The Union Budget turns out to be an excellent budget but not a transformational budget as was made out to be. It has adopted a brilliant strategy of large scale infrastructure rollout, funded by asset monetization of existing road, power lines, gas pipelines and railway assets.
The budget also covers funding of New Education Policy which is what I have been asking for as it will provide the human resources needed for growth in this decade. Adequate provisions have been made for health, education, agriculture, MSME's and startups. Hope there is removal of GST on digital payments and removal of Angel tax as a followup of the budget.
The Union budget 2021 has brought relief for a lot of industries and is poised to take India to greater heights. For start-ups and entrepreneurs, one key highlight from the budget is the capital gains exemption for one more year to 31 March 2022, and secondly they will be eligible to claim a tax holiday for an additional year. These extensions presented by the Honourable Finance Minister will provide a much-needed post-pandemic boost to the upstarts.
Secondly, increased focus on Innovation and on ease of doing business. This budget appears to have set the right pace for India’s journey to a digital first approach. It has brought relief for a lot of industries and is poised to take India to greater heights.
Union Budget lays an increased emphasises on use of data analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning across industries. Welcoming the Government of India’s move in taking definitive steps towards using the power of digital technologies and boosting the fintech and startup ecosystem through initiatives such as fintech hub in Gujarat International Fintech Tec (GIFT). The benefits accrued through the allocation of Rs. 1,500 crores for promoting digital modes of payment as well as the increased tax audit limit for those who carry 95% of their transactions digitally will enable businesses, especially MSMEs to digitise their entire value chain and drive exponential impact on key business levers – innovation, growth and efficiency.
Overall, the budget manages to put up a convincing package to fund the desired goals while providing revenue lines for the same.
Vivek Sharma, MD - India, Lenovo Data Center Group
“This is a pro-growth, pro-technology budget with a vision to disinvest where required and re-energize infrastructure, healthcare, banking, and agriculture sectors through numerous employment and capital generating reforms. There is a strong focus on Digital India be it through setting a fintech hub at GIFT city, enhancing digital payments and use of AI, ML etc in governance, or making tax appellates faceless and tech enabled – all provide a solid foundation for a forward looking data-economy.”
Sunil Sharma, managing director – sales, Sophos India & SAARC
"The Government’s Union Budget 2021 is built on the foundation of new technologies such as Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Machine Learning (ML) which will empower businesses with econsultation, escrutiny, and compliance management. This is surely going to enhance enterprise cybersecurity as AI has immense potential to bring in scalable and effective defenses against sophisticated attacks like ransomware. That said, this increased penetration of digital technologies brings with it additional cyber risks that one should be vary of. As per our recent survey, with 100% Indian businesses being concerned about their current level of cloud security, there is a need for initiatives that promote the development of cybersecurity skillsets. Additionally, this reskilling process should also take care of security of cloud environments which are the backbone of the accelerated digital transformation that India is witnessing due to the pandemic. While we welcome the Government's proposed steps in strengthening MSMEs that provide employment to millions of people, we need more impetus on building skilled cybersecurity professionals in the country. The Government’s allocation of Rs. 3,000 crore towards skill development that will help reskill India’s youth and boost the overall economy, is a step in the right direction.”
Rajesh Maurya, Regional Vice President, India & SAARC, Fortinet
“The budget has announced big-ticket projects to add to the digital capabilities with the next general census in the country being the first digital one and along with marque MCA 21 project this is likely to garner massive ‘crown jewel’ assets in terms of the sensitivity and quantity of data. As these projects are rolled out it will increase the importance of security as the government builds the tools and workflows supporting these services. These projects will need to prioritize solutions such as Zero Trust Access, automated endpoint security, users awareness training to counter a range of threats, and will also need to ensure that solutions such as software defined networking and multi-cloud services are implemented securely.
The real challenge in securing these digital assets that will continue to be targeted by both criminal and nation state (APT) actors is the availability of skilled resources. Fortinet is committed to closing the cybersecurity skills gap through our CSR training programs. The Fortinet Security Academy Program is provided free by nineteen leading universities in India to equip students with the skills necessary for a career in cybersecurity. By supporting these leading universities in India, we’re arming the next generation of security leaders with the skillset and knowledge the industry so desperately needs.”
Ramesh Mamgain, Country Manager, India and SAARC, Commvault
“The Union Budget 2021 is sui generis considering that it is India’s first-ever ‘Digital Budget’. The gesture of doing away with the paper versions of Budget underlines government’s commitment towards PM’s ‘Digital India’ vision.
A renewed focus on infrastructure would mean accelerated technology adoption, which cannot be accomplished without data privacy measures, propelled by data protection. This approach would help in strengthening India’s data protection framework to protect individual information, with investments in key technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to secure cloud-based infrastructures.
While the capital expenditure on the physical connectivity - road, railway and port - has been highlighted throughout, I am sure that digital connectivity will ultimately become a cornerstone of everything we do in the current times.
Overall, it is an inclusive and pro-growth budget, presenting a balanced stance on the pathway to recovery.”
Supria Dhanda, Vice President and Country Manager for India, Western Digital
“We congratulate the Government’s initiative in amplifying Atmanirbhar Bharat. Wonderfully captured by our Finance Minister, Atmanirbhar Bharat is an expression of 130 crores Indians who have full confidence in their capabilities and skills. Digitisation, Skill Development and Job Creation are necessary to lead India towards high growth and be self-reliant. With rapid digitisation across industries over the last year, it is an opportune time to enhance our spending in training imparting digital skills to the youth. The budget clearly prioritises job creation and rural development with generous allocations for various developmental schemes. The focus around National Apprenticeship Training Scheme (NATS) with an allocation of INR 3,000 crores will empower a new wave of talent transformation and adequate employability opportunities for the Indian youth.”
Rahul Agarwal, CEO & Managing Director, Lenovo India
“The six pillars of the Union Budget 2021 add enormous value to the economic relief post the pandemic issues and paint a futuristic picture for the new year. It has managed to address some of the key issues around Atmanirbhar Bharat, education and Digital India that presents significant business opportunities for global corporates such as Lenovo. With the PLI scheme announced along with the increased focus on ‘Make in India’ in this budget, we are confident that it will encourage local manufacturing, and further bolster the local PC market. Lenovo will also support the government in enriching India’s economy, by boosting digital infrastructure in the field of education and additional focus on promoting inclusive development. The national education policy also creates an opportunity to build the Indian EdTech ecosystem to make it best across the globe for research & innovation, and empowers the citizens to scale up their skills.”
Leo Joseph, Managing Director, Xerox India
“As expected, the core needs of the economy, coming out of a pandemic-hit year, take prominence in the Union Budget 2021. However, long-term, the budget focuses on the D in India – standing for both development and digitization. The progressive budget lays the roadmap for greater digitization in governance. A budget presented and disseminated in a digital format for the first time to a digital census will pave the way for the government to serve citizens through technology and data more seamlessly. The promise of ‘minimum government, maximum governance’ can only be realized through greater investments in technology and focus on greater R&D and innovation – which the budget does.”
