Union Budget Reaction 2023 By Industry Leaders
Mr. Raghunandan Saraf, Founder & CEO, Saraf Furniture, said, “MSME credit assurance It was proposed last year to revamp the credit guarantee scheme for MSMEs. The revamp scheme, with a corpus infusion of 9000 crores, will go into effect on April 1, 2023. This will enable another two lakh crores of rupees in collateral-free guaranteed credit. Credit costs will also be reduced by about 1%. The infusion of Rs 9,000 crore into the corpus of the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) should allow for better and broader scheme implementation, as well as improved claim meeting. This decision is expected to offer a significant benefit to India’s MSME sector, which is regarded as a major economic growth driver. Supplemental collateral-free credit is expected to aid MSMEs in meeting the obstacles posed by the global epidemic and allowing them to continue to grow and create employment. It could be a positive step in safeguarding the well-being and expansion of India’s MSME sector.”
Mr. Avneet Singh Marwah, Director and CEO, Super Plastronics Pvt Ltd, a Kodak brand Licensee, said, “This is a remarkable and well-planned budget. We welcome the move of government to reduce the custom duty on open cell to 2.5 percent. This will really help the domestic TV manufacturing industry to scale up and compete with the global brands. This decision was awaited for a long time and this time, I am happy that the government has really considered our recommendations. Additionally, the idea of presumptive taxation for MSMEs and professions will really help is encouraging the sentiment of the market in the country. The revisions in the income tax slabs will really help the middle class and develop their living standards which is obviously going to benefit the market because we will witness growing sales of televisions and other products in the upcoming months. The focus of India government on the development of AI development centres will definitely revolutionise the industry and help in making it more tech-enabled.”
Mr. Sameer Aggarwal, CEO and Founder of Revfin Services, said, “The government’s dedication to ‘green growth’ approach promoting environmental sustainability, as emphasized by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the recent Union Budget 2023, is a commendable development,” stated Sameer Aggarwal, CEO and Founder of Revfin Services, an electric vehicles financing & digital lending platform. He added, “The emphasis on reducing carbon footprint and generating employment through green growth initiatives displays a deep comprehension of the interdependence of the environment and the economy. The 7 main priorities, referred to as ‘Saptrishi,’ will drive sustainable and environmentally friendly economic development and this, truly is in the direction of India seeking a leadership role in mitigating the global climate crisis. Budget is very positive for rural economy as it is talking about investments and credit schemes in agriculture, fishery, cattle etc. and this will generate higher income for rural folks and enable them to purchase L5 (e-rickshaw for commercial purposes) and better capacity to repay EMIs. Customs duty exemption is being extended to imports of capital goods and machinery required for the manufacture of lithium-ion cells for batteries used in electric vehicles to further boost green mobility.”
SATISH KATARIA, Founder –FANDORA.APP, said, “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 content creators to create even a better global impact.”
Mr Abhishek Malhotra Managing Partner (TMT Law Practice), said, “The Budget builds upon the progress made on the legislative and business front, to further ease compliance requirements. We see that there is a stress to introduce new policies, and introduce schemes to augment India’s proficiency in new age technologies and solutions. The Central Government has long intended for the usage of anonymized datasets, for the benefit of MSMEs, startups, and will introduce the National Data Governance Policy in the coming year, to govern such data collection, distribution protocols. The announcement to constitute 3 centres of excellence for artificial intelligence to augment our capabilities in AI development, testing, will be instrumental towards the Digital India goal as well. Added to this, the KYC processes will adopt a risk-based approach rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, to cater to startups, smaller industry players, and allow players to focus resources, R&D towards the development of the next wave of technologies like 5G, Web 3.0 and Metaverse, which will in turn enhance the growth projections of the country.”
Mr Gaurav Gandhi, Founder and CEO at Echelon Edge Pvt Ltd, Said, “The 5G ecosystem in India will get further stimulus from this budget. 100 labs for developing applications using 5G services are to be set up in engineering institutions. These labs will effectively develop 5G services to be implemented in a variety of fields. This holds some potential for private 5G deployment in these institutions and further growth of private networks for research purposes. The setting up of these labs will also help the telecom sector which has been at the center of mobile telephony distribution in India. More than 50 cities in the country have access to 5G services, so these labs will help them cover applications such as smart classroom, precision farming, intelligent transport system and healthcare.”
