Increased Investment in AI, Machine Learning, Internet of Things, and Quantum Computing to Propel Growth in the Digital Economy (2020 Budget)
The Indian government's Union Budget 2020, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, has been met with widespread appreciation from various sectors. The budget focuses on promoting the Indian startup ecosystem, improving infrastructure, and investing in emerging technologies.
Naveen Chava, CEO of IDSign, and Nikhil Arora, VP and MD at GoDaddy India, have expressed their appreciation for the budget's focus on MSMEs and startups. Notably, the budget proposes the setting up of a portal-based investment clearing cell and the provision of seed funding for early-stage startups.
Sandeep Bhambure, Vice President and Managing Director of India & SAARC at Veeam, has welcomed the government's announcement of setting up a policy to build data center parks throughout India for digital connectivity. The budget also allocates Rs 6,000 crores for BharatNet, which aims to improve the country's digital infrastructure.
The budget also addresses the need for skilled cybersecurity professionals in India due to increased digital penetration and cybersecurity risks, as highlighted by Sunil Sharma, managing director of sales at Sophos India & SAARC. Aakrit Vaish, CEO at Haptik, and Priya Mahajan, Head of APAC Public Policy & Regulatory Counsel at Verzion Enterprise Solutions, have expressed appreciation for the budget's focus on emerging technologies like AI, IoT, Big data, Cybersecurity, ML, and Robotics.
The budget allocates INR 3000 crore for skills development in India, with a significant proportion expected to focus on cutting-edge technologies like AI, ML, robotics, and IoT. This move has been welcomed by Aakrit Vaish, CEO at Haptik, and IAMAI.
The Union Budget 2020 also proposes the establishment of a national forensic university and cyber forensic university. Hemal Gathani, Co-founder of Zeux Innovation, has appreciated the government's resolve on emerging technologies and initiatives to improve the ecosystem, including setting knowledge or technology clusters and announcing a National Mission on Quantum Technologies.
The budget has been praised for its startup-friendly measures, such as the increased turnover limit for a company to qualify as a Startup and the maintained lowered corporate tax rate of 22%. Yadvendra Tyagi, Co-Founder of EnKash, has expressed his appreciation for these measures.
Moreover, the budget has emphasized the need for improved air quality, with potential roles for EV-powered commuting solutions being highlighted. Akash Gupta, Founder and CEO at Zypp, has appreciated the budget's emphasis on this issue.
The budget has also received positive feedback from the manufacturing sector, with Mike Chen, General Manager at TCL, and Leon Yu, Regional Head of India & South Asia at Asus, expressing their appreciation for the proposals to encourage the manufacturing of mobile phones, semiconductor packaging, and electronic equipment.
Piyush Kumar, Founder & CEO at Rooter, has praised the government's proposal to set up an investment clearance cell for entrepreneurs and provide assistance in funding. Suganthi Shivkumar, Managing Director at Qlik, has appreciated the government's decision to dedicate funds towards developing revolutionary technologies like ML, robotics, and AI.
Rahul Sharma, MD-India at LogMeIn, has expressed enthusiasm about the FM's announcement of seamless delivery of digital services as part of the next wave of digital revolution. Ambika Sharma, Managing Director & Founder at Pulp Strategy, has appreciated the government's focus on optimizing new-age disruptive technologies like Machine Learning, robotics, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) towards attaining a seamless and integrated service sector.
Prasanna Sarambale, CEO at Sterling & Wilson, Data Centre Business, has appreciated the government's focus on building the necessary back-end infrastructure for technology through the construction of new data center parks throughout the country. Ashwin Kumar, Director of Data Centre and Cloud Operations at Linode India, believes this allocation will help bridge the technological skills gap in the country and enhance the global competitiveness of small and mid-size businesses.
In conclusion, the Union Budget 2020 presents a comprehensive approach to promoting the Indian startup ecosystem, improving infrastructure, and investing in emerging technologies. The various measures announced in the budget have been met with widespread appreciation from various sectors, indicating a positive outlook for the future of technology and entrepreneurship in India.
){kind=link}