Post Budget 2023 Quotes across various sectors

Parry Singh, Founder and CEO, Red Fort Capital

The finance minister has focused on growth and digitalization, which is the need of the hour. Capital Investment outlay has been increased by 33% to Rs 10 lakh crore, which would have a multiplier effect on the economy. The government has continued its support to MSMEs by announcing 9000 crores for the MSME credit scheme and returning 95% of the forfeited amount for contract failure during Covid-19. Furthermore, the enhancement in DigiLocker will increase the efficiency and reduce TAT for financial institutions and FinTech.

Pranay Aggarwal, Sociology faculty, IAS Gurukul

“While the budget will give the much needed push to the education sector, it could have done so much more. Teachers’ training is something previous governments have ignored. This budget expresses the intent to bring about innovations in pedagogy and curriculum. There is also a belated but welcome emphasis on tribal education. The National digital library will help promote reading culture in the country. Upskilling the youth in new age courses like robotics, AI and drones under PM Kaushal Vikaas Yoajna 4.0 and industry partnership will ensure greater employability.One urgent reform the education system needs is to address the digital divide. The budget, unfortunately, doesn’t emphasize much on it. The budget speech has ignored another recurrent demand from the education sector, which is to remove or at least reduce GST on education services. I also wish that the government had allocated more funds for education. We are yet to touch the target of spending 6% of the GDP on education which the National Education Policy 2020 had envisaged.”

Pritika Singh, CEO Of Prayag Hospitals Group

“We welcome FM Nirmala Sitharaman’s announcement regarding establishing 157 new nursing colleges in core locations. In addition, the proposal for a multidisciplinary course for medical devices for skilled manpower is also praiseworthy. The dedicated multidisciplinary course for medical devices will be supported in existing institutions to ensure the availability of skilled manpower for futuristic medical technologies and high-end manufacturing and research. The health budget has been increasing yearly, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic. In Union Budget 2022-23, 86,200 crore rupees were allocated to the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, a 16.5 percent increase over the previous year. Apart from that, we also laud the new program for pharma research proposed by the FM. The program will be formulated and the industry will be encouraged to invest in research. The pharmaceutical industry has been asking for incentives to promote R&D investments.”

Ramesh Jhajharia, Co-Founder and CEO of Tradexa,

“The 2023-24 budget has laid clear emphasis on prioritizing economic growth with focus on capital spending to generate growth and employment. The announcement relating to MSMEs and thrust on digital banking will further go a long way in supporting the economy. It is good to see the government’s focus on facilitating the growth of the MSME sector in this year’s budget. MSMEs to get 95% of forfeited amount for contract failure during Covid-19 which is a highly appreciative move. Another much-needed move by the government is the credit guarantee for MSMEs where the revamped scheme will take effect from April 1, 2023 with infusion of ₹9,000 crore corpus. This will enable additional collateral-free credit of Rs 2 lakh crore to MSMEs. A much-required move for MSME’s recovering from the effects of the pandemic”

Sarvagya Mishra, Co-founder & Director, SuperBot (PinnacleWorks)

This Budget is notable for its renewed emphasis on the development of digital infrastructure. The Indian government’s intention to establish three “Centers of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence” in prestigious educational institutions to make “AI Work for India” is a dose of encouragement for entrepreneurs who have been working in the field, hoping to give a new face to sectors and services. These centers will undoubtedly serve as a bridge between educational institutions and leading industries, with the goal of researching and developing practical AI applications across different verticals including agriculture, health, and sustainable cities. Furthermore, the focus on building a strong AI ecosystem in India and training skilled AI professionals will assist new businesses in acquiring the right talent. This also puts a lot of responsibility on education institutes to strengthen the curriculum in the field.

Ashwani Rawat, Co Founder & Director Transerve Technologies.

The Budget presented by FM Nirmala Sitharaman builds on the excellent Budget last year, continuing the trend towards more productive expenditure. Like the rest of India, we welcome Budget 2023 with open arms. The Union budget has correctly highlighted the imperative for greater emphasis on innovation, research, and development, which are crucial to helping India reach the aspirational goal of becoming a $5 trillion economy. Focusing on the amplification of emerging technologies can help create a world-class technology ecosystem.

Budget 2023 provided wings to India’s Growth story by focusing on investment, increased expenditure, employment, ease of doing business.& rebate in income tax limit to 7 lakh in new tax regime.

