Union Budget 2022 Industry Feedback: Growth-Oriented

Mr. Rajeev Sharma, Chief Strategy Officer, Mitsubishi Electric India Pvt. Ltd. highlighted his reaction on capital expenditure related announcement on this Budget by saying,

Rajeev Sharma of Mitsubishi Electric

"This is a growth-oriented Budget, I am sure that stepping up the capital expenditure sharply by 35.4% will have an incremental effect on the overall growth of the economy. It is good that the policy makers understand that nearly half of our population is likely to be living in urban areas by 2047, when India is at 100. The announcement for urban capacity building like mass transit, planning help, etc. would act as a good principle for development of the country. The budget has demonstrated a good balance between today’s needs and the future’s demand."

Calling this budget a Growth-oriented budget, Mr. Prabhakar Iyer, Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer, Ingram Micro India stated

Prabhakar Iyer

"FM has presented a splendid Growth oriented budget. The budget has the thrust on infrastructure development, digitization, skilling, and ease of doing business. It is a forward-looking budget and will have an impact in the years to come. Infra spending will generate millions of jobs and propel the growth in the economy. The government has embraced technology and digitization in all sectors of the economy viz. defense, agriculture, health, education.  It is very interesting to note the way Government is adapting the digitization - by increasing faceless engagement with government and also between the private sector through government platforms, creation of unified logistics platform, Delivery of digital and Hi-tech services to farmers, use of Kisan drones to aid farmers, establishing Digital university,  e labs, e skilling are a very modern and contemporary governance process.  

Other key points Mr Iyer highlighted:

• The tax was always applicable to gains on virtual assets. The current budget gives more clarity on the same. It is a welcoming measure. The introduction of digital currency is one of the great steps in the right direction. It shows that we as a country are ready to embrace and adapt to the virtual currency dynamics and grow the economy in a modern way.
• Digital money, Digital banking, and digital platform in dealing with the government are the key drivers of the government.  
• Overall, a very consistent and simple budget with 100% directional alignment to last year's budget focuses on building trust. This shows the long-term focus of the government versus too many changes whilst keeping the option of announcing reforms throughout the year."

Alok Mittal, Indifi Technologies

“This year’s budget has taken significant future-forward steps towards financial inclusion; the integration of post office banks, widening the scope of MSME portals and setting up digital banking are all incredible steps in extending access to finance. Moreover, the budget has also addressed the current pain-points of the MSME ecosystem by extending ECLGS, with the additional allocation to be earmarked for hospitality and related industries. This provides renewed impetus for the lending ecosystem to lend to MSMEs and empowers them. Steps taken to leverage portals like Udyam, e-shram, NCS & Aseem will go a long way in further strengthening credit facilitation and enhancing entrepreneurial opportunities for MSMEs.

In terms of startups, initiatives taken towards amping up the ease of doing business in India are welcome additions to the budget. Moreover, the steps taken for existing start ups like extending tax redemption and steps taken to attract more investment into the ecosystem is encouraging for the entrepreneurial spirit of India.”

Sanjay Gupta, Vice President and India Managing Director, NXP Semiconductors has shared his reaction on Union Budget 2022,

Sanjay Gupta, NXP Semiconductors

“The Union Budget 2022 has recognized the digital growth of the country as a primary focus. In order to promote cleaner mobility, the battery swapping policy and interoperability standards that government plans to introduce, incorporate the concept of energy/battery as a service. This will also help in developing the charging station ecosystem which is imperative for the massification of EVs. The announcement will give impetus to the private sector to develop sustainable and innovative business models for battery and energy as a service.” 

“The scheme for design-led manufacturing to be launched for 5G ecosystem as part of PLI will be a boost to the overall telecom and electronic sectors. It will also provide and promote research and development of technology and solutions and will enable affordable broadband and mobile communication. 

The plan to roll out E- passports with embedded chip and futuristic technology, digital rupee using blockchain by RBI, Drone Shakti and Kisaan Drones and opening Defence R&D for industry, startups and academia are welcome moves that will accelerate the growth and development of the semiconductor industry in the country. As the government continues to accentuate focus on Atmanirbhar Bharat and Digital India, we are hopeful that this year’s budget will propel India towards becoming a global electronic hub.”