The Union Budget Paves Way For Strong Digital Savvy India In 2022-23

The Union Budget 2022 has recognized the digital growth of the country as a primary focus. In order to promote cleaner mobility, the battery swapping policy and interoperability standards that government plans to introduce, incorporates the concept of energy/battery as a service. This will also help in developing the charging station ecosystem which is imperative for massification of EVs. 

Sanjay Gupta  Vice President and India Managing Director, NXP Semiconductors said the announcement will give impetus to the private sector to develop sustainable and innovative business models for battery and energy as a service.  He further added, “The scheme for design led manufacturing to be launched for 5G ecosystem as part of PLI will be a boost to the overall telecom and electronic sectors. It will also provide and promote research and development of technology and solutions and will enable affordable broadband and mobile communication.

"The plan to roll out E- passports with embedded chip and futuristic technology, digital rupee using blockchain by RBI, Drone Shakti and Kisaan Drones and opening Defence R&D for industry, startups and academia are welcome moves that will accelerate the growth and development of the semiconductor industry in the country. As the government continues to accentuate focus on Atmanirbhar Bharat and Digital India, we are hopeful that this year’s budget will propel India towards becoming a global electronic hub,” adds Sanjay Gupta .

Mr. Puneet Gupta, Managing Director & Vice President, NetApp India remarks, “I am excited to see the government’s focus on technology sector, as a whole. The incentives towards creating digital infrastructure, education, and skilling, spell out the intent on developing the country’s human capital. The emphasis of digitised skilling will help make our country's youth future-ready. Additionally, the announcement on RBI introducing digital currency and the government providing infrastructure status to data centers, will help create a framework for emerging technologies making the digital India Inc better and stronger.”

Sunil Sharma, managing director – sales, Sophos India & SAARC says, "The Union Budget 2022 presented by the Government of India is built on the foundation of introducing new technologies across sectors. From education to finance, logistics, and healthcare, the bedrock of change will be driven by tech.  The government has further proposed the introduction of the digital rupee. While this will definitely enhance efficiency and promote growth, increased digital penetration also brings with it additional cyber risks that one should be vary of. As a step towards mitigating cyberattacks, the government plans to set up broadband in villages as well as the Digital DESH e-portal. This will help equip youth with the right skills, including cybersecurity skill sets, needed to operate safely in today’s tech-driven world.”

Dhruvil Sanghvi, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, LogiNext says, "We welcome the move by the Government of India to boost logistics as a means towards ensuring economic growth. The proposal to set up a Unified Logistics Interface Platform is a welcome move. Leveraging technology to complement the development of infrastructure will help bring in better efficiency. Furthermore, with real-time tracking, and inventory management as a part of the platform, this will go a long way in bringing India at par with global supply chain networks. LogiNext has always been an advocate for digitisation of supply chains, and it is reassuring to see the Government work towards this. The decision taken to extend the tax incentives provided to startups till March 31, 2023 is a reflection of the Government’s commitment towards ease of doing business in India.”

Kunal Nagarkatti, CEO, Clover Infotech remarks saying that the government’s focus on creating a strong digital ecosystem to enhance banking and financial inclusion is a step in the right direction. Bringing all post office banks under the core banking ambit will enable seamlessness in digital payments and online transfer of funds and accelerate financial inclusion. The setting up of the Digital DESH e-portal for skilling initiatives is the need of the hour as it will bridge the gap between the supply and demand for digitally skilled and technically strong resources.

Niraj Hutheesing, Founder and Managing Director, Cygnet Infotech says, “The advancement in enhanced transparency of payments is a huge stride forward for India in terms of fintech innovation. The proposed end-to-end online e-Bill system will enable increased productivity for industries that go completely paperless. This will prove to be extremely fruitful for digitization. Furthermore, the acknowledgement that India's GST collection stands at Rs.1.4 lakh crore for the month of January 2022, exemplifies the growing need for digital taxation solutions that promise to take the Indian economy to the next level.”

Commenting on the Union Budget announcements, Toshendra Sharma, Founder and CEO, NFTically says, “The budget paves a way for digital savvy India, impacting betterment and quality of life and ease of doing business. The Budget 2022 brings super positive news for the Web3.0 Startup ecosystem in India and brings a long term direction. Blockchain Innovations companies have exposure to Cryptocurrencies and this decision by the Government of India will help such core tech innovation to flourish without any fear. The Indian Government legitimatised crypto assets in India in an indirect way by coming out to tax the same. This is a strong step taken to boost a digital economy.

DigitalRupee is a historical decision by the visionary GoI. This will give a boost to the economy and create increased digital financial participation among the youth. India's digital currency will bring about an efficient, credible, payments option. It will also reduce dependency on cash, and increase cheaper currency management system in the long run.

Abhishek Rungta, Founder and CEO, INT. on the union Budget 2022 says, "The thrust provided to digital assets in form of giving green signal to crypto currency is a much-needed welcome step. With a flourishing fintech ecosystem, this openness to digital currency will help optimize and fasten the mass scale leverage of digital infrastructure. The B2B sector is expected to be among first movers to include digital currency-based transactions for businesses. From demand perspective, we believe that the country’s push towards digital-led framework for all key aspects, will result in increased opportunities for IT services from domestic market."