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:
Sanjiv Chadha, Managing Director & CEO, Bank of Baroda
The Union Budget is an investment-oriented one that keeps fiscal prudence in mind. Hence, while the size of the Budget has increased significantly with the focus on Capex, the deficit has been reined in at 6.4% and hence indicates a graduated descent on the FRBM path. However, this deficit will still mean high borrowing comparable to that of last year. We may expect interest rates to be elevated and can look forward to the RBI doing more regular fine-tuning to balance liquidity with growing demand. There is a push on several sectors such as solar energy, EVs, housing, telecom, defence, hospitality etc. This will help to provide a push to the private sector too.
The push to digitisation especially in banking is welcome and setting up 75 units in various districts is the right step. Further, the extension of the ECLGS for another year with an enhanced limit will be good for the banking sector. We also see the issue of green sovereign bonds as an innovative measure that will provide a boost to this category of the debt market. We can see this leading down the road to further such issuances in the corporate bond market too
Ketan Doshi, Managing Director, PayPoint India
While digital banking and fintech innovations have grown rapidly in the recent past, the Government is continuously encouraging this segment to ensure that the benefits of digital banking remotest corner of the country.
Presenting the budget for the financial year 2022-23, the finance minister mentioned that the Government’s aim for this year would be to expand the scope of digital banking further and take it to every citizen and make it more inclusive. Taking forward this agenda, 75 digital banking units are expected to be launched in 75 districts to incentivize digital payments adoption and bolster the payments infrastructure further. The thrust on the digital ecosystem and the technology adoption in rural areas would immensely benefit from the move.
Further enabling financial inclusion is the move to connect 150,000 post offices in India to the core banking system, allowing people, especially in rural areas, to access their accounts online and transfer money within post office accounts and other banks.
Additionally, the launch of Digital Rupee is a move that comes at a suitable time. It would create a seamless and cost-effective payment system and eliminate the spread and use of unregulated digital currencies. We expect the virtual currency to positively stimulate the economy and help promote further innovations in the digital and blockchain technology ecosystem.
Satpal Singh, CEO, Numeric
The decision by the government to include Data centres and energy storage systems in the harmonised list of infrastructure sectors is a welcome move. This would also spur the UPS industry towards further growth.
Major allocations pertaining to the growth of renewable energy, energy efficiency, electric mobility, energy savings and efficiency in commercial buildings, grid-connected energy storage among others are indicative of the commitment to sustainability.
The new Vibrant Villages Programme is a welcome move that is expected to trigger development in the villages of the country infrastructure.
Rahul Raj, Founder & CEO FloBiz
We wholeheartedly welcome the Union Budget 2022-23. It is gratifying to see a sustained push towards digitisation & promoting the Aatmanirbhar Bharat vision. We believe the measures & initiatives announced for the upliftment of MSMEs will significantly help in boosting the economic activity impacted by the pandemic.
The decision to revamp the Credit Guarantee Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) scheme & infuse additional credit of Rs 2 lakh crore will also assist in business continuity, exploring new opportunities in manufacturing, and creating more employment avenues. In addition, the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) extension up to March 2023 is a great push for the MSMEs, especially for enterprises that are not yet back to the pre-pandemic levels of business scale & are slowly moving towards their recovery.
This Union Budget has also recognised startups as key drivers of growth and innovation in the country. The extension on the period of incorporation and providing tax incentives will provide impetus and inspire entrepreneurs to continue driving innovation to put the Indian economy strongly on a clear growth trajectory.
Vipul Singh, Founder & CEO, Aarav Unmanned Systems (AUS)
The Union Budget presented by the Hon’ble Finance Minister ensures supercharged growth for the drone industry in India in the years to come. The budget duly recognizes the key role drone technology is playing in solving some really tough to solve problems for sectors like land records, infrastructure, mining, disaster management, and agriculture. Furthermore, the announcement of Drone Rules 2021, the PLI scheme for the drone industry, and subsidies for drones to be used for agriculture applications have provided a fillip to the sector. In Budget 2022, the announcement of the ‘Drone Shakti’ program will continue to strengthen the sector further making it at least a $5B market in India available primarily for domestic companies. This will enable further innovation in the sector and fuel growth with further adoption of drone tech and ‘drone-as-a-service’. The opportunities, emphasis, and support being provided to this emerging sector will help drone start-ups extend their portfolio across agriculture, digitization of land records, railways, mining, renewable energy, telecom, etc., and will lead to a paradigm shift for a new Digital India.