Shibu Paul, Vice President - International Sales, Array Networks
"The fiscal deficit for 2020-21 was estimated at 9.5% of GDP, the government's aim is to bring it down by 5% of the GDP by 2025-26 which is ambitious and certainly a welcoming initiative. The highlight in this budget is the announcement of the Asset Reconstruction Company and Asset Management Company to help banks tackle bad loans which have been a call by economists for many years. The significance given to the investments and initiatives in the infrastructure development with a few coming under the PPP model will boost the overall development which includes increased investment opportunity from various sectors.
The government's proposal to use data analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning-driven for the Ministry of Corporate Affairs' database is a boost to the digitalization where the Version 3.0 of MCA-21 includes additional modules for e-scrutiny, e-adjudication, e-consultation and compliance management. Connecting more than 1,000 mandis into E-NAM is an excellent move. Setting up a separate administration structure for ease of doing business would help many organizations from various sectors. The faceless dispute resolution panel would help the citizens by keeping them safe from tax harassment. The importance given to healthcare sector to fight Covid and any future healthcare issues, the stress made in green energy projects like keeping aside Rs 1,000Cr for solar energy and Rs 1,500Cr for renewable energy along with voluntary scrapping policy and the weightage given to education has made this budget wholesome."
Rajendra Chitale, CFO, Crayon Software Experts India
“It is a welcoming move that the government is emphasizing on the implementation of data analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning for the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA)' database. We also welcome the digitization process and the introduction of e-scrutiny, e-adjudication, e-consultation and compliance management in MCA 3.0.
After the adversities of 2020, tax holiday for another year to startups is a commendable move for the government. Again, the tax audit bar raised to Rs 10 cr for those transacting 95 per cent digitally shows the government's commitment towards bringing in greater transparency. Apart from that the government's promise on removing GST anomalies and the amount of Rs 1,500 crore earmarked for a scheme to boost digital payments are other welcoming moves for a stronger digitized India.”
Nikhil Arora, VP and MD, GoDaddy India
"The Union Budget 2021 is rightly focussed on reviving the country from the aftermath of COVID-19 pandemic and ensuring sustainable economic growth. The proposed measures and reforms to boost infrastructure, healthcare, aggressive PSU disinvestment and boost credit flow by taking out the toxic assets of the banking system will definitely help propel the economy towards faster recovery and growth. We also applaud FM’s proposal of one year tax holiday and capital gains exemption, which will provide a much-needed post-pandemic boost to the upstarts. The announcements of incorporating one-man companies with no restriction in paid-up capital and turnover, increase in the MSME budget to Rs 15,700 crore, as well as an update in the definition of small companies under Companies Act, 2013 will also prove to be beneficial for Indian MSMEs and startups. Having said that, given the growth of digital adoption and the role of technology in accelerating Digital India and Atmanirbhar Bharat vision, both businesses and individuals particularly in Tier II and Tier III cities would value greater impetus on digital skilling and improved digital infrastructure to support innovation and the new normal work-from-home culture. As the country gears up to rise from the global pandemic and chart the next chapter, GoDaddy will continue to work in tandem with the government to help bolster India’s entrepreneurial and small business ecosystem, by providing all the help and tools needed to succeed online."
Balajee Sowrirajan, Managing Director, Samsung Semiconductor R&D (SSIR)
“We are very optimistic with the focus given on Innovation and R&D being identified as one of the key pillars, I believe 'Design for India' will gain momentum and localization of product designs will lead towards an aspirational and Innovative India. These will lead to the next phase of inclusive growth with increased emphasis on skilling and job creation. Furthermore, with a significant increase in Capex from 4.39 lakh crore to 5.54 lakh crore, the Atmanirbhar Bharat Initiative will be strengthened with more focus on domestic manufacturing and production, laying the foundation for the 5 Trillion Dollar Economy by 2030.”
Rajiv Bhalla, MD, Barco India
“The budget is a major step in the right direction. It outlays a strong focus on infrastructure, healthcare, capital spending, disinvestment, monetization, job creation and digitization. These measures are not only progressive and recovery-led, if implemented correctly would ease the burden on the economy and lead India towards the projected v-shaped growth and development. The budget talks about structural reforms in banking, enhancing debt financing and credit limits for businesses and asset monetization. This will lead to an increase in government spending, which, in turn will spur demand, therefore net positive for the industry. The several initiatives around job-creation, startups, reskilling, rural development and better quality of services to people are positive as a Nation cannot progress without care for the environment and inclusive all-round transformation.”
Anil Chaudhry, CEO, Schneider Electric India
“With its extensive focus on infrastructure and healthcare, the Budget FY21-22 clearly focuses on reviving the economy. The key pillars such as health and wellbeing, capital and infrastructure, inclusive development, enhancing human capital, innovation and R&D and minimum government and maximum governance rightly identifies the core areas for sustained growth and provides considerable thrust towards an Atmanirbhar Bharat. The emphasis on further expanding the National Infrastructure Pipeline by creating dedicated financial institution, monetizing operating assets, and raising the share of capital expenditure in central and state budgets is commendable.
The proposal to offer more choice to consumers by introducing competition in the power distribution space by kick-starting Rs 3 lakh crore reforms-based result-linked power distribution sector scheme for state power distribution companies is likely to address the long hanging Transmission & Distribution (T&D) issues and give relief to the power producers, thereby ensuring health for the entire value chain. It is also good to see the government government’s focus towards ensuring smart metering, which will help cut the commercial losses in power distribution.
Further, the proposal to double the MSME allocation with Rs 15,700 crore for medium and small enterprises in FY22 will give the necessary push to the sector.
Considering that India is well poised to play an important role in the global supply chain, the PLI scheme in 13 sectors to create manufacturing global champions for an Atmanirbhar Bharat is expected to play a crucial role. This will encourage growth in these sectors, apart from creating ample employment opportunities for the youth. Overall a growth oriented budget to support the Indian economy to bounce back in the post COVID world.”
Sudhindra Holla, Director, Axis Communications, India & SAARC
“We are upbeat on the six pillars of the government agenda including focus on infrastructure, innovation and R&D that is all set to strengthen India’s power as a global digital hub. We are optimistic by the renewed focus on road safety with advanced traffic management system with speed radars, variable message signboards, GPS enabled recovery vans along with the outlay of ₹ 2.28 lakh crores for developing the highways, roads, and railways. Good to see pertinent steps taken to revitalize the economy with key focus on allocating budget for healthcare, metro railways, ports, airports, and logistics to boost urban infrastructure. These in turn will be stepping stones towards invigorating Smart Cities planning and urban development and help in generating more jobs.”
Nikhil Rungta, Country Manager, India, Verizon Media
“Taking insights from the learning curve of Covid-19, the government has done well to take appropriate measures to improve the lives of citizens and pave way for economic recovery.
This is a 'get well' budget with an expansionary outlook and focused on growth. Given the times it might not be a radical budget, but it is practical and thoughtful, which will propel consumption and growth of business. This budget has also rightly signalled the need for greater inclusion in India's workforce. Women being allowed to work in all sectors and in night-shifts with adequate protection, and social security benefits extended to gig workers will provide an impetus for women to step up their contribution towards Aatmanirbhar Bharat.”
