Budget 2017: Here's what technology industry experts have to say about the Union Budget

The Union Budget 2017 presented by Union Minister Arun Jaitley today. Technology was mentioned time and again as a key enabler in a lot of government initiatives. Some of the key highlights of the Budget included soil-testing labs in Krishi Vigyan Kendras, GST awareness program from 1 April, strengthening of digital payments infrastructure, Post offices, fair price shops and banking correspondents to promote cashless transactions, tax rate reduction on salaries, dismantling of FIPB and much more.

We have already looked at how Jaitley used data mining and stressed on the importance of technology, which was a continuous thread in Jaitley’s speech.

Here is what some of the top technology experts have to say about the Union Budget 2017.

Rajiv Srivastava, MD, HP India

The Union Budget 2017-18 is extremely positive for the common man, farmers, small and medium businesses and would drive significant growth in Indian economy. The tax relief given by the Government for the middle class tax payers will definitely boost the purchasing power, thereby aiding the overall growth of the economy. The strong emphasis laid on technology in almost all the development areas in the budget reaffirms that technology has been at the forefront of India’s recent economic growth and digital transformation. It has been recognized as an important enabler across initiatives ranging from agriculture to skill development to manufacturing and infrastructural development. We also welcome the Finance Minister’s commitment to introduce and implement Goods and Services Tax (GST) as per schedule and start GST awareness programme from April 1, 2017 for all stakeholders.

Anirudh Dhoot, Director, Videocon

The 2017-18 financial budget based on the objective to Transform, Energise and Clean India, is aimed at spurring economic growth, synergising investments and establishing greater transparency. With 100 percent rural electrification, lowered tax rates for MSMEs, and increased allocation towards schemes like M-SIPS and Electronic Development Fund (EDF), the budget fosters positive steps to further accelerate manufacturing capabilities and boost employment in the country. High disposable income as a result of lower tax rates will lead to higher purchasing power of the individuals. This will lead to increase in demand of consumer goods. Also, we are happy to learn that GST is on track and will be implemented in April 2017. In addition to this, the Abolishing of Foreign Investment Promotion Board to ease the inflow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) will expand investments significantly. All this will play an extremely important role in realization of Government’s dream of ‘Make in India’.

Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder & CEO, Paytm

It is a digital economy budget. Government has pushed the digital theme in every area of the budget. Every person from a small shops to consumers are pushed towards the digital economy. Tax benefits, incentives to use digital payments and extending loans based on a digital footprint will create a larger merchant ecosystem for digital payments. Incentives for labour intensive sectors including housing, farming and dairy will help SMEs to create new jobs. Focus and attention to bank NPAs, as well as increasing bank capitalisation is great step towards strengthening the financial system of the country. Finally, the income tax rate changes will encourage more people to report their incomes and create a larger tax net for the country. Overall, it is a great budget that will encourage people to move to the formal economy and derive benefits.

Abhesh Verma, COO, nexGTV

I welcome the budget and appreciate the clear commitment shown by the Government towards fueling the growth of digital adaptation by focusing on underlying infrastructure. This is reflected in the availability of more spectrums and 10k crore worth of budget allocation for fiber optic laying beyond the already laid 155000 km. The availability of bandwidth will help Indians adapt to the digital lifestyle and thus, will help in the growth of the entire ecosystem. Additionally, the rebate in tax for people, especially the ones at the bottom of the pyramid will increase their in-hand disposable income a part which will also be spent on mobility, data, and entertainment, further working for the benefit of the OTT players.

Sunil Kamath, vice president, South Asia and Southeast Asia, Opera

This year’s Union budget is game changing and progressive. Demonetisation is leading Indians to shift towards a Digital India. The cashback scheme and referral bonus to promote the usage of Bhim app will make citizens more comfortable with mobile wallets. Our country is becoming the victim of hackers, the proposal of a dedicated Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) for the financial sector is a beneficial move as it would help in keeping transactions safe and secure. Moreover, the extension of tax holiday from existing 5 years to 7 years will cheer up the start-up ecosystem.

Mayank Bhangadia, CEO and co-founder, Roposo

The government’s move to enable startups, incorporated after 31 March 2016, avail of a three-year tax holiday in their first seven years is quite commendable. We also welcome the new relaxations provided in terms of carrying forward the losses. The government’s efforts to digitise India and promote digital payments should go a long way in boosting the country’s economic growth. However, the 5 percent corporate tax reduction is not relevant to most startups that have not yet begun generating as much revenue. Government should now start thinking about how to reduce startups’ real cost in the early years. In my opinion, income tax slabs should be made completely flat. Tax rates should not increase with increasing income.

Amit Goel, founder and CEO, Just Relief 

Today’s Budget has definitely brought some cheer to the healthcare sector as this will benefit the common man and to the companies operating in the sector. The finance minister’s budget will widen the accessibility of essential drugs across the country along with revisions in the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules. These amendments will ensure availability of medicines at reasonable prices to the common man.

Sameer Grover, Founder and CEO, Crownit

Overall the budget is pro-entrepreneurs which will help create jobs in India, hire skilled talent at low cost and also improve industry output. Two specific highlights of the budget which particularly enthuse me are : - Firstly the easing of tax for India based funds and FDI/FIPB changes- this will give a big boost to early stage startups. - Secondly, the tax exemption for startups, now that’s a big support to the Indian startups

Venkatesh P, Director - Platforms and Solutions, Maveric Systems

There is a credible shift in terms of social spend and an acknowledgement of things that need roll back like MAT. The focus on MSME is welcome given its ability to generate employment across the nation. It is always better to look at the focus of the budget - it lists ten themes, six of which relates to social sector; nothing on spurring economic growth or promoting investment; it looks like the emphasis is on the social development than economic growth, but unfortunately it is an inference than a clear statement of the budget.