“The government’s enhanced focus on education in this year’s Union Budget signals a welcome shift in policy priorities, backed by a substantial increase of almost 12% in allocations from last year. This is an acknowledgement of the large-scale impact of the pandemic on schools. A focus on digital learning, as well as the provision of enhanced learning aids through the PM e-Vidya scheme, will give a new impetus to strengthening the school education system. Schoolnet believes that this can be translated into positive impact on the ground by following an ecosystem approach which includes creating adequate digital infrastructure in schools, improved teacher training, and making available world-class pedagogical aids for those in the middle and bottom of the pyramid to enhance learning outcomes. Affordable Private Schools, which cater to nearly half the schoolgoing population, also need to be included in the scope of activities to achieve meaningful outcomes. I welcome the announcements for the education sector, which are aligned with Schoolnet’s vision of providing all students, particularly in the middle and bottom of the pyramid, with equal access to world class education.”

–          RCM Reddy, MD & CEO, Schoolnet India Ltd      

“The Government’s focus on creating a strong digital ecosystem to enhance banking and financial inclusion is a step in the right direction. Bringing all post office banks under the core banking ambit will enable seamlessness in digital payments and online transfer of funds and accelerate financial inclusion. The setting up of the Digital DESH e-portal for skilling initiatives is the need of the hour as it will bridge the gap between the supply and demand for digitally skilled and technically strong resources.”

–       Kunal Nagarkatti, CEO, Clover Infotech

“I am excited to see the government’s focus on technology sector, as a whole. The incentives towards creating digital infrastructure, education, and skilling, spell out the intent on developing the country’s human capital. The emphasis of digitised skilling will help make our country’s youth future-ready. Additionally, the announcement on RBI introducing digital currency and the government providing infrastructure status to data centers, will help create a framework for emerging technologies making the digital India Inc better and stronger.”

–       Mr. Puneet Gupta, Managing Director & Vice President, NetApp India

“The Union Budget 2022 presented by the Government of India is built on the foundation of introducing new technologies across sectors. From education to finance, logistics, and healthcare, the bedrock of change will be driven by tech.  The Government has further proposed the introduction of the digital rupee. While this will definitely enhance efficiency and promote growth, increased digital penetration also brings with it additional cyber risks that one should be vary of. As a step towards mitigating cyberattacks, the Government plans to set up broadband in villages as well as the Digital DESH e-portal. This will help equip youth with the right skills, including cybersecurity skill sets, needed to operate safely in today’s tech-driven world.”

–       Sunil Sharma, managing director – sales, Sophos India & SAARC

“We welcome the move by the Government of India to boost logistics as a means towards ensuring economic growth. The proposal to set up a Unified Logistics Interface Platform is a welcome move. Leveraging technology to complement the development of infrastructure will help bring in better efficiency. Furthermore, with real-time tracking, and inventory management as a part of the platform, this will go a long way in bringing India at par with global supply chain networks. LogiNext has always been an advocate for digitisation of supply chains, and it is reassuring to see the Government work towards this. The decision taken to extend the tax incentives provided to startups till March 31, 2023 is a reflection of the Government’s commitment towards ease of doing business in India.”

–       Dhruvil Sanghvi, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, LogiNext

“The advancement in enhanced transparency of payments is a huge stride forward for India in terms of fintech innovation. The proposed end-to-end online e-Bill system will enable increased productivity for industries that go completely paperless. This will prove to be extremely fruitful for digitization. Furthermore, the acknowledgement that India’s GST collection stands at Rs.1.4 lakh crore for the month of January 2022, exemplifies the growing need for digital taxation solutions that promise to take the Indian economy to the next level.”

–       Niraj Hutheesing, Founder and Managing Director, Cygnet Infotech.

 “It is encouraging to see the government’s support for the startup sector in the Union Budget for 2022 through tax incentives and easing of regulatory frictions in venture capital investments. Additionally, the impetus towards the rollout of 5G and broadband services in 2022 will catalyze an entrepreneurial culture and expand India’s presence on the global map of technology innovation.”

–       Bhavin Turakhia, Co-founder and CEO, Zeta and Founder and CEO, Nova (Flock and Titan)

“5G in India is soon going to be a reality, as one of the major highlights in the Union Budget was the government’s assurance to conduct the required spectrum auction in 2022. This will help facilitate the rollout of 5G mobile services within 2022-23. We welcome the Finance Ministry’s intent to launch a design-led manufacturing scheme that will help build a strong ecosystem for 5G in the country. In addition to this, the government’s measures towards promoting a semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem will attract young talent, and make the industry more efficient and competitive. This will further boost fabless companies such as ours and other MSMEs working in the deep tech space, helping them engage in product R&D and design. Another laudable move by the government is to promote R&D and commercialization of technologies and solutions by enabling affordable broadband and mobile service proliferation in rural and remote areas.”

–       Vishwakumara Kayargadde, Co-Founder and COO, Saankhya Labs