Suman Reddy, managing director, Pega India
“As the first budget during recovery of the pandemic, we are optimistic that the slew of measures announced on healthcare and infrastructure will provide impetus to the economy. The agenda to focus on the six pillars including infrastructure, innovation and R&D clearly sets India on a path of recovery.
In a significant break from tradition, Government’s Atmanirbhar package focuses on increasing spend towards the creation of jobs and rural development, generous allocations for development schemes, handing more monetary benefits to the common man, and easing rules to attract foreign investments. Enhancing the digital backbone of the country, the announcement on the fintech hub at the GIFT -IFSC and R&D investment of 50,000 crores over 5 years will ensure that the overall research ecosystem of the country is strengthened with a focus on identified national priority thrust areas. The move to establish a National Digital Educational Architecture (NDEAR) in the context of a Digital First Mindset to ensure digital learning, as well as planning infrastructure, will empower the youth of the nation.”
Ramanujam Komanduri, Country Manager, Pure Storage India
“Budget 2021 looks promising and rightly focuses on public healthcare, given the disruption caused due to the pandemic. We are particularly excited about the Finance Minister’s announcement of smooth delivery of digital services as part of the next wave of digital revolution. AI, ML, and Data Analytics are making greater inroads in India, as was observed in the budget. These are all essential elements of the modern data experience. We are looking forward to the next phase of Digital India which will be a big growth driver for businesses and individuals alike.”
Sonit Jain, CEO, GajShield Infotech
"Budget 2021 lays a strong foundation in Infrastructure, Health and Education. It provides a big boost in making India a leader in the World Economy and manufacturing hub of the world. Not only does it give an impetus to easing in doing business in India, it also gives a big push to rural development, which was impacted, the most, during the pandemic. The budget has a vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat and will motivate Indian entrepreneurs to make products in India for the World. Overall it is a pro-growth budget and will further fuel the growth of Indian IT companies with its strong focus on Digital India."
Sanjay Gupta, Vice President and India Country Manager, NXP Semiconductors
“The Union Budget 2021 has been the first-ever digital budget marking a major milestone in the digital journey of India. The budget has put the much-needed focus on Atmanirbhar Bharat and the need to grow the innovation and R&D sector in the country on a sustained basis. We are excited about the announcement of INR 50,000 crores for the National Research Foundation over the period of five years. This will surely boost the overall research and innovation ecosystem of the country. R&D is the lifeline for any organization and any country to continue to prosper in changing dynamic times. In India, we have to focus parallelly on 'design-in-India' in addition to 'Make-in-India' to continue to be ahead of the curve. Looking forward to having more and more companies leverage this increased R&D budget from govt and develop future researchers and Innovators. The voluntary vehicle scrapping policy would play a major part in phasing out the old and unfit vehicles thereby encouraging uptake in environment-friendly means of transport like electric vehicles. Overall, we are hopeful that Budget 2021 will propel India in the direction of becoming a global economic superpower.’’
S Sriram, Chief Strategy Officer, iValue InfoSolutions
“Budget 2021 was positive given the challenge around higher fiscal deficit due to lower income. It is great to see emphasis on growth front keeping fiscal deficit priority low for the next 2-3 years. The key highlights of the budget include additional allocation to health and wellbeing in a Covid ravaged year with Rs 35,000Cr allocation to Covid vaccination with 4 Indian vaccines shortly. It is also great to see 35% enhancement of Government capital expenditure at Rs 5.54 lac Cr to revive economy around Road, Rail and Metro infrastructure. It is encouraging to see focus around disinvestment with 2 PSU banks and 1 Insurance company being planned for the year with Rs 1.75 lac Cr target. FDI in insurance enhancement from 49% to 74% augers well for a country with very low penetration. The voluntary vehicle scrapping policy is set to help auto sector and address the pollution challenges. While Rs 20,000Cr PSU bank recapitalisation looks on the lower side, reopening of IT assessment cases period reduction from 6 to 3 years should give comfort to tax payers on documentation. Planned LIC IPO should set the mood right on disinvestment. The government could have put more money in the hands of people to sustain the recovery along with sops to Business on CapEx investments.”
Rajesh Goenka, Director, Sales & Marketing, RP tech India.
“Overall it is a very pleasant budget without any surprises which is good because in the current scenario consistency and continuity is more important rather than having mere aspirations. This is overall a balanced budget and only enhances the momentum set by our prime minister and finance minister in the last two years. In terms of IT hardware industry, there is no major change, however, with the government investment, the overall market demand is likely to grow up. IMF has also forecasted the industry growth 11 to 11.5 per cent, which is good for the industry. So overall we are optimistic about the budget.”
Prashanth GJ, CEO, TechnoBind
“Increased spend on Healthcare and Infra are welcome moves - as this will have a cascading effect on the economy in the medium term. Whether it is Highways or Railways the enhanced allocation is very encouraging. Also interesting is the 'Bad Bank' which will help address the stressed assets through an ARC model. This will help keep the Banking system insulated from the spike of bad loans that are expected now - thereby allowing them to do business as usual by giving the much-needed support of credit in the system. The MSME allocation has been doubled - this too will help SME businesses in general which is a big market for us in the country.
Support for furthering the idea of Digital India is also seen and it is very welcome - encouraging digital payments and the use of AI/ML in governance is exciting. Emphasis on Digital Payment is very good as this will go a long way in bringing in financial inclusion. Provisions in the GST and customs duty rationalization is something we look forward to.”
Warren Harris, CEO & MD, Tata Technologies
“With a significant outlay on Infrastructure spend and the much-needed Vehicle Scrappage policy, the government of India has finally set the tone for recovery of Auto Sector which has been significantly impacted by the pandemic. This will not only help boost the demand for production of Commercial vehicles but also support the entire transportation ecosystem. Also, while it would have been good to see some more initiatives to promote Electric Vehicles in this budget, we are glad that the government has noted India’s critical role in the global automotive supply chain post COVID 19. Specific initiatives through Production linked schemes, creation of infrastructure for R&D and enabling skill development in new-gen technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) will help drive investment in Engineering and Research.”
Dr. Keshab Panda, CEO & MD, L&T Technology Services
“The move to provide greater impetus to India’s manufacturing sector with outlay of almost Rs 2 trillion over the next five years is indeed a welcome move. We are hopeful, this will pave the way for enhanced adoption of digital engineering capabilities by domestic players, especially in the Industry 4.0 segment, to give them a global edge. With patents and innovations being at the core of our proposition as a pure-play engineering services provider, it was encouraging to know that Innovation and R&D was classified under the six pillars of focus for this year’s union budget. Unlike last year where explicit mention to initiatives such as National Mission on Quantum Computing and Technology were announced, one would have hoped that this year’s budget would have made provision for further focus.”