The Budget is consistent with our PM Narendra Modi’s vision of making India Atmanirbhar: a digital superpower, a sustainability leader and a healthy nation. This statement of intent is clearly supported by a plan for the future, and backed by allocations — specifically in the areas of infrastructure, digital transition, planet resilience, education and health — to support Indian ambitions.

Kaushal Sampat, Founder of Rubix Data sciences

“The Union Budget 2023-24 has given a big boost to KYC. By recommending a risk-based approach instead of the current one-size-fits-all process, the government has paved the way for better compliance in customer and counterparty onboarding, as it adjusts verification levels depending on the risk. It will also help in cutting costs, saving time, and improving customer experience by a huge margin. eKYC has also got a big push in this Union Budget. The introduction of DigiLocker for MSMEs, Trusts, and other entities will vastly ease the eKYC process, as verification of statutory documents will be simplified.”

Vasu Naren, Managing Director & CEO, Sona Machinery

Speaking ahead of the post-budget, Mr Vasu Naren, Managing Director & CEO, Sona Machinery, said: “With the agri budget being increased by 20 lakh crore, it calls for a massively positive step for the growth of the sector. Additionally, the Agri Accelerator Fund is a good step, it will help enable businesses to navigate government regulations and connect all stakeholders in the farm supply chain and network. This will be a game changer in terms of enhancing the agri value chain. Additionally, the focus on Amrit Kal which lies in a tech-enabled economy will only aid in the development of advanced machinery and infrastructure in all fields. Moreover, the focus on digital agri-infrastructure development will also aid in the development of a global workforce that will accelerate the agricultural economy and make it stand at par with global agri-infrastructure.”

Ganesh Nikam, Managing Director and CEO of Biojobz- An Industry leader in “Executive Search” & recruitment for the Biotech & Pharmaceutical industry.

“We had bucketed our expectations before the budget into several categories, and it is encouraging to see that the government checked at least some of them. The pharmaceutical industry’s request to incentivise and encourage R&D investments has finally been granted. The new Centers of Excellence programme, aimed to promote pharmaceutical research and innovation, will encourage investment opportunities that will directly fuel the sector expansion and jobs. It will begin to unleash the high innovation potential of rich Indian scientific talent. Also on the direct taxes, the increase in the Income tax rebate limit is a very welcoming step. Overall budget has met a lot of expectations.”

S Durgaprasad, Co-Founder, Director, and Group CEO, Bahwan CyberTek.

“Budget 2023: Doubling down on digital, knowledge-based inclusive development for future well-being”

“The political will to invest in people and research for technology-driven growth is clear. The announcement of three centers of Artificial Intelligence and 100 labs for 5G apps to nurture R&D in India with the vision to Make AI in India and Make AI work for India will further strengthen India’s position vis-à-vis global counterparts. The 30 Skill India international centers focused on emerging technologies, with a strong focus on, on-the-job training, will contribute to the country’s expanding knowledge capital, positioning India as a strong digital contender.

The reduction of compliances to improve ease of doing business, the 33% hike in capital expenditure, along with the continuation of interest-free loans to state government will catalyse economic growth providing job opportunities. Budget 2023 is a progressive step towards building a stronger digital and green India.”

Bhavesh Talreja, Founder & CEO, Globale Media

“The Government has put a lot of emphasis on establishing AI centres in some of the top Indian institutions to ensure AI creates a stronghold in India. And with the setup of 100 5G application labs, the gaming and fintech industry will witness a massive boost in demand.
These introductions will pose a crucial growth factor for AI and 5G in the coming time. The international market will also shift its focus on India for developing advanced tech, across sectors such as education, agriculture, healthcare, and transportation.”

SATISH KATARIA, Founder –FANDORA.APP

“It seems that the government has not given heed to potential demand of rationalising taxation on the virtual digital assets in this budget. I would like to reiterate that while Crypto Currencies as such could be speculative instruments, and hence demanding a higher taxation perspective – not all digital assets should be made part of this category. Again, while the government has issued its clarity of digital tokens underlying real time assets – but then, Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs) representing underlying art and content IP – are still dappling under the uncertain regime. I hope that the government realises that such NFTs and Web3 assets can actually help our content industry multifold – through adding additional monetisation layers to their existing content and enabling audiences to engage with their favourite creators in a more active, significant manner. I believe that the government should encourage Content based NFTs and bring them under the category of real asset based tokens – thus providing essential incentivisation for Indian…