Union Budget 2023 wish list: Technology sector

The Tech Panda asked the tech sector what their expectations are from the upcoming Union Budget 2023.

The Union Budget 2023 is nearing, and the technology sector has many expectations from Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on 1^st of February 2023.

IT & TELECOM

Gaurav Gandhi, Founder & CEO, Echelon Edge Pvt Ltd

“The telecom sector will continue to play a pivotal role in India’s growth story as a key enabler of growth and development. The nationwide rollout of 5G will be central to this growth in the next year. Going further, we expect the government to minimize the import of several telecom-related components. The Government should focus on investing in R&D and manufacturing to boost the telecom sector. In this regard, incentive schemes to push the ‘Make in India’ drive for domestic manufacturing can help.

We expect the government to minimize the import of several telecom-related components. The Government should focus on investing in R&D and manufacturing to boost the telecom sector

“Apart from that, incentive plans should be introduced for innovation along with a reduction in license fees. We also expect duty exemptions on key telecom equipment. The telecom sector also seeks input tax credits against GST paid on telecom towers. We also seek a reduction in GST rates to reduce the financial burden on TSP/passive infrastructure providers. The sector also seeks stimulus packages from the budget for the penetration and proliferation of rural areas to achieve the dream of a Digital India.

“In addition to this, smooth and lucrative reforms for 5G rollouts are expected, so that technology firms do not face problems in acquiring private networks. Incentives for promoting new technologies to increase efficiency for the sector are expected as well.”

Arun Kumar Gupta, CFO, Newgen Software Technologies Ltd.

“Investments and initiatives toward digital transformation have significantly accelerated in the post-pandemic world. With Union Budget 2022-23, the government should bring policies and reforms to support enterprises in their digital journeys and facilitate their growth. Initiatives like long-term work-from-home policies, simplification of the GST regime, and streamlining labour laws can facilitate a less-ambiguous and conducive business environment. Also, there is an urgent need to simplify the foreign withholding tax structure to ensure that full set-off is available to IT companies operating in multiple countries.

The upcoming Union Budget is expected to bring conducive policy initiatives to incentivize the IT sector and accelerate its growth

“Special Economic Zones (SEZ) play an instrumental role in driving the Indian IT sector’s growth. Improvements in SEZ-related policies and their extension will help strengthen the sector further. The IT sector is indisputably an integral part of India’s growth story. However, the government should stay mindful of the recent disruptions in the sector caused by the pandemic and ongoing global business uncertainty. The upcoming Union Budget is expected to bring conducive policy initiatives to incentivize the IT sector and accelerate its growth.”

AI

Sarvagya Mishra, Co-founder & Director, SuperBot (PinnacleWorks)

“Over years, the popularity of Artificial Intelligence (Al) has skyrocketed across industry sectors as a result of the greater push toward automation. While previous budgets acknowledged the relevance of AI technology in modernising India, we now expect prospects and large government initiatives from budget 2023 which can position India as one of the world’s favoured Al leaders.

While previous budgets acknowledged the relevance of AI technology in modernising India, we now expect prospects and large government initiatives from budget 2023 which can position India as one of the world’s favoured Al leaders

“Since we have an AI-powered voice-based product, we are also anticipating announcements and measures to improve digital infrastructure such as high-speed internet and data centres. Moreover, as the founder of the startup, I eagerly look forward to funding and investment opportunities such as venture capital and angel funding to accelerate our business momentum.”

Ankit Ruia, Director & CTO of SuperBot (PinnacleWorks)

“In the aftermath of COVID-19, almost every second business migrated online after recognizing the significance of automation. Given the centre’s objective for a digitally robust Bharat, Al technology is one of the major sectors that anticipates the Budget 2023 to unveil AI-friendly policies that can revolutionize India’s tech ecosystem.

Given the centre’s objective for a digitally robust Bharat, Al technology is one of the major sectors that anticipates the Budget 2023 to unveil AI-friendly policies that can revolutionize India’s tech ecosystem

“We are hopeful that easier loan disbursements, electronic authorizations, and incentive programs for startups to use digital finance can advance the growth rate of Indian startups. With AI- technology playing a critical function in shaping the nation’s economy, the Union Budget should also include tax relaxation to spur innovation as well as minimize regulatory burdens to aid in the ease of doing business.”

Ashok Babu Kunjukkannan, Co-founder & President, e-con Systems

“Having described Artificial Intelligence as “sunrise opportunity” in last year budget, the Finance Minister has emphasized the importance of AI from the government’s view point. With the IOT, 5G and Robotics emerging together, the AI on the edge and cloud will significantly push the frontiers further and further in all areas of industry, agriculture and services and most importantly will position India as a state-of-the-art manufacturing power-house of the world.