CP Gurnani, MD & CEO, Tech Mahindra
“This budget is a step in the direction towards Atmanirbharta, clearly providing every opportunity that is required for a sustainable economic momentum and growth. The FM has provided for ample opportunity to boost and sustain the gig economy, digital payments and research and development taking place within the country. The focus on innovation and R&D (Research & Development) as an important pillar is a critical step in increasing the export income of Indian IT sector. Along with this, the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ budget also outlines initiatives for gig economy, digital payments, human capital while also setting up fintech hub and National Natural Language Translation Missions. Therefore, with increased allocation towards infrastructure, financial inclusion and healthcare, Budget 2021 promises to provide the much-needed economic velocity to India’s growth cycle.”
Sonali Kulkarni, Lead - Financial Services, Accenture in India
“The investment outlay towards digital payments is a welcome inclusion in the Union Budget. As per a recent Accenture research report, in India, 66.6 billion transactions worth USD 270.7 billion are expected to shift from cash to cards and digital payments by 2023. This shift is expected to intensify the existing competition in the Indian payments space and ultimately, enhance consumer experience and convenience. However, the exact nature of the scheme of the outlay and its implementation will be instrumental in its success.
We are seeing some notable innovation coming out of India’s fintech ecosystem – be it for digital payments, credit and risk management, underwriting or security. The initiative to set up a fintech hub in Gujarat International Finance Tech-City (GIFT) will spur investment and innovation designed to help financial institutions not just meet compliance requirements but also build more-personalized customer products and services.
The move to set up a new asset reconstruction company and an asset management company to take care of stressed assets of banks will facilitate more options for banks to manage their NPAs as the true impact of the pandemic on NPAs is still unclear, and is expected to be fully known only by Q1 FY2022. The disinvestment and privatization related announcements related to the banking and insurance sectors will enable much needed capital infusion, and thereby, unlock new growth opportunities in FY 22.”
Sanjay Jalona, CEO & MD, LTI (L&T Infotech)
“We welcome the increased focus on Innovation and on ease of doing business. This budget appears to have set the right pace for India’s journey to a digital first approach. From an IT services perspective, the industry is facing an intense global competition and needs tax incentives and digital infrastructure support to ensure seamless work from anywhere ecosystem, which is the new normal. This is a critical requirement for the sector that employs nearly 4.5 million professionals, contributes 8% of the country’s GDP, has created high-quality jobs during the pandemic, and is the face of Brand India across the world.”
Lt. Gen Dr. SP Kochhar, DG, COAI
“We welcome the budget as it is pro-investment and pro-growth. It will provide the much-needed impetus to economic growth post the pandemic and will set us on the path to becoming Atmanirbhar Bharat. However, we are a bit disappointed that concerns of the telecom sector, which is the backbone of digital India, remained unaddressed. We were expecting a reduction in the burden of levies, such as LF and SUC on the telecom sector. The Government has also not considered the request of the Industry to exempt the GST from the payment of Govt Levies such as LF, SUC and spectrum installments etc. As the telecom operators are going to launch 5G services in the country, it is imperative that 5G enabled telecom equipment are available to them at a reasonable price. Thus, there was the need for a reduction in customs duties on telecom equipment. It would have been a much awaited relief if the government provided the right incentives to the sector. We will continue to engage with the Government in these areas in the times to come.”
Varun Babbar, Managing Director, Qlik India
“The Union Budget 2021 is truly a balanced and reformative framework that looks forward to bolstering an economy towards faster recovery and growth which was otherwise ravaged by the pandemic. We appreciate the government’s vision of an “Atma-Nirbhar Bharat” by providing economic assistance through tax reliefs, incentives and new policies. Continued support in areas like education and technology as well as providing breathing room for startups through initiatives like providing tax relief for one more year will help to kickstart a resilient economy for all industries. The government’s allocation of Rs. 1500 crores towards promoting digital modes of payment will also boost India’s digital payment infrastructure. Aligning with our focus to provide active intelligence and real-time analytics, the government’s allocation for infusion of Rs. 20,000 crores will help to reform the country’s surge in digital payments for the post-pandemic future”.
Abhishek Kumar, Regional Director, Oncam
“One of the key focus area in annual union Budget is on infrastructure. The decision to boost transport sector by allocating increased budgets for National Highways and Metros shall create opportunities for overview and incidence detection solutions. Oncam with its unique position in the market as the best overview surveillance solution is strategically placed to further increase its market share in roadways safety security solutions. The union budget is intelligently thought of and shall propel India as the fastest growing economy of the world.”
Rajeev Singh, Managing Director, BenQ India
“A very significant budget as India is coming out fast from effects of COVID 19, Government has given strong emphasis on spending on Infrastructure along with big push for Atmanirbhar Bharat. Alongside, there is no change in direct taxes largely which were moderated for companies last time. This will mean more money in the system and will act positively towards faster growth of economy. Government has also given additional push to education and skill development segment in the budget which will result in extensive use of technology which in turn will give a boost to virtual classroom and Blended and Hybrid Learning.”
V Satish Kumar, CEO at EverestIMS Technologies
"The Union Budget 2021 augurs well for the economy and markets overall. With the aggressive investment, monetization, and recapitalization initiatives, the Government is taking steps towards getting the economy back on the rails. The focus on infrastructure, public transport, and highways will see a jump-starting of multiple tracks of the economy. For the IT Sector, this will translate into an increase in projects, business, and interventions that will be needed to support all these economic programs. Another good move for the IT sector was that the Tax holiday for start-ups has been extended by one year and exemption on capital gains on investment in start-ups extended by one year. India has always been a resilient economy and these efforts will provide the elevation we need to take off and lead in the coming years."
Karthikeyan Natarajan, President and Chief Operating Officer, Cyient
“Coming out of the pandemic year, the Finance Minister has laid down a well-rounded Budget.
Focus on setting up of Fintech Hub at Gift City, enhancing digital payments and use of AI in governance – all provide a strong platform for Digital India. Allocation of Rs 50,000 crore towards National Research Foundation will work towards boosting India’s Innovation Quotient on the global map and is a welcome move. Allocation of funds as incentives for promoting digital payments is also a step in the right direction and a significant step in ease of doing business. Lastly, increase in allocation for highways and railways will lead to employment generation and boost the economic growth of the nation.”
Venkatraman Narayanan, MD & CFO, Happiest Minds
“The budget has maintained continuity and consistency and in line with the themes of ease of doing business, simplification, transparency and manage effective delivery through digital channels. As a digital company hearing announcement around leveraging digital technologies like video conferencing, e-assessments, e-invoicing, AI and ML for governance, incentives for digital transaction are heartening.
Honorable FM has maintained the course on simplification and consolidation of laws with specific focus on rewarding the honest. The aspect of supporting the economy with increased spends on Infra, health, farming and education are welcome. Inclusion and women empowerment into the larger Aatmanirbhar objectives of the government are laudable. I see lots of support for the economy and a V shaped recovery for the economy.
From the IT industry perspective, quite a few relaxations on compliance, laws and also support came from the Government during the Pandemic. Hope this approach will continue.”
Nitin Kunkolienker, President MAIT
“MAIT welcomes the continued focus of the Government on PLI and it is very encouraging. PLI will help achieve scale, and job creation for the youth of India. We look forward to the upcoming PLI including the electronics industry sub-sectors PCs, Datacom, Servers, Wearables, Telecom products, Smart meters and components.
