In the hope of pump priming the economy in a post-pandemic world, the Union Budget 2022 was viewed as progressive while acknowledging its recent inclusion of taxation on cryptocurrency, several others have lauded its initiatives for climate action.
As opinions continue to pour in from national and international industry players, some have shared their views with us and on public platforms.
“It’s a very fair, balancing act between fiscal and growth and overall, the orientation has been growth rather than to take populist measures, which was I’d say expected before the budget, so if you see there is an increase in capital expenditure, there is a fiscal expansion and all of them has been directed towards the budget. I think everybody right from capital goods to engineering etc., will benefit out of it. There is a special emphasis on PLI, on defence so all in all the budget does push a growth agenda and we can see that playing out, and if executed well, it can have a cascading effect on growth all across.”
Ashish Kehair, Managing Director & CEO, Edelweiss Wealth Management
“The government has been taking a longer horizon for the development, which I would call a visionary approach and to which the Hon’ble Finance Minister has termed that as the Amrit Kaal, the 25-year-long lead up to India@100. PM GatiShakti is a transformative approach to improve the infrastructure of the country and thereby boost the economy, and ease of doing business. The proposed 35.4% increase in capital expenditure, directed towards infrastructure, is a welcome move to the GatiShakti vision…
[box type=”success” align=”” class=”” width=””]One of the things that stood out very loudly and clearly from the Budget Speech was the government’s focus on promoting Digital Economy. Announcements such as Digital Rupee, Paperless e-bill system, National Tele Mental Health program, Digital university, and Kisan Drones cover different aspects of the digital interventions. The government’s commitment to transition to Carbon Neutral Economy was also quite visible in the Budget speech of the Hon’ble Finance Minister.[/box]
Overall, the Budget provides policy stability and consistency from the previous budget and other policy announcements while setting the stage for sustained economic growth.”
Barnik Chitran Maitra, Managing Partner and CEO of Arthur D Little, India & South Asia
“The fiscal budget 2022-23 was extremely new-age as anticipated and promising for growing businesses especially within the ambit of Atma Nirbhar Bharat and Digital India mission. We welcome the Government’s revamped focus on urban infrastructure and development. We believe the introduction of town planning schemes and transit-oriented development will create a massive opportunity for e-mobility in India. [box type=”info” align=”” class=”” width=””]The policy push towards building and improving efficiency of India’s EV ecosystem will play a crucial role in encouraging more and more consumers to adopt eco-friendly ways of commuting for both short and long-distance travel.[/box]
Initiatives like Drone Shakti for startups and an expert committee to help attract investments, PE/VC is an encouragement for many players with the mission to expand their businesses and export goods manufactured in India to the world. In the larger context, this strengthens India’s mark on the global map and continues to be the manufacturing hub which will also boost FDI…. As India becomes the third-largest startup ecosystem after US and China, we would like to congratulate the government for emphasis laid on ‘Ease of Doing Business’ during the past couple of years. With an extension on tax incentives for startups and Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) until 2023, we are hopeful that businesses especially MSMEs will get the much-needed respite in registering strong recovery during the post-pandemic era.”
Sachin Chopra, Co-Founder and CEO, Ninety One Cycles
“The central focus on manufacturing equipment, launching an open platform for the national digital health ecosystem is aimed to improve the quality of life and healthcare infrastructure. In a short span, 95 percent of 112 aspirational districts have made significant progress in health, nutrition, financial inclusion, and basic infrastructure. They have surpassed even some of the state average value. We are driven to support this transformational growth by enabling states with the required infrastructure and capacity for providing healthcare services and making these facilities better prepared and future-ready. One very critical impact of the pandemic has been on the mental health of people and the initiative from GoI to address this growing concern is laudable with the amalgamation of technology, AI, and healthcare as a nation we can win over this silent pandemic of mental wellness.