Sudipta Ghosh -Partner and Leader Data & Analytics, PwC India, said, “Using data as an asset to drive insights requires two critical things — availability of reliable data and the ability to cross-reference data across multiple data sets, and the Union Budget 2023 has addressed both the issues effectively. On the back of the data governance policy, bringing the academia and corporates on a common platform will enable innovation across multiple use cases. This will boost India’s AI leadership for solving grassroots problems.”
Akash Sinha, Co-founder & CEO, Cashfree Payments, said, “The Finance Minister has presented a distinctive set of measures in the Union Budget 2023-24 with a streamlined focus on rapid, holistic and inclusive economic growth. It is a well-crafted statement of intent, drawn from the success and learnings from the past with the potential to further enhance India’s growth prospects. Realising the crucial potential of digital infrastructure in the financial sector, the hon’ble FM has announced measures to increase the scope of DigiLocker services for individuals and MSMEs. This will certainly aid in enhancing the accessibility of financial services with higher convenience and simplified processes with robust security. It is also encouraging to see that the hon’ble FM has given due attention to compliance in the financial sector. A simplified KYC process, adopting a ‘risk-based’ approach as opposed to a ‘one size fits all’ outlook will ensure accurate and sophisticated verification as well as in-turn regulated operations in the financial services space. Highlighting the growth of digital payments and fiscal support for digital public infrastructure is also appreciable” as this further contributes to India’s digitisation efforts.”
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.”
Sanmeet Singh Kochhar, VP – India & MENA, HMD Global, said, “We welcome the promising Union Budget 2023 announced by honourable FM today. While the budget is futuristic with elements like Data Governance Policy, Centres of Excellence on AI, Green Growth, the conventional thrust areas of infrastructure have also received a big boost, which will directly impact device manufacturing in India. Mobile phone production in India has witnessed a phenomenal increase in recent years owing to policy support. The announcement to further reduce custom duty is another great step in this direction. The set-up of 100 labs to develop 5G in the country will better network connectivity in the nook and corner of the country and further help more sectors and communities to access the benefits of 5G networks. The focus on green growth as a priority aligns with HMD Global’s commitment to sustainability, and gives greater impetus to cleaner, greener tech for a better tomorrow.”
Mr. Nikhil Mathur, Managing Director India & Head of Data Partnership & Innovation-APAC at GfK: “The budget for 2023-24 has struck the right chords and is balanced. The massive push for capital investment and spending augurs well across industries as it shall lead to increased job creation. With the new tax slabs, there is an expectation of increased disposable income and consumer purchasing power which will have a positive impact on the retail sector. The reduction in customs duties for mobile phone manufacturing inputs and television along with the continuation of existing import sops will build more momentum in domestic manufacturing capacity. Going forward, we expect companies in the consumer tech sector to benefit from the progressive measures announced today. Overall, a budget focused on delivery.”
Ramanujam Komanduri, Country Manager, Pure Storage India, said, “The Union Budget presented by the Hon’ble Finance Minister is growth-oriented and inclusive. The impetus for the ‘Digital India’ vision is clear from budgetary allocations across sectors like infrastructure, skill development, sustainability, MSME, and entrepreneurship. This budget provides numerous growth opportunities for the technology industry by bringing digital solutions and innovation in legacy sectors like infrastructure, manufacturing, education, railways, healthcare, financial services, and regulatory bodies to turn India into a technology-driven, knowledge-based economy. Also commendable is a clear intent and investment in making India a net zero carbon emission country by 2070 through National Green Hydrogen Mission. Overall, the budget 2023 promises to sustain and catalyze India’s economic and digital growth with a strong role played by technology.”
Mr. Dilip Modi, Founder, Spice Money, said, “We are delighted to see the government’s continued focus on the rural sector in this year’s Budget as well. MSME’s are the backbone for the growth of India’s economy. Initiatives such as offering relief to MSMEs by returning 95 percent of the forfeited amount, revamping of the credit guarantee scheme, reducing the cost of credit by 1 percent and enabling MSMEs to avail the benefit of presumptive taxation as well as allowing expenditure deduction on payments made undoubtedly showcase the government’s vision for the growth and development of the sector. Furthermore, setting up DigiLocker will ensure a faster and secure way of storing and sharing documents thereby enabling quick turnaround and cost reduction for the sector. Initiatives such as setting up the Agriculture Accelerator Fund and building an open source, open standard and interoperable digital public infrastructure will create a platform for existing agri-startups as well as upcoming ventures to provide innovative and tech-led facilities to farmers that will help in revamping the sector and encouraging aspiring entrepreneurs thereby driving next level growth for the sector. The government’s vision of a technology-driven and knowledge-based economy will play an instrumental role in creating a conducive environment for startups across the spectrum, especially those with a rural focus. The proposal of providing income tax benefits as well as providing the benefit of carry forward of losses will support the startup ecosystem to flourish further and create numerous opportunities in the coming future. The government’s focus on further enhancing domestic tourism under the Vibrant Villages Programme, creation of jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities under ‘Dekho Apna Desh’ initiative and proposal of public-private partnerships will help in the economic development of underserved citizens and identifying and utilising the untapped potential existing across the length and breadth of the country. The unprecedented growth of India’s economy fuelled by digital payment initiatives like UPI is a testimony that we are on the right track to become a 5 trillion economy. We look forward to seeing India’s next phase reaping the benefits of the initiatives announced during the Budget session and partnering with the government to drive financial inclusion for the last mile.”
