Industrial Automation Magazine India

The Aatmanirbhar Bharat ka budget with a huge boost to Make in India

Published on : Wednesday 02-02-2022

This Union budget focuses on investing more on infrastructure and renewable energy, which will indirectly support employment generation

 
February 2, 2022 – Budget 2022 has received widespread support from industry leaders who have hailed for complementing the macro-factors while focusing on micro thematic reforms.

Presented here are some of the reactions received from leading corporates.

“Overall, this is a budget with a long-term vision supported by growth oriented policies driving job creation, digital inclusion, climate action and infrastructure development and therefore, is very timely for our country. As we continue to digitally transform, the focus on bolstering digital payments with a consumer-friendly lens, will continue to augment digital adoption across regional India. As a knowledge economy, I cannot emphasise enough on the importance of skilling to lead the digital disruption. Initiatives to drive skilling, reskilling and upskilling, digitally, will ensure we are ready for the digital future much ahead of the curve. Lastly, climate change is the most pressing global crisis that humanity is facing today impacting every individual, institution, government, community, and business. Investments in energy transition and climate action will take us on our path to sustainable development.”

-Arundhati Bhattacharya, Chairperson & CEO Salesforce India

“It’s encouraging to witness that India is becoming a technology-led economy and the Union Budget 2022-23 proves this further. We are glad that the budget plans focused on the growth of the Indian start-ups ecosystem and adoption of technology is promoted across sectors. Focus on sunrise sectors and supportive policies for AI, Geospatial Systems and Drones, Genomics and Pharmaceuticals, etc. can assist sustainable development at a larger scale. Budget investments in R&D to further technological breakthroughs will definitely accelerate the digital economy. Furthermore, tax holiday for another year would definitely help upcoming startups and provide a much-needed boost.”

-Ranjan Kumar, Founder & CEO, Entropik Tech

“In today's budget, the Government has emphasized on escalating the performance of MSMEs. The extension of tax benefits is a great move to ensure the speedy recovery of businesses – especially micro and small - in this segment. Extending the period of incorporation for eligible startups by another year will give these players some relief in terms of time to set up their operations and leverage existing tax incentives. Additionally, the announcement to popularize 'One Station One Product' will certainly help local businesses and supply chains.

 
The launch of the DESH e-portal is another excellent step to boost employability in the country through various skilling programs and skill development courses. This initiative will make the country's youth more efficient and thus become a relevant talent for startups and other emerging businesses in the MSME ecosystem. Also, 70% Production Linked Incentive allocated for Large scale Electronics & IT Industry will definitely give a big push to the local-vending-machine industry in India.”

-Prerna Kalra, CEO & Co-founder of Daalchini Technologies

 
“This year, too, the Union Budget retained the trend of complementing the macro-factors while focusing on micro thematic reforms. While this year's budget is big on infrastructure, MSME and rural development, it also has multiple contributing nodes that positively impact the IT-BPM sector.

The finance minister announced that the government is looking to replace the previous SEZ Act allowing states to participate in the development. Units within the existing SEZs may sell their products/services in the domestic market with lower custom duties and still operate globally. This change will promote the export units and make them sustainable. The Customs Administration of SEZs will be fully IT-driven and function on a Customs National Portal with updated technology. Overall, the IT/BPM industry stands to benefit.

 
Moreover, the move to boost employment by creating over 60 lakh jobs for the youth will directly benefit the IT industry. The government plans to launch a digital ecosystem for skilling and livelihood. Online training will aim to skill, reskill, and upskill citizens. Hence, majorly it is a win-win situation for the IT-BPM sector while working in sync with the other industries and is all set to gain from the Budget announcements.”

-Sameer L Kanodia - Managing Director and CEO, Lumina Datamatics Limited
 

The Union Budget has ushered in positive measures for the electronics sector which will give a boost to the sector, especially in the context of Make in India. The #AatmanirbharBharatkabudget with a huge boost to "Make in India" shall generate 6 million jobs and further create competent and skilled manpower that shall compete globally in terms of the quality of goods manufactured.

The electronics manufacturing industry is expected to see 30 percent growth in the coming fiscal and to be worth nearly ₹7 lakh crore. It is heartening to see that the Government of India has acknowledged the exponential potential of this sector.  There has been an increase in prices of electronics, smartphones especially, owing to the ongoing chip shortage and other COVID-19 induced factors. With duty concessions and domestic manufacturing boost, prices of electronics are expected to decrease which will further boost the demand in the coming days.

-Ameen Khwaja, Founder & CEO, pTron

"This Union budget focuses on investing more on infrastructure and renewable energy, which will indirectly support employment generation. Apart from that, the government has focused on strengthening the logistics sector, digital education, health infrastructure etc. which is a welcome move. Apart from encouraging EV by creating a battery swapping strategy to overcome EV charging infrastructure, I believe there isn't much in the budget to support the auto sector as was expected. Also, not much changed in the Direct Tax rates for Corporates as well as individuals except incentives for start-ups by extension of timeline for start of production u/s 115BAB. Some industries, such as jewellery, have benefited from reduced customs duties on precious stones and other commodities. Finally, to assist the MSME sector, the ECLGC scheme has been extended for MSE's till 31st March 2023".

-Vikas Bajaj, President, AIFI (Association of Indian Forging Industry)

"The Union budget 2022-23 announced today by honourable finance minister has shown a progressive and futuristic approach for all sectors in India, which will help boost the Indian economy and recover from the pandemic. The government has taken some prudent initiatives for MSMEs in this budget, and I believe that their approach to fast-tracking the economy by providing opportunities to start-ups and businesses and creating six million new jobs will not only boost the economy but will support our future generation with an advantage above all. The government's support for manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare, MSMEs, and infrastructure as well as the expansion of 100 PM Gati Shakti Cargo terminals over the next three years, are encouraging steps toward a brighter and more successful India in the coming years."

-Farrokh Cooper – Chairman & Managing Director – Cooper Corporation Pvt Ltd

"In today's budget, there are so many important announcements that will be helpful for Indian automotive segment paving their way into EV segment and manufacturing sector at large. Continuing with the 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' stride from last year, there is continuous strong push towards building self-reliance in manufacturing and localization in this budget too. This year the government has shown major attention on the overall digitalization of various services and pushing clear air & sustainability as one of the most important highlights. We appreciate the heightened emphasis in respect to EV segment, the introduction of the new policy for battery swapping will encourage the use of electric vehicles. We also look forward seeing further action to step up initiatives to boost EV infrastructure and EV ecosystem to achieve its broader decarbonization goals and support clear air resolutions.  With additional increased focus on expanding EV infrastructure across the country, with more EV charging stations to help vehicle owners to shift to electric cars without lesser worry of connectivity, these decisions were much needed at this period to boost usage of EV".

-Anurag Garg, Managing Director & Country Head, Vitesco Technologies