Greater Impetus To India’s Manufacturing Sector Is Indeed A Welcome Move: Dr. Keshab Panda

Union Budget 2021reactions from  Dr. Keshab Panda, CEO & MD, L&T Technology Services 

 Dr. Keshab Panda, CEO & MD, L&T Technology Services on the union Budget 2021 says, "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."

Privatization Of PSBs Will Make Banking Sector More Agile And Oriented Towards Digital Growth

Lalit Mehta, Co-founder & CEO of Decimal Technologies from a fintech startup perspective:

“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.”

Ashraf Rizvi, Founder & CEO of Digital Swiss Gold & Gilded, from a fintech, wealthtech and personal finance perspective:

“The Sensex witnessing a rise of over 4.5% signals the positive sentiment towards the Union Budget 2021. The gold and silver market received good news with a rationalization of import tariffs. The reduction in import duty on gold and other precious metals from 12.5 percent to 10 percent, will make jewelry cheaper in the domestic market for the buyer, as India continues to be the second-largest buyer of gold in the world. Moreover, the announcement of SEBI as the regulator for gold exchanges in India, is also a welcome move as it hints at deeper regulation of digital transactions of the yellow metal, which is a critical to earn consumer trust. Overall, a very positive shot in the arm for the Indian economy that looks to help India and its citizens recover in 2021 after a very difficult 2020. We at Digital Swiss Gold and Gilded will continue to ensure savings to our customers, so that more investors consider gold as a critical asset in their investment portfolio.”

Proposal To Reduce Margin Money Requirement From 25-15 Percent For Start-Ups Is Welcome Move

Quotes from start-up founder Rohit Gawli, Chief Executive Officer of Lokal Kitchen, a food-tech start-up focused on marketing, selling, and delivering home-cooked meals to households and offices. 

"Compliance requirements for start-ups consume a lot of time, effort and resources. By proposing to reduce the margin money requirement from 25% to 15% for start-ups, I think our Government is really trying to acknowledge the need of easing up compliances to encourage more activity in this ecosystem. Moreover, the Finance Minister has also proposed to revise definition under Companies Act, 2013 for small companies by increasing their threshold for capitalization to not exceeding Rs 50 lakh to not exceeding Rs 2 crore and turnover not exceeding Rs 2 crore to not exceeding Rs 20 crore. Currently, a firm can only be labelled as a start-up if their annual turnover cap is of Rs 100 crore. Increasing this threshold will allow exemptions to companies to over Rs 100 crore and hence supporting them in their growth story. It would encourage further expansion of companies like these."

"Lastly, I am truly thrilled about the new initiative ‘one man show’ wherein one-person companies will be allowed now. There will be no restriction on paid-up capital and turnover, this will definitely incentivise more incorporation of one-person companies. This will also enable non-resident Indians to incorporate one-person companies in India. This initiative is an example of how our government truly understands that India needs more such reforms to support its budding entrepreneurship eco system."

Agriculture Is Central Pillars Employing 15% Of India's Population

 
Post Budget Reaction from Nikhil Das, Founder, Agdhi 

The budget presented by Nirmala Sitharaman Ji today acknowledged the importance of agriculture in India’s economy as one of the central pillars employing 15% of the population. The central budget has shown confidence in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) regime and has upheld it for the farmer. The budget has promised 1.5 times MSP against the cost of production across all commodities. This is likely to bring in more innovation and adoption of technology in farming. Besides this, the budget has proposed an increase in agriculture credit.

The budget has realized the importance of start-ups in job creation and has extended the tax holiday for startups till March 2022. Already withering under the impact of the pandemic, the announcement has come as a big relief for startups that have become a critical employment generator with 4,70,000 jobs. Such measures are likely to boost sentiments across the board among potential entrepreneurs who are keen on entering the market with their business ideas.

These announcements in the budget were preceded by some welcome news for startups that included the broadening of the definition of startups and approval of the “Startup India Seed Fund Scheme” which comes with a corpus of Rs 945 crore. Overall, the budget has decided on supporting sectors that generate employment and seeks to revive an economy that has been severely hit by a global pandemic.

The Budget Was With A Clear Aim To Empower India: Yogendra Kashyap, CEO, RapiPay Fintech

Reaction from Mr. Yogendra Kashyap, CEO, RapiPay Fintech Pvt. Ltd, an SK Narvar promoted entity.

“Today’s budget was with a clear aim to empower India with a special focus on building infrastructure and creating a digital ecosystem to enhance the economy. As a  push towards growth in last mile delivery of financial inclusion, the Finance Minister has proposed a Rs 1,500 crore-scheme, which will be marked as financial incentives.  India has witnessed speedy growth in assisted payments post the pandemic, especially from the marginalized population of Tier II & III areas. Further, the government has also proposed to set up a world-class fintech hub near Gandhinagar to augment India’s fast-growing fintech market and boost self-employment under the Prime Minister's Aatmanirbhar Bharat vision. This would help in growing the payments infrastructure in our country.”

Healthcare At forefront Of India’s Growth, Says Vishal Bali Of Asia Healthcare Holding

Healthcare At forefront of India’s Growth, “Healthy India is core to India’s economic growth reflects in the 137% increase in  outlay for health at Rs 2,23,846 cr in budget 2021. The focus on healthcare with Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana with an outlay of Rs 64, 180 CR over 6 years shows that healthcare capacity building is now a key priority for the Govt. The 35000 cr earmarked for COVID 19 vaccination drive will create the safety net for the country. The overall capital expenditure increase of 26% should drive infrastructure acceleration, the much needed GDP growth driver. Insurance sector which is an important pillar for any country should see an exponential growth with enhancement of FDI limit to 74% from 49%. Overall a forward looking budget to drive the 11% GDP growth for India in FY22 as pegged in the Economic survey 2020.”

Dubai Forms Vaccine Logistics Alliance To Speed Up Distribution Of COVID-19 Vaccines

The move follows a World Health Organization (WHO) campaign to equitably distribute two billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines in 2021

Dubai has launched a vaccine logistics alliance to expedite the distribution of vaccines around the world, with a focus on hard-hit developing countries.

The move follows a World Health Organization (WHO) campaign to equitably distribute two billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines in 2021.

The alliance harnesses the capabilities of several Dubai-based companies including Emirates, DP World, and Dubai Airports.

“Each alliance partner brings to the table a specific and complementary set of strengths and capabilities in vaccine distribution,” Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of Dubai Airports, and Chairman and CEO of Emirates said in a statement.

The distribution, the statement added, will focus on “emerging markets, where populations have been hard-hit by the pandemic, and pharmaceutical transport and logistics are challenging.”

The alliance is also working with manufacturers, government agencies, and other relevant stakeholders to achieve its goals.

Dubai is an ideal hub because of its central location, CEO of Dubai Airports Paul Griffiths said.

“Dubai’s central location means it is easily accessible to almost 80 percent of the world’s population within just four hours, making the decision to join forces and develop the world’s preeminent distribution hub a very strategic one,” he explained.