New Delhi, Feb 1 (FN Bureau) Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday presented the Union Budget 2023-24, which placed a greater emphasis on the rural sector, social sector schemes, infrastructure development, and the middle class. The Budget for 2023-24 maintained its focus on increasing Capex, demonstrating that the Narendra Modi government’s priorities are road, highway, and railway line construction. The middle class has received some relief in the form of tweaks to the new income tax regime, clearly indicating that the government prefers the new regime over the old one. Here are the quotes of some industry leaders. Vikas Jain, Co-Founder, PLAY Design Labs said, “A very sensible budget presentation and the FM has been considerate to the common man and industry alike.
There is massive commitment of job creation and infrastructure spending which is very well received for India. Modification to the income tax slabs is a delight for the citizens and should encourage more citizens to declare their income statement.” “Most the industry is well taken care of and focus on strengthening manufacturing is evident. We hope to see some focus and action on the “cost of capital” in future budgets and themes. Backing manufacturing by incentivizing R&D/Design could have been a great addition and we remain hopeful for outlay for design in the forthcoming edition,” Jain added. Amit Relan, Founder and CEO, mFilterIt shared, “AI will change the face of India and enable the country to establish a stronger foundation of a ‘Digital India’. It will increase efficiency, improve decision-making and accelerate economic growth bringing a significant change in sectors like healthcare, education, agriculture and finance through automation, data analysis and predictive modeling.
For a country to maximise the benefits of AI, it will be essential for the public and private sectors to work together to ensure that the use of AI will align with the country’s values and priorities and to address the ethical, legal and social implications of AI.” Anurag Awasthi, Vice President, Indian Electronics and Semiconductors Association (IESA), “It has been very heartening to read the summary of Economic Survey 2022-23, as tabled yesterday. The union budget is balanced and will be another stepping stone in achieving the landmark of $ 1 Trillion digital economy. The provisions, as stated in the budget will spurn manufacturing, design as well as skill development besides providing pivotal impetus to MSME sector.” “The budget heralds that the impact of technology and its contribution in the socio- economic as well as evolutionary aspects of the nation is clearly benchmarked. This budget is special as it is formulated post two years of a pandemic, an ongoing raging conflict in the west, an anticipated global recession and India’s rise as a global power in the comity of nations.
his is India’s techade with astute government policies with a supportive budgetary envelope,” Awasthi added. Krishna Moorthy, K CEO & President of IESA, said, “Over the last few years, the industry has seen the consistency in budget thought flows from the government and this has led to some amount of stability and increased credibility to the Governments approach to industry related policy support. The 2023 budget is no exception as India steers the G-20 in the current disposition.” Saket Chirania, Co-Founder of Agrizy, commented, “Agriculture and allied industries are undoubtedly the backbone of India’s economy, since they collectively facilitate rural employment, development and food security. The government has continued to acknowledge this fact in its proposed budget this year as well, for which we must commend the Finance Minister. This year’s budget makes a sincere attempt to promote technology and innovation in agriculture to make the sector future-ready.
The setting up of agriculture accelerator fund will provide a great boost to the budding agri-startups in the country. A digital public infra for agriculture will be built as an open-source, interoperable public good.” “The government is keen on boosting the sector, and that intention is clearly reflected through the increase in agricultural credit target to Rs 20 lakh crore, which will empower the small scale farmers. In addition to this, I am certain that the digital public infra for agriculture announced today, which will be built as an open-source, interoperable public good, will not just drive the use of technology in the agriculture sector but also open up a host of new growth avenues for the farmers. The government’s boost to natural farming and setting up of 10,000 Bio Input Resource Centres will also be a major propellant for the sector, adding to the quality of the crops produced while also adding sustainability to farming practices,” added Saket. Zaiba Sarang, Co-founder, iThink Logistics, “Adopting green and sustainable practices is the way toward future, which has been acknowledged by the government quite profusely in today’s budget. The Union Budget 2023 places a strong emphasis on environmental responsibility. The ‘Panchamrit’ initiative is aimed specifically at achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2070, thus contributing to the green growth of the nation.”
“Continuing to provide impetus for EV adoption in India, the government has taken robust steps through exemptions on customs duty levied upon the machinery imported for the manufacture of lithium-ion cells for EV batteries. The budget has also adequately covered infrastructure development by allocating INR 75,000 crore, including private investment, towards improving first- and last-mile delivery. As a part of the logistics sector, we are extremely elated at the announcement of these provisions, since they will help solve the current connectivity issues facing the industry while building a more sustainable future for logistics, where efficiency and environmental responsibility come together to form a sustainable ecosystem,” Sarang added.