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:
Dr. Gayatri Kamineni, COO, Kamineni Hospitals, Hyderabad
The Union Budget is a progressive one that holds the potential to tackle the economic challenges faced by the country in the post-COVID period. It is heartening to see Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s focus on sectors like Health, including Digital Health Ecosystem and Mental Health and Wellbeing.
The FM’s announcement of the National Digital Health Ecosystem is laudable. The open platform that will consist of digital registries of health providers, health facilities, unique health identity and universal access to health facilities, will go a long way in providing quality and on-demand healthcare to the country’s people.
Realising the tremendous pressure piled on the minds of the people of India due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the FM’s announcement of the National Tele Mental Health programme couldn’t have come at a more opportune time.
We welcome the Union Budget for the financial year 2022-23 and look forward to working with the government and all stakeholders to bring quality healthcare to the people of India.
Manish Rathi, co-founder and CEO, IntrCity
We would like to congratulate the FM on delivering the Budget 22-23. We welcome the government’s commitment to expanding the national highway network by 25,000 kilometres this fiscal year.
The Finance Minister needs to be complimented for her vision to usher in 9.2 per cent economic growth. This is very much possible in view of the allocation of 20,000 crores to the National Highway System. This shows the government’s intention to revive and transform the beleaguered travel and transport industry.
We endorse the GOI’s aim to improve road connectivity by redesigning the roads in hilly areas under the Parvat Mala initiative, which will improve connectivity for commuters.
The government seems inclined to strengthen and support public transport infrastructure in urban areas and allocate funds through low-interest loans to small travel operators; this is a good sign. These would help us expand our SmartBus fleet’s presence deep inside India’s heart and provide comfortable, convenient, and safe mobility solutions in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
Rajit Mehta, MD and CEO, Antara Senior Care and MD, Max India
The interests of the seniors have often taken a back seat under government allocation, but unlike past years, there has been an increased focus from the government on the changing needs of seniors this year. Initiatives such as the national Tele Mental Health Programme, National Digital Health Ecosystem, and an increase in NPS tax exemption of 14% from the existing 10% for State Govt. employees give a strong signal that the government is proactively looking at measures to create a conducive ecosystem for seniors. We welcome these steps towards an emphasis on geriatric health and the overall lifestyle for seniors.
Sunil Dahiya, Executive VP, Wadhwani Opportunity at Wadhwani Foundation
Productivity enhancement and skilling are two peas in a pod. The Government’s decision to focus on skilling, reskilling, and upskilling, with an emphasis on online training and monitoring through API based skill credentials will ensure that the talent pool in India stands on par with the current industry trends. This will most certainly raise the bar for Indian talent across the world, hence reducing unemployment and helping achieve the goal of reaching 60 lakh jobs in the next 5 years. It is also thrilling to know that India will now have a Digital University. Through this, the entrepreneurial education and skill development initiatives by India will be globally identified and will help in attracting investment and talent acquisition opportunities.
Rohan Khatau, Director, CCI Projects Pvt. Ltd. – Rivali Park
The Union Budget for the fiscal year 2022 is quite robust and centred around the nation’s progress, with a focus on increasing economic efficiency and infrastructure growth. PM Awas Yojana’s new development will augment buying of affordable housing across India, strengthening the real estate sector.
The GatiShakti master plan will lead to the transformation of key infrastructure – roads, railways, airports, ports, mass transport, waterways and logistics. Identification of 80 lakh households for the affordable housing scheme and infrastructural boost through a focus on “digital and technology” will lead to economic and sectoral advancement and amplify the standard of life exceptionally in coming years.
BC Bhartia, National President, Confederation of all India Traders
The Union Budget is a comprehensive and progressive economic document that ensures the development of each and every sector in a structured way and provides ease of doing business to traders, ensuring robust growth in the health sector and services and above all becomes an effective document. Several new announcements including the extension of the ECGL scheme with 5 lac crore rupees, linkage of PLI scheme to various sectors will not only benefit the small manufacturing units but will also leverage the trading sector since the manufacturing goods and consumable income will come to the economy and therefore will meet the current challenges of financial liquidity in the trading sector.
In totality, the Government has come out with the best possible budget under the backdrop of the COVID pandemic. We congratulate Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sithraman for providing the Country with a definite roadmap for robust and well-defined growth of India in future.
Rishabh Khanna, Cognitive Scientist, Co-founder, Suraasa
Accessibility to quality learning is a huge challenge for the country, especially in the digital mode of delivery. I think that the Digital University and ‘One Class One TV Channel’ are very thought-through ideas to ensure that no children are left behind due to language, resources, or digital barriers. Skilling and Upskilling have been the talk of the EdTech town for the longest time (for all the right reasons) and it’s great to see the government working towards that too.
The FM also talked about teachers being trained to be able to deliver quality learning outcomes to students. I think that is one of the most important components of the education system since a trained teacher has the potential to transform the lives of many children and create impact at scale. I am excited to witness the implementation of proposed initiatives and how they impact education across the country
Prashant Solomon, MD, Chintels India & Hon. Treasurer, CREDAI NCR
The governments focus on increased urbanisation, planning and governance along with comprehensive sector development is a step in the right direction. Affordable housing also gets a major boost with housing projects being allotted Rs 48,000 Cr for FY23 and 80 lakh homes under PMAY. The budget’s impetus for creating a sustainable urban development policy is also commendable. The Long-Term Capital Gain capping at 15% across assets classes is a welcome move for property buyers.
Sahil Chopra, Founder & CEO- iCubesWire
While the general trend of the union budget 2022 has its emphasis on ease of doing business, I strongly believe, data and digital occupied the centrepiece of the budget. The plans to focus and promote the fintech and digital economy are a very strong positive move. New-age technologies, keeping data and digital at the heart of it will allow the tech enablers to transform multiple industries. For MSMEs, the government has plans to outlay Rs 2 trillion which is again a welcoming move that will help in enhancing startups as well as entrepreneurial opportunities for all. Besides, extension on tax exemption to startups and promotion of startups to facilitate ‘Drone Shakti’ through varied applications and drones as a service is also encouraging. The ambitious optical fibre to the villages under PPP in 2022-23 shall get the next 100M in the Digital Universe soon. To sum up, it’s a positive budget for the digital sector which has always vouched for a strong digital infrastructure in the country.
