HYDERABAD: Technology experts are elated at Nirmala Sitharaman’s Union Budget laying more emphasis on promoting drone technology and agritech, adoption of emerging technologies, funding for upskilling and reskilling workforce and giving relief to startups in the form of extending tax holiday in view of the pandemic.
“The provision of funding for accelerating agriculture is great news for drone companies innovating in drone spraying and crop analysis as it has been a highly capital-intensive task to conduct research and development and establishment of guidelines and processes for drones in the agricultural practice. Drone technology space in India has been booming owing to the establishment of guidelines by DGCA and MoCA. Drone services and their solutions will propel the drone market in India to accelerate faster with the Budget’s move,” said Aniketh Madhusudhan, Director, Airserve Initiatives.
The Union Budget delivered good news to IT companies that have been advocating funds for upskilling and reskilling to meet the skilled workforce needs of the country.“The government has given an additional push to upskilling, reskilling and skill development segment in the Budget that will result in extensive use of technology, which in turn will give a boost to the job market and encourage tech companies to invest in research and development and explore avenues to leverage existing tech and create new products,” opined Prashanth Nanjundappa, VP of Product Management for the Chef Business Unit, Progress, a reputed IT company.
The startup ecosystem has also welcomed the relief and encouragement given to the startups in the Budget.
“The extension for startups on both the eligibility for claiming tax holiday and the capital gains exemption for investment by another year (March, 2023) is a progressive continuity of last year’s Budget policies powering economic growth. It is encouraging to see the government’s support for startups across different sectors like healthcare, gaming, drones, electric mobility and the defence sector,” said M Srinivas Reddy, CEO, T-Hub.
“The Finance Minister announced an expansion of the Centre’s guarantee fund by Rs 50,000 crore to Rs 5 lakh crore. Millions of MSMEs impacted by the pandemic may receive additional support from ECLGS, aiding them in softening but not minimising the impacts,” opined R Deepthi, CEO, We