We are happy to see the continued emphasis on the adoption of technology into economic activities. The National Language Translation Mission, earlier proposed by MEITY, will enable Bharat on the digital highway allowing the masses to take ride on the digitization of the economy.”
Vinu Cheriyan, CFO & Director Operation, Sennheiser India
“For 2021-2022 Union Budget, the government has made some notable announcements that are aimed towards the overall development on the ease of doing business. The central government plans to create manufacturing global champions via PLI scheme in 13 sectors will help the manufacturing sector to double its growth rate, which will end up creating huge job opportunities across. Additionally, the Government of India has chosen a big infrastructure push by allocating budgets to construct national highways which will improve the connectivity in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. This will further help in ensuring seamless movements and deliveries across India, thus strengthening the overall development of industry and commerce, further giving a push to the audio accessories industry in India . We appreciate the government's initiatives and look forward to a fruitful year ahead.”
Gurpreet Singh, Managing Director, Arrow PC Network
"Regressive rules had certainly affected the ease of doing business for many organizations and start-ups. However, the government's announcement of establishing a separate administrative structure especially for ease of doing business will help many organizations benefit in the future. Revision of the definition of small companies by raising the capital base to Rs 2 Cr from the current limit of Rs 50 lakh will give a big boost to companies affecting their monetary status. Though not much of changes have been made in terms of income tax slabs, the move to make changes in tax evasion has instilled confidence in common man that they would not be facing tax harassment. Earmarking Rs 1,500Cr for promoting digital mode of payment and changing the tax audit limit from Rs 5Cr to Rs 10Cr will benefit many and will allow transparency. Hiking of FDI from 49% to 74% is a good move. The announcement that the forthcoming census would be digital shows the government's initiative to practice what is being preached. On the other end, the emphasis on education, power and infrastructure sector will support the overall development of the nation."
Vikas Garg, Chief Financial Officer, Paytm
"The Finance Minister has presented a balanced budget that is aimed at maximum growth of all sectors in the coming year. The Rs.1500 crore proposed scheme to incentivize digital payments is a welcome move that will accelerate the growth of cashless transactions in our country. During the pandemic, digital payments emerged as one of the key enablers of empowerment at the grassroots and brought millions of people under the fold of the formal economy. Government's continued emphasis on increasing investment in Infrastructure, Insurance and digital payments will ensure financial inclusion of the masses."
Anirban Mukherjee, CEO, PayU India
"PayU is proud to have led the digital payments space in India and welcomes the forward-looking budget promoting this space. We believe that INR 1,500 crore fund will enhance penetration of digital payments, encourage greater acceptance, enable merchants to grow and boost the digital payment space. The FM has addressed critical sectors and the measures are likely to boost the economy"
Hari Om Rai, CMD, Lava International
“It is a historic budget making a mark of the beginning of a new India.
Government has given a clarion call to the industry with the announcement of creating global champions from India and backing this strategy with new, "development finance institution".
Now the responsibility shifts to the industry to not only dream but dream big and stand together with the government to make the country progress from poverty to wealth over the next three decades.”
Dr. Yogesh Bhatia, Founder, Detel
"We appreciate the Government's vision of Atma Nirbhar Bharat post the most unprecedented year of 2020. Many domestic players were badly affected and expecting some strong moves by the government. The thrust on automobile sustainability by introducing voluntary scrappage policy will progress the auto sector significantly and curb pollution issues and soaring crude oil bills. This announcement will replace the 15-20 years old pollution causing vehicles and generate massive demand for e-vehicles in the market. We welcome the Indian government's move on long awaited scrappage policy and focus on better road infrastructure. We eagerly await for more details by the government."
Dr. Ajay Data, Founder and CEO, VideoMeet
“The announcement by the Honorable Finance Minister regarding the startups was much required at the moment and will help the fledgling startups with meager resources to continue with their business operations without worrying about the compliance with complex taxes. The announcement comes soon after Prime Minister announced the setting up of Rs 10,000 crore fund for seed funding of startups. These moves by the government make the intent of government clear that it wants to promote entrepreneurship and help the enthusiastic young entrepreneurs in the country.The setting up of separate administration structure to promote ease of doing business is a laudable move by the FM. Also, as predicted startups were given importance under this budget and the industry is poised to be greatly benefited with the Tax holiday extended by another year till 31 March, 2022.”
Vinaya Varma, MD and CEO, mjunction services
"Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Union Budget 2021 speech has put a lot of focus on monetisation of stressed and idle assets creating opportunities for electronic platforms for transparent price discovery processes. Stressed asset resolution by setting up an asset reconstruction company and asset management company, creation of a Special Purpose Vehicle to carry out monetisation of non-core assets including surplus land would contribute to the idea of AtmaNirbhar Bharat and help shore up essential revenues for economic revival. For the steel sector, voluntary vehicle scrapping policy to phase out old and unfit vehicles would increase availability of scraps."
Sai Srinivas, Co-founder and CEO, Mobile Premier League (MPL)
“Government’s budget announcement has been extremely encouraging for the start-up ecosystem in India. The extended exemption on capital gains for investments will definitely make more funds available for budding entrepreneurs and growing organizations alike.
Digital payments infrastructure has played a very important role in the growth of the mobile gaming industry. It is very encouraging to see the government’s efforts to strengthen digital payments through incentivization. The Rs 1,500 crore boost will further support migration of more people towards digital payments and will have a positive impact on the mobile skill gaming industry.
The incentivizing of one person companies is especially heartening as it promotes the development of more game creators that will help in strengthening the gaming industry in India. The move has also allowed conversion of one-person companies to any other kind, reducing residency limit from 182 days to 120 days.
India is at the cusp of creating a wave of mobile gaming unicorns, these measures only support that momentum. With these announcements acting as winds in our sails the Indian Gaming Industry can aspire to be the Global Hub of game development.”
Lalit Mehta, Co-founder & CEO, Decimal Technologies
“The budget presented seems to tick most boxes that India needs today post COVID. The promise on CAPEX should help in generating employment and also solve for long-term growth objectives. The six pillar focus will set the foundation for growth in coming years and make us better prepared for difficult situations like the COVID.
Some of the items that would see effect faster than others would be the FDI cap increase for Insurance, which will surely lead to a better capitalized Insurance sector and better reach of Insurance to the masses. Privatization of PSBs is a welcome move. It should help in make the banking sector more agile and oriented towards digital growth. This should lead to a few acquisitions of PSBs by private lenders. Hopefully, this will increase reach of the private sector to rural markets and will enable these markets with new products and a digital ecosystem. The fintech hub in the GIFT city is a great step towards enabling the fintech industry and shows the government's recognition of FinTech as a significant play in the financial sector. This should set the road for creation of the required regulations and frameworks for FinTech to work with conventional lenders and banks.
Fiscal deficit and achievement of divestment targets is something that needs to be under close watch. Any slippage on any of these can put a spanner in some other initiatives. Overall a positive budget that tries to balance between long term and immediate needs.”
Ram Iyer, Founder and CEO, Vayana Network
“This is a great budget with a lot of growth boosting measures. In the backdrop of the pandemic and resultant fiscal situation, the government has done a great balancing act.