We hope that finance minister rolls out some new schemes that will encourage industries to invest in core R&D on AI and robotics that will unleash India’s technology potential and will accelerate the goal of USD5 trillion economy by FY2025

“We being a leading camera module and vision solutions company, work with startup and established companies across the world who are disrupting the industries. Our cameras are being used by agricultural autonomous tractors, warehouse AMRs, delivery robots, autonomous/smart retail checkout, patient care, precision agriculture etc which are changing the industry landscape and these changes are culmination of sensing, edge-AI processing and internet connectivity. We see that Indian industry is also aspiring to develop our own technologies along these lines and this requires a significant amount of core research and development. We hope that finance minister rolls out some new schemes that will encourage industries to invest in core R&D on AI and robotics that will unleash India’s technology potential and will accelerate the goal of USD5 trillion economy by FY2025, an ambitious target set by our Prime Minister.”

AUTOMOBILE

Mridu Mahendra Das, Co-founder & CEO, Automovill

“Coming to the Automotive and specially aftersales segment, the entire sector is reeling under tremendous pressure against the availability of spares and low spending of consumers. For better customer satisfaction, we need support for facilitating the availability of imported spares, relaxation on rules by insurance companies and curbs on vehicular lifetime management.

Reducing the GST norms for billing on labour specially in after-sales ecosystem is always a demand

“Reducing the GST norms for billing on labour specially in after-sales ecosystem is always a demand. Labour rates should be at 5% GST like the service charges in some other industries (i.e. hotels). Most of the auto workers lie in the bottom of the pyramid, reducing GST on labour to 5% will boost the income and livelihood opportunities as well as can create more entrepreneurs in the segment.”

GEOSPATIAL INDUSTRY

Sajid Malik, Chairman & Managing Director, Genesys International Corporation

“The geospatial industry plays a vital role in the Indian economy, with the government having outlined 13 goals for the sector to achieve by 2030. Based on the Geospatial-Artha research, Geospatial Industry is projected to have a value of Rs 63,000 crore by 2030, and the National Geospatial Policy has further liberalized the sector and promoted private-public partnerships.

With the government being the single biggest customer of the geospatial industry, it is essential that budgetary support is provided to increase government spending on geospatial technologies

“In order to achieve the national goal of creating a Digital Twin, the Budget 2023-24 should provide additional funding to the states and municipal bodies to support companies in the geospatial industry. This will aid in the areas of urban governance, disaster management, infrastructure planning, and more. With the government being the single biggest customer of the geospatial industry, it is essential that budgetary support is provided to increase government spending on geospatial technologies in the relevant areas as per the National Geospatial Policy.”

WEB3

Kaavya Prasad, Founder, Lumos Labs

“The Budget 2023 is highly anticipated as it should be a relief from rising inflation and protection against the incoming recession for the common man. Within the Web3 sector as well, we hope to see ease of taxation reforms to ensure uninhibited growth of the sector and policies that solidify the regulatory structure of the Indian Web3 ecosystem.

Within the Web3 sector as well, we hope to see ease of taxation reforms to ensure uninhibited growth of the sector and policies that solidify the regulatory structure of the Indian Web3 ecosystem

“The global web3 landscape has suffered heavy blows this year that may have had a negative impact on the general outlook towards the sector and clear regulations and definitions might inject faith into the firms and visionaries who are working every day to ensure ethical and efficient innovations continue to grow.”

Anantha Krishnan, Founder, MOI (My Own Internet)

“While web3, as a market, had a turbulent 2022, as a technology web3 made tremendous progress in 2022 with several practical use cases. Web3 today is starting to provide enormous practical benefits for businesses and customers by helping deliver transparent, secure, compliant, personalized, and cost-effective business services.

The treatment of digital asset trading losses as a non-deductible tax event has to change

“No industry can survive without regulatory clarity and governmental support hence the budget of 2023 can help accelerate mainstream adoption of web3 by clarifying the definition of digital assets and their tax treatment. Additionally, today all digital assets (including ones with real world utility) are still met with a step-motherly treatment when compared to other assets. The treatment of digital asset trading losses as a non-deductible tax event has to change. Today, this is a lose-lose value proposition for web3 businesses, as they are currently taxed on the profits.

“As the practical use of digital assets are becoming mainstream, I believe they should be treated like other asset classes and taxed at the same rate. Investors should be allowed to offset and carry forward their digital asset losses to provide a level playing field. This will enable mass adoption of web3 in a practical and regulatory friendly manner.”