Mr. Kunal Lakhara, CFO of Pocket Aces
“The Union Budget for 2023–24 will be extremely significant for the Indian startup sector. Given its impressive growth trajectory, this business is regarded as the third-largest sector in India. This industry will receive a big boost from the additional year-long extension in terms of income tax benefits.
When it comes to the M&E industry, the government’s plan to establish 100 laboratories that would concentrate on creating applications using 5G services will lead to the introduction of seamless streaming and bolstered audio & video services for viewers. The Budget also announced the launch of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0, which will help the youth build new-age skills such as coding, IoT and soft skills, amongst much more. With rising demand for such skills, especially amongst the startup industry, we are poised to witness increased employment in the country.
Overall, by emphasizing the development of digital infrastructure and youth empowerment initiatives, the much anticipated Union Budget 2023–24 has established a solid base for the economy to expand. We are now anticipating an increased growth rate that will assist India in redefining its place within the global economy.”
Mr Ashwin Chawwla, Founder & Managing Director of Escrowpay
The Government of India has proposed using Aadhaar-based Unique Identity Number (UID/UAN) as a common identifier for all digital systems of specified government agencies. This would enable the government to identify individuals across different agencies without maintaining separate records for each agency. PAN will be the sole identifier and help stop multiple submissions for MSMEs.
The UID/UAN will be used to securely store and access citizens’ personal information and facilitate access to government services. It will also enable the government to track the usage of public services better, improve public service delivery, and reduce fraud and corruption.
Mr. Pankaj Gupta, Founder & CEO of EnableX
“I feel that establishing the centres of excellence for artificial intelligence to enable ‘Make AI for India’ and ‘Make AI work for India’ is a great step towards mining the opportunities that the sector holds for our youth.
Digitization is our new reality, and without a doubt, these labs show a concentrated effort to increase the range of opportunities in business models, employment potential, Intelligent transport systems, healthcare, and more.
The proposed 100 labs for developing applications leveraging 5G services is an exciting step to drive 5G adoption. The improved network connectivity & availability of rich media applications will create infinite opportunities, especially in education & healthcare sectors.”
Karan Shaha, Co-founder & CEO of Vahak
A commendable Budget by the Hon’ble Finance Minister. In line with our expectations, #Budget2023 has focused on incentivizing state governments for infrastructure development. The Centre’s support with an enhanced outlay of Rs. 1.3 lakh crore will act as the accelerator toward logistics policy creation at the state level. With this in place, we hope to see good traction in transportation infra creation, especially related to top freight routes, logistics parks and highways development. Additionally, opening opportunities for private investments in infra will pump in efforts toward roads, urban infrastructure and power sector developments, which are critical for efficient transportation and transition to green mobility.
We also welcome the decision to extend the income tax benefits for startups and the formation of the National Data Governance Policy. These were much needed given the market dynamics and the fast-emerging startup ecosystem.