There are a number of steps announced to boost capex and infra; and manufacturing which will create huge trickle down benefits for the economy at large. To achieve this within tight fiscal deficit targets and without impacting the tax rates will be a herculean achievement. The key positives for businesses include -
1. Creation of a huge DFI to fund India's infra ambitions over the next 3-5 years
2. Vehicle scrapping policy will give a boost to the Auto sector in coming years
3. Launch of multiple infra and capex projects will give boost to manufacturing, steel and cement sectors
4. Further allocations for PLI in manufacturing is a great step to place India firmly in the global Supply Chain ecosystem in core sectors like Electronics
5. Smaller businesses will see more ease of doing businesses due to relaxation of audit & GST norms
6. Divestments of some PSUs and higher FDI limits in insurance will lead to entry of global players with deeper commitment to India and also boost innovation.”
Kartik Sharma, Co-Founder, DcodeAI
“The government's continued efforts to boost the excellence of education in India is greatly appreciated. With an emphasis on strengthening the Nation First Policy in Union Budget 2021, the government will offer robust remedial solutions that are aligned with the vision of creating a thriving education ecosystem. With a focus on education for all, providing quality education through National Education Policy (NEP), collaboration with Japan for the sharing of technology and knowledge, skilling youth and launch of data analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning driven MCA21 Version 3.0, the government have rolled out incentives to provide impetus to the activities and subsequently to the growth of EdTech as well as of skill-tech enterprises. Such incentives along with funding provisions will create space for collaboration amongst start-ups, especially in the education sector and open up new avenues of career growth for Indian professionals.”
Jaya Vaidhyanathan, CEO, BCT Digital
“2021 budget is more of an Infrastructure and Healthcare budget. Glad to see the stimulus to the economy keeping these spends in its core. Governance is also paid attention to. We would have loved to see some more announcements for the BFSI sector over and above the notable mentions like FDI limit being lifted for the insurance sector. And Interesting to see the conversation happening to see the shadow bad bank. While the Stressed assets are being moved to the asset recovery unit, we still have to wait and watch. It does make sense to take the assets to specialist to monetize it, but it also has the inherent risk of the bank just moving the bad assets rather than works on preventing issue of bad loans or prevents NPA’s. So we have to pay attention to its execution. And it is also to be seen who is going to be at the helm of the asset recovery to ensure that execution happens in the right way. There was emphasis on governance issues , and it goes with the turf of independent directors. So overall largely infra and healthcare, things have not been shaken up much, and attention is paid to economic recovery, but it is yet to be seen if this is a V share or U shape recovery. Let us hope the budget is executed well.”
Deepshikha Kumar, Founder & CEO, SpeakIn
“The Budget was a balanced one where the Government focused on job creation and economic recovery. Startup ecosystem is a potent tool, which will help in economic growth; the FM extended tax holiday for startups by 1 yr, and extended exemption on capital gains on investment in startups. In the current pandemic situation, tax holiday was the best tool that could help many startups to sustain. Post-pandemic months have seen many startups grow exponentially, but there are some startups that needed handholding. The announcements will help more startups to come forward with consumer-specific solutions, which will not only gain public acceptance but will also help in job creation”.
Amit Gupta - Managing Director, SAG Infotech
"I am neutral or slightly ok with this 2021 Budget announcement. Relaxations like senior citizens of above 75years not required to file an income tax return with pension income is appreciable. Also, now the government has increased the limit of auditing in the case digitized transactions from 5 crore to 10 crores is impactful for those who were in the bracket. The reduction of assessment time period from 6 years to 3 years will drastically lower the paper handling so it is far better now from the previous rule.
Nothing much has been introduced in the taxation industry but we have gathered strength from the previous budget so there is not much issue, however, some of the clients from healthcare & infrastructure have told us that they are happy as of now and we have equally responded to them. It is to be seen the impact of Budget in the coming days for a clear picture ahead."
Rajan Navani, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, JetSynthesys
“I’m happy to see the Union Budget 2021 is a forward-looking one, with massive spend commitment by the government across many sectors combined with large divestment and monetisation, along with the privatisation of two public banks and one insurance company. This is a great trajectory for banking in India. Also, the increase in FDI in insurance to 74% with management control will help in attracting FDI from the world, further boosting the economy. I’m particularly excited about the government’s commitment to set aside an outlay of INR 50000 Cr for the National Research Foundation, the setting up of a new Fintech hub, and an allocation to incentivise digital payments. Also, as we complete 75 years of independence, the move to exempt senior citizens over 75 years from filing tax returns if they are only on pension is a great tribute to their contribution to India. The budget also had a number of bold initiatives to simplify tax processes for businesses and honest tax-payers. The extension of the tax holiday and exemption of capital gains will also enable businesses and startups to focus on growing their business. Most importantly, the proposed use of data analytics, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, optimising the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and tax portals, is indicative of the New India of 2022. I hope this forward-looking budget will help revive India’s economy, propelling it further towards a digitally empowered tomorrow.”
Sahil Chopra, CEO of iCubeswire
“This is a welcome move by the Government of India to lay emphasis on digital payments as last year showed us how important this mode of payment is for everyone across the world. To further promote the sector, we also believe data science, AI and Big Data will play a large role in driving further adoption in India.”
Ajay Kaushik, CEO, Panacea InfoSec
"With the thrust on technology and entrepreneurship, the 2021-22 budget is historic. From healthcare to infrastructure, the Govt has come up to the expectations of all the stakeholders. In this budget, the Honourable Finance Minister has announced allocation of Rs 1,500 crore for a proposed scheme to provide financial incentives to promote digital modes of payment. This will definitely be a boost to the digital economy which will further lead to the demand for payment data security. The strong focus on digital infrastructure and announcement for the fin-tech hub at gift city shows Govt’s will power towards realising the dream of Digital India. Furthermore, strategic initiatives aimed at leveraging new-age technologies like the Internet-of-Things, Machine Learning, Robotics, Bioinformatics, Quantum Computing and Artificial Intelligence in governance across sectors will further help in laying the foundation of a robust digital economy. Apart from this, the concessions announced for one person company and relaxed norms for NRIs will help start-up creation and ease of doing business.”
Paavan Nanda, Co-Founder, WinZO Games
“The measures announced by the government demonstrate its bullishness towards the startup ecosystem. The extension of long-term capital gains by another year will offer tailwinds to early stage funding. Extension of tax holiday by one year is also an encouraging offering, however, most of the new age startups don't start booking profits in the early years. The Budget’s focus on economic development, infrastructure and health will definitely put India back on the growth trajectory after an unprecedented past financial year.”