From a supply-chain standpoint, the last two years have been very challenging and as stated in the survey 2022, the government had opted for a barbell strategy to cushion the impact on vulnerable sections, with the covid restrictions easing out we hope for a pickup and recovery in the overall supply chain scenario and an upturn in the performance of the sector. With the gradual unlocking of the economy, record vaccinations, improvement in consumer demand, and continued support by the government in the form of AtmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyan and further reinforcements we are well throttled towards economic recovery this fiscal.”
Vivek Tiwari , CEO of Medikabazaar
[box type=”shadow” align=”” class=”” width=””]Infrastructure
“The Budget highlights the importance of Sustainable Development and shows India’s seriousness of its Net Zero commitment made recently during the COP26 Summit. Even at Holcim India and its two operating companies in India–Ambuja Cements and ACC, sustainability remains at the core of our business strategy.
Along with the focus on clean mobility and green energy, the proposed measures and reforms for boosting the hydro-power and solar power capabilities of India will help the nation to achieve the targets of 500-gigawatt renewable energy by 2030.
The introduction of Sovereign Green Bonds in public sector projects is the right direction in financing the decarbonizing initiatives.”
Neeraj Akhoury, CEO India, Holcim and CEO & MD Ambuja Cements[/box]
[box type=”shadow” align=”” class=”” width=””]Climate Action
“The announcement of the Finance Minister to issue sovereign green bonds to mobilize resources required for green infrastructure will certainly help boost the financing of clean energy projects, thereby providing an impetus to the Indian energy sector. With the Approved Module Manufacturer List becoming applicable from April 2022, the allocation of an additional INR 19,500 crore under PLI scheme for solar would help create a much-needed manufacturing ecosystem. The enhanced focus on electric mobility is showcasing the clear desire to mainstream this emerging industry. Overall, the budget is giving clear direction for India to meet its COP26 commitments by 2030.”
Manish Chourasia, Managing Director, Tata Cleantech Capital Limited[/box]
Technology
“We at E42 welcome and congratulate the government for a growth-oriented Budget. As we were a part of government’s National startup day initiative, we are extremely proud that our government has continued focus to accelerate entrepreneurship. We appreciate government’s focus on AI and Deep Technology. Government laid emphasis on AI will assist in rapid technology development and will generate employment opportunities.”
Animesh Samuel, Co-founder & CEO, E42
“It was rightly mentioned by Hon’ble Finance Minister’ that the pandemic has impacted learning experience, and there is a need for workforce to be more agile and vigilant in the digital world. The skilling program which would be reoriented through the digital DESH e-portal will be of great assistance. Additionally, Gift city which offers students/ budding employees an exposure to foreign universities will assist them with in-depth knowledge and will widen their scope of career options globally”
Amir Bharwani Head HR at eClerx
[box type=”shadow” align=”” class=”” width=””]Education
“We welcome the Union Budget 2022. Through this, the government has put a major focus on education, skilling, up-skilling, and re-skilling. This is absolutely what the country and the industries needed right now. The centre’s vision of a Gift City, where world-class international colleges and institutes will provide courses free of domestic regulation, is a huge step forward. The creation of a digital university to give students access to world-class quality education in accordance with ISTE Standards would accelerate the sector’s growth and is a fantastic initiative.”
Ranjita Raman, CEO, Jaro Education
“We congratulate the Finance Minister for this year’s budget. The budget reflects the need to overcome the learning loss induced by the pandemic. The idea to start a One Class One TV channel to bridge the learning loss induced by the pandemic was required and we are excited to support this wonderful initiative. The announcement to facilitate supplementary learning in regional language for classes 1 to 12 was long overdue and is in sync with NEP 2020 to boost learning in languages other than Hindi and English. Government’s idea to generate more employment in the startup ecosystem is need of the hour and the EdTech sector will help in accelerating this movement. We also welcome the establishment of AVGC Promotion Task force as edtech heavily relies on animation and visual effects and is a creator of opportunities for youth skilled in animation and visual effects.”
Vingish Vijay, Founder & VP, 90+ My Tuition App[/box]
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