Arvind Bali, CEO, Telecom Sector Skill Council, said, “The government’s focus on the skill development of India’s potential youth talent through initiatives like NEP, PMKVY 4.0 for skilling in niche new-age technologies like 5G, AI, 3D printing, drones, coding, mechatronics, robotics, and IoT draws further impetus to the ongoing efforts. Blue and grey-collar job demand in India grew by up to four-fold in 2022. Annual demand in telecommunications and 5G have increased by 33.7 per cent in September 2022. There was a demand for 1.3 million workers in FY22-23 which is growing each year and. New use-cases including cloud computing, robots, and the Internet of Things (IoT) are also seeing a sharp rise in hiring. We believe the initiatives will be beneficial to close country’s growing demand supply gap of technical talent workforce. With the government’s push to establish 30 Skill India international centres, 100 premier labs for developing applications to use 5G services, and centres of excellence for AI, India has the potential to deliver talent not only across domestic markets but also to the international market. The initiative like the Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) is also a progressive move by the government to uplift the tribal population and empower the students to take up new job opportunities.”
A. Gururaj, MD, Optiemus Electronics Ltd., said, “This year’s budget is a strong effort to consolidate the Indian economy in post-pandemic dynamics, raising the personal tax exemption limit will certainly boost consumption and the electronics industry will surely benefit from it. Continuing the import duty cuts on Camera Lens and batteries for mobile manufacturing is a welcome step and this will continue to fuel the remarkable growth India has witnessed in domestic manufacturing.”
Matthew Foxton, India Regional President & Executive Vice-President, Branding & Communications, IDEMIA, said, “I am pleased to see the focus in Union Budget to strengthen the Digital ecosystem, India’s digital advancements in this decade have been remarkable, especially the integration of digital infrastructure and identity framework. Establishing a strong national identity system is crucial as it boosts security, drives economic growth, and strengthens social unity. The adoption of a unified KYC process, utilizing Digilocker and Aadhaar as the primary means of identity verification, is a positive step forward and will increase financial accessibility for marginalized communities.”
Dr. Prateek Kanakia, Chairman and Founder, TheGreenBillions, said, “This budget should be labelled as the first Green Budget as the businesses can now adopt a greener approach and cultivate sustainable solutions practices with the allocation of ₹35,000 for priority capital investment towards energy transition. Launching the national green hydrogen mission is a significant step in moving towards clean & green energy. Further, municipal solid waste can play an important role in achieving a hydrogen production capacity of 5 metric million tonnes by 2030. Given India’s G20 presidency, this budget is a watershed moment in India’s fight towards climate change.”
Rimjhim Ray Vice President – of Marketing, MyOperator, said, “The triple policies of backing 5G, giving custom relief to smartphones, and special schemes for MSMEs will accelerate the smartphone and mobile apps adoption for the smallest of businesses. This incentivizes larger tech players to build mobile-first software for India’s next billion. SMBs will literally leapfrog the digital divide with smartphone and business app access. We are looking at the era of a million smart businesses emerging from India.”
Somesh Kumar, Partner & Leader- Power, EY India, said, “Electrifying mobility is one of the most important aspects of mitigating climate change and promoting green growth, a key focus area of the current budget. We have close to 2 million EVs on the road and more than 50% of the vehicles are expected to be electrified by 2030 (varying across segments). One of the biggest components of EVs is the battery and the budget provides for custom duty exemption on capital goods import required for manufacturing Lithium Ion battery cells. This is one of the most capital intensive areas in the entire value chain and should go a long way in improving the viability of batteries and electric mobility sector.”