Dilip Modi, Founder, Spice Money
“It was encouraging to see the ‘Sankalp of Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ as well as inclusive and sustainable development come into focus right at the beginning of Financial Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s budget speech. We had hoped for a boost to digital as it has the ability to bridge the gap between haves and have-nots when it comes to access to financial services. This was evident when the lockdown hit last year, when the digital financial infrastructure came to the rescue of millions of citizens. So, the incentive of Rs. 1,500 crore for digital payments is a move in the right direction. We are eagerly waiting to see what the scheme entails and how the industry can benefit from it. We hope a part of the fund goes towards fostering the banking correspondents (BC) network by introducing reimbursement schemes or alternatives to zero merchant discount rates (MDR) which has hampered the growth of the network and the payments ecosystem. We also expect the scheme to have provisions for device subsidy to strengthen the micro ATM infrastructure in rural India. We believe it will accelerate the transformation towards an Aatmanirbhar, Digital India and bring about financial inclusion for underserved parts of India.
We are also excited to see the innovations that emerge out of GIFT International Financial Services Centre to support rural financial infrastructure to be on par with urban India. This is in alignment with Spice Money’s vision to bring innovation in rural fintech and uplift the underserved parts of India.”
Khadim Batti, CEO and co-founder, Whatfix
"The extension of the tax holiday and capital gains exemptions for investments made in startups by a year is a welcome move. While this will go a long way in boosting investments in startups, some form of tax rebates for employees would have been a greater benefit. Employees who join startups at various stages of growth bet on them by accepting more equity and less cash in terms of compensation. Due to this, additional benefits with respect to ESOP taxation would have facilitated a larger flow of skilled talent to startups, as the majority are still attracted to multinationals and large corporations.
Further, the revised definition of small companies by increasing their threshold for paid up capital by four-fold and that for turnover by ten-fold, will greatly ease the compliance requirements for companies. We also expect that the MCA21 Version 3.0 enabled by data analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning will ease regulatory filings for startups. Also, the new one person companies (OPCs) move will boost entrepreneurship in the country and improve ease of doing business. While the announcements have been encouraging, we would have welcomed further simplification and clarity on startups taxes which have proved to be a challenge for the sector especially in recent times.”
Praveen Paulose, MD and CEO, Celusion Technologies
“We wholeheartedly welcome Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's Budget for 2021 which entails several initiatives to push India’s economic growth in the coming years. The government’s move to allocate Rs 1500 crore to strengthen the digital payments across the country and facilitate a world-class fintech hub in Gujarat International Finance Tec (GIFT) city will boom the fintech sector’s health incredibly. The much-awaited push post-Covid looks to turn in favour of the BFSI and Fintech market.”
Niraj Hutheesing, Founder & Managing Director, Cygnet Infotech
“We welcome the measures announced by the government of India in the Union Budget 2021. Significant capital expenditure in infrastructure and health care sectors will be a big asset for India. Promotion of digitization at large, and digital transactions particularly, is another positive aspect of the budget. There has been political will to take a big deficit for the next year. Simplifying the tax regime is another important aspect of this Budget. To ease compliance, the Finance Minister has increased the tax audit limit from ₹5 crore to ₹10 crores for the companies that conduct most of their business through digital modes. Additionally, the government is also planning to take steps to reduce inverted duty structures in GST and has proposed to review over 400 old exemptions in indirect taxes and will begin extensive consultation from October 2021. The budget also provided impetus on one of the most hard-pressing issues, namely tax evasion cases. The use of digital technologies such as automation solutions and data analytics tools can help in removing anomalies in the GST tax infrastructure and make it transparent to a great extent. All the measures announced today will further enable companies such as Cygnet Infotech to develop technology solutions for businesses to help them adhere to the taxation norms”
Irwin Anand, MD, Udemy India
“A welcome change happened with NEP last year and the budget 2021 continues to reinforce that. The implementation of NEP in 15000 schools to create a model is a good move. It will promote coherence among educational institutions and increase the flexibility in education delivery by using face-to-face, online and hybrid models. Collaboration with countries like Japan for sharing of technology and UAE for skill development courses are also welcome moves. These will increase the chances of employability for our youth. The steps to set-up a Higher Education Commission and 750 Ekalavya residential schools in the Tribal Areas are also commendable. These steps will allow students from across the country to have access to quality education.”
Ujjwal Jain, CEO & Founder, WealthDesk
“Consolidation of multiple securities laws into a Single Securities market code will bring in clarity and boost capital and debt markets. Likewise, the introduction of an institutional mechanism to buy corporate bonds and an AMC to handle stressed debt from banks will further strengthen debt markets, bringing in faster debt resolution and greater liquidity. Avoidance of changes to taxation - income tax, LTCG, STT, wealth tax, or a Covid cess - will further spur capital market participation in the coming year. The budget also ensured continued support to the Startup ecosystem by extending tax holiday and capital gains exemption for investment by 1 more year to March 31, 2022. Increased spending on infrastructure and enabling entry of FPIs into debt financing in the sector will also boost economic growth and revival.”
Kapil Bardeja, CEO & Co Founder, Vehant Technologies
"Governments decision to provide Rs. 15,700 crores to support the MSME sector would not only boost the confidence of small industries but will also strengthen the Government's Make in India, Vocal for Local and Atmanirbhar Bharat visions, besides making a remarkable contribution to employment generation and will make Indian industries more efficient and surpass the global standard. Given the current times, the budget is focused on India's growth and we anticipate this should act as a multiplier effect to Indian MSME ecosystem. Overall, the budget is well designed to give a boost to local manufacturing and improve the infrastructure of the country."
Vijay Thadani, VC and MD, NIIT Ltd and Co-founder NIIT University
“The Union budget 2021 carries a positive message for the Education sector. It gives an active effect to National Education Policy 2020 (NEP).
The formation of National Research Foundation (NRF), with an outlay of Rs. 50,000 crores in 5 years to boost quality and quantity of research in India, is a big push towards promoting innovation and research in the education sector. We are optimistic that research funding will be made available to Higher Educational institutions.
The Government’s initiative to set up a HEC responsible for the accreditation and regular funding of the Colleges and Universities will go a long way, in creating better synergy between higher education institutions across the country. The education sector is hopeful that the research funding both from HEC and NRF will be made available as a level playing field between public and private higher educational institutions.”
Kartik Shahani, Country Manager, Tenable India
“The events of 2020 made it clear how reliant we are on the digital infrastructure and supply chains that underpin modern society. As India seeks continued growth and competitiveness in the global economy through budget allocations in healthcare, infrastructure, innovation and R&D amongst other areas, securing the digital infrastructure that underpins our society needs to sit at the core of every single project.
Budget allocations towards healthcare is a necessary step in our race to combat COVID-19. Tenable’s own Threat Landscape Retrospective found that in 2020, over 46 per cent of the breaches in the healthcare sector were caused by ransomware attacks, with breaches accounting for nearly eight million records exposed. Along with the new opportunities that come from making the internet more accessible to citizens and organizations in various parts of India, there are significant cybersecurity challenges that organizations and governments need to manage. Greater connectivity expands the attack surface. And if there are any lessons to be learnt from last year, it’s that cybercriminals are relentless and will seek to test the resilience of all defences whether digital or physical. Therefore, our digital progress must be thoughtfully guided by the considerations for the safety and security of our country.”
