Vikas Bhasin, MD, SAYA Homes
The Union Budget 2022-23 is progressive, providing a broad-spectrum boost to the economy, particularly with its emphasis on improving the country’s infrastructure. The government has increased the Capex target by 35.4 per cent, from INR 5.54 lakh crore to INR 7.50 lakh crore, potentially boosting overall spending for economic growth. The budget also emphasises the importance of appropriate urban planning, while simultaneously providing some assistance to states and keeping the budgetary deficit in check. Another significant plus is that the government’s goal of creating 6 million new jobs over the next five years will allow residential real estate to expand across the country. In a post-covid era, it’s a good budget since it hasn’t altered the tax system, leaving individual discretionary incomes unaffected and the government has continued on its stated path to job creation. However, a few pressing issues in the real estate sector remain unaddressed such as granting the sector industrial status and tax breaks on home loans to enhance buyer confidence.