Dr. Nirmal Gehlot, Founder and CEO, Utkarsh Classes, said, “The Union Budget is progressive and has addressed many key issues the education sector faces, especially with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. As the pandemic wanes, we are thrilled the budget has focussed on upskilling and job creation, supporting businesses with the proposal to set up 30 Skill India international centres. It will help create more jobs and upskill aspirants looking for opportunities in the Indian government. The proposal to enhance teachers’ training via integrated curriculum transaction and continuous professional development will help in better education outcomes and result in overall development. The National Digital Library is an excellent idea that will ensure the best books are available for students and children across the country.”
Mr. Gaurav Kapoor, Chief Finance Officer, Baazi Games, said, “We welcome the Amrit Kaal Union Budget 2023 with an optimistic perspective. The new income tax regime will result in stimulating local demand and consumption in the economy. The rise of India’s position from an importer to an exporter of mobile phones in India augurs well for the online gaming sector. Moreover, the announcement of setting up 100 labs for developing 5G services apps for smart classrooms, healthcare, and others will open up a new range of opportunities and potential employment. Simplifying the KYC system process will further help in realizing ‘Digital India’ and will enable a seamless experience for consumers. Lastly, the ‘Make in India’ vision will further get a boost with a focus on “Make AI in India and Make AI work for India”, online gaming companies can develop new AI-based advancements that can provide a first-of-its-kind experience to users.”
Gurjodhpal Singh, CEO, Tide India, said, “The budget 2023 lays down a slew of measures to boost the holistic growth and development of the entire MSME community, including the launch of a unified Skill India Digital Platform. This will help in enabling demand-based skilling, facilitating access to entrepreneurial schemes, and linking with employers, including MSMEs. Simultaneously with an infusion of Rs 9,000 crore into the corpus, the credit guarantee scheme will prove beneficial for MSMEs that are still recovering from the effects of the pandemic. While the scheme had a rough start, lending to MSMEs by banks has surged significantly in the past two years and the scheme has helped alleviate stress in the sector. Increasing presumptive taxation limits for MSMEs and certain professionals with a turnover of up to Rs 3 crore and Rs 75 lakh, respectively is another critical relief for MSMEs. This will help make tax filing simpler for small businesses as they will be relieved from the tedious task of maintaining books of accounts and their income will be calculated on a presumptive basis, depending on the turnover. I believe all these measures collectively will act as a catalyst to boost the Indian economy.”
Subodh Garg, CFO, Cashify, said, “The Indian government’s latest budget announcement showcases its determination to build a sustainable future for the country. The budget prioritizes green growth by targeting a reduction in the carbon intensity of the economy and creating large-scale job opportunities in green industries. This represents a major opportunity for re-commerce players, such as Cashify, that are founded on the principles of the circular economy. The budget also recognizes the growing importance of the smartphone industry in India, where production has increased significantly in the past fiscal year. 5G technology was a major focus in the budget, with projections indicating that up to 45% of devices sold in 2023 will be 5G-enabled. The announcement of a reduced custom duty for spare parts provides a welcome relief for the refurbished device industry. Since the launch of the Startup India initiative in 2016, the government has taken numerous steps to establish India as a hub for startups. Today, India is home to the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world and ranks second in innovation and quality among middle-income countries. The extension of the period of carry forward of losses on change of shareholding of start-ups from 7 years of incorporation to 10 years is another measure that will help foster the growth of the startup industry and drive innovation in the country. Despite expectations for a revision of the taxing policy on ESOP/Capital gains taxes, the budget did not bring any amendments in this area, which was seen as a disappointment by some.”
Paavan Nanda, Co-Founder, WinZO games, said, “It’s heartening to witness TDS for Online Gaming finding significant mention in this year’s Union budget presented by the Hon’ble Minister. The proposed changes lend clarity to the Gaming companies, while creating an airtight accounting system for the exchequer. Aligning it with a player’s Net Winnings in a Financial Year seems like a just provision for the 500MM online gamers in India. Recognising and carving out a separate clause in the act for ‘Online Gaming’ as against gambling or betting is in line with Meity’s recent draft amendment to IT rules for Online Gaming, and is a testimony to the government’s genuine intent to nurture the burgeoning sector. The single most important aspect that the sector awaits clarity on and something that would decide its fate is the outcome from GoM on the GST. We are hopeful that the outcome would retain the current 18% tax slab on gross gaming commissions, and promise to overachieve the $10Trillion economy goal by our Hon’ble Prime Minister well before 2030.”