Prem Kumar, CEO & Founder, SnapBizz
"The Budget for 2021 has seen some noteworthy decisions made by the government to provide financial support and incentivise digitized monetary solutions for many segments. The financial incentives to promote digital payments and Increase in Tax Audit limits for those transacting 95% digitally, will boost digitalization and will encourage retailers to adopt technology. This will lead to greater financial inclusion and much better integrated ecosystems. The Capital expenditure and Recapitalisation of PSBs will also drive semi urban and rural consumption as most of the capital expenditure will be on infrastructure and banks are already working towards supporting small enterprises in all forms including digitisation. Due to the rapid growth in terms of digitization of MSMEs that has been witnessed in the consumer retail segment in 2020, the budget allocation for the MSME sector is twice the amount of the last budget. Though this is a big step for their growth, the impact is yet to be understood for the large number of small retailers who are the distribution infrastructure of the country and a major source of employment. In everyone’s interest, what policymakers, media and manufacturing firms should focus on is to explore how the robust ecosystem of distribution possessed by the kirana store infrastructure can be leveraged toco-exist with e-commerce.This is essential to ensure inclusive revival and not creation of a deeper divide over the next year for retailers and consumers alike."
Balakrishnan Anantharaman, Vice President and Managing Director, Sales, Nutanix India
The outlook for innovation from the 2021 budget remains strong, with a lot more focus on making an ‘Atmanirbhar’ ecosystem. Today tech startup companies have become the backbone for the growth of the country, we are optimistic about the initiatives taken to strengthen India’s digital drive and to further amplify the digital economy. The impact of the pandemic has forced sectors that operate traditionally to change their models rapidly to support modern trends. Two-thirds (70%) of the public sector are of the opinion that COVID-19 has caused IT to be viewed more strategically in their organisations, and hence the budgets intention to push for innovation and R&D is one step in the right direction for the tech sector, in establishing a Digital First mindset throughout India.
Piyush N. Singh, India Market Unit Lead and Lead - Growth and Strategic Client Relationships, Asia Pacific and Latam, Accenture
“Overall, the 2021 Union Budget attempts to achieve the difficult balance between structural populism and prudent measures, and demonstrates a reasonable level of policy stability, with some strategic positive interventions which are critical during times of upheaval. The voluntary vehicle scrapping policy for example will provide a fillip to the auto sector which is important not only because it is one of the largest organized sector employer, but also since it sustains a lot of retail lending from banks and NBFCs. The multiplier effect of this policy on the back of a period that witnessed a good crop yield in rural areas combined with the pent up demand from the pandemic and increased disposable income, will be beneficial for the auto sector. Investments in infrastructure are also consistent, and the proposal to establish a Development Financial Institution will hopefully boost infrastructure related projects which require financing and are not getting adequate interest from the banking sector.”
Dipesh Kaura, General Manager, Kaspersky (South Asia)
The budget for FY 2021- 22 was one with the aim to achieve and enhance our country's top priorities, by investing in the healthcare sector and major infrastructures. Enhanced healthcare systems, extensive research and development, and major infrastructure developments are definitely the need of the hour and have been effectively taken care of by the budget allocation set by our FM. The goal to empower 15000 schools and adapt to a hybrid education model is also a very promising step taken towards the digital transformation of the country. However, to make this a success, securing the hybrid education system is equally important, especially in the near future. While pursuing a hybrid model of learning (in-person and remote), the educational sector continues to attract the attention of cybercriminals on the Internet. From July to December 2020, 270,171 users globally encountered various threats disguised as popular learning platforms—an increase of 60% when compared to the first half of 2020. These numbers state the growing need for cybersecurity and why it is important to build a robust and secure digital infrastructure for the education sector.
Similarly, cybersecurity tools will also be needed for the seamless functioning of advanced technologies like deep analytics and artificial intelligence that the government plans to use to identify tax evaders, fake billers and for the digital census. The newer technologies can be used considerably for sectors like BFSI, healthcare, education, and can help in extensive R&D, provided that they are used with utmost security so as to avoid their misuse by cybercriminals who are capable of creating more chaos than one can expect.
It will be interesting to see India's education and other sectors further progressing towards digitalisation in the next 1-2 years, and cybersecurity experts and companies like us will be glad to help the country secure this digital future at every step taken forward."
Ashish P. Dhakan, MD & CEO, Prama Hikvision India
“The Union Budget FY 2021-22 is a transformative budget with positive resolve for India to grow further with a vision of the AtmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyan that compliments the ‘Make-in-India’ initiative of the Government. AtmaNirbhar Bharat is an expression of 130 crore Indians, who have full confidence in their capabilities and skills. The Union Budget has identified the six pillars of Atmanirbhar Bharat's vision. On behalf of Prama Hikvision, we welcome the progressive and visionary budget and look forward to economic growth and stability.
The budget has sincere intent to provide momentum to strengthen local manufacturing capabilities. The Production Linked Incentive scheme (PLI) is a welcome move by the government. The review of the customs duty structure is clearly seen as a move towards promoting the domestic manufacturing. We hope that the review of the custom duty structure will be done after extensive consultation with the key stakeholders.
The move to strengthen the overall research ecosystem to boost innovation and R&D in the country, an outlay of Rs 50,000 crore, is being announced, for National Research Foundation. It is a big step for accelerating innovation and R&D in India. The budget clearly shows government’s mega thrust on developing Infrastructure, Road Transport, Waterways, Airports, Railway, Metro Rail, ‘MetroLite’ and ‘MetroNeo’. It is commendable for its inclusive growth agenda, overall a gradual step toward Atmanirbhar Bharat.”
Mr. Prakash Mallya, Vice President and Managing Director - Sales, Marketing and Communications Group, Intel India
“At a time of great uncertainty, the first ever paperless Union Budget 2021 stood out for its unremitting focus on economic recovery through higher spending and inclusive growth opportunities. The allocation of Rs. 50,000 crores over the next five years through the National Research Foundation to develop India’s potential as a global innovation hub is particularly exciting. This will undoubtedly provide greater impetus to the Indian innovation story and cement our position on the global map of leading economies. At Intel, we are steadfast in our commitment to partnering with the Indian government on this journey of technology fueled innovation and growth.
The Budget’s elaborate focus on developing healthcare infrastructure is also very encouraging. Technology will be a key enabler for building a robust healthcare ecosystem that can ensure universal access to high quality and personalized medical resources across the country. The past year has also refocused efforts on a digital-first mindset to enable greater access to education, support educational planning and teaching, and elevate learning outcomes. The proposed National Digital Educational Architecture (NDEAR) together with online modules for education and provisions for digital training for teachers are welcome steps towards ensuring quality education for all.
The other thing that stood out in the Budget was the major push to revive and drive growth for the MSME sector. Doubling the budgetary allocation for this crucial sector, coupled with reducing margin money requirements for startups and promoting ease of business for foreign investors will help this sector develop further.
It is evident that the government is banking on India’s digital technology foundation to power its revival journey. It is encouraging to see the government’s sharpened focus on adoption of cutting edge technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. We are excited to see the future of Indian innovation and economic resurgence unfold over the next few months. And we look forward to continuing to partner with the government to develop innovative technology solutions that can support the nation’s growth objectives, generate employment and strengthen India’s digital innovation capabilities.”
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