Mahankali Srinivas Rao (MSR), CEO, T-Hub said, “The Union budget’s elaborate focus on building a digital economy and technology-enabled development is extremely encouraging. As mentioned during the budget start-ups have emerged as growth drivers for our economy showcasing the immense potential of India’s start-up ecosystem. It’s evident from the government’s decision to extend the date of incorporation for income tax benefits from 31.03.2023 to 31.03.2024, which will empower the start-up sector, foster entrepreneurship significantly, and give rise to a new generation of founders. We thank the Govt. for extending the benefit of carrying forward losses on change of shareholding to 10 years of incorporation from 7 years, this will help start-ups adjust initial losses. Furthermore, government’s decision to set up Agriculture Accelerator Fund will encourage Agri-tech start-ups by young entrepreneurs in rural areas, this will bring innovative and affordable solutions for challenges faced by farmers and transform the traditional agricultural sector. Initiatives like National Data Governance Policy, Skill India Digital Platform, and upskilling policies announced will address the industry-academia widening gap and nurture entrepreneurship at the grassroots level. We are also happy to note that the government had allocated Rs 283.5 crore for the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme and the budgetary allocations for the Fund of Funds for Start-ups stood at Rs 1,000 crore, this will help in nurturing innovation and encouraging private investments in the start-up ecosystem. The government has taken a series of steps to promote start-ups in the country, the budget highlights special incentives Under the Startup India initiative, Fund of Funds for Start-ups (FFS) scheme, Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS), and Credit Guarantee Scheme for Start-ups (CGSS) encouraging capital at various stages of the business cycle of start-ups. These initiatives will serve as a successful catalyst for the country’s economic growth. We are excited for India’s economic growth this year and looking forward to start-ups playing a pivotal role.”
Mr. Gautam Kumar, COO & Co-founder, FarEye, said, “We were hoping for budget announcements that focus on the improvement of logistics infrastructure across the country and are happy to see the government’s continued push to build a more robust logistics ecosystem in the country. The move to invest Rs. 75000 crores with focus on prioritising 100 transport infrastructure projects that will develop last and first-mile connectivity for ports, coal, steel, and other sectors is a welcome step. Improving last and first-mile connectivity will have a direct impact on bringing down the logistics costs for industries and ultimately will help them become more competitive in the international market. Also notable is the government’s effort for promoting coastal shipping as an energy-efficient and low-cost mode of freight transport. If India is to bring down its logistics cost from 16% of the GDP to 9%, it must continue to strengthen its logistics infrastructure.”
Mr. Gautam Mohanka, Managing Director, Gautam Solar, said, “For reaching our goal of net zero carbon emission by 2070, Green Growth has been made one of the 7 priorities of this year’s budget. The government is implementing various programs for green growth which will help reduce carbon intensity and create green jobs. The Rs. 35000 crores capital investment for achieving energy transition and net zero objective and energy security by Ministry of petroleum and natural gas will help the country’s goal of decreasing the share of fossil fuels and increase the share of renewable energy. The Finance Minister highlighted National Green Hydrogen Mission with outlay of 19000 crore to help achieve annual production target of 5 MMT by 2030 for facilitating the net-zero target. The government highlighted Green credit Program under the Environment (Protection) Act to incentivize sustainable actions which is a net positive for the renewable energy industry. Promotion of Battery energy storage systems by Viability Gap funding of capacity 4000 MWh and extending exemption on machinery for production of Li-Ion battery manufacturing will further increase India’s domestic production capacity.”
Ms. Srividya Kannan, Founder and Director of Avaali Solutions, said, “The Union Budget presented by the Indian government is truly ambitious with its seven ‘Saptarishi mantras’. Many welcome announcements are in line with a focus on the country’s technological development and commitment to becoming a global superpower. It is heartening to hear the adequate emphasis on digital skill investment, including CoEs in the education ecosystem, tech and AI innovation announcements, 5G apps, and other digitalization priorities. This will create more jobs across the country, increase economic activity, and add value to the nation’s GDP. Companies across various sectors are expected to benefit from this investment which will help them become more competitive by accelerating their digitization process. It is also heartening to see announcements focused on green growth and ensuring various initiatives focused on sustainability. Additional infusion into CGTMSE and interest rate reduction thereon are also very welcome moves. Overall, it will be interesting to see how these investments will be made and how we can ramp up the digital talent pool to build various tech innovations that will be useful for our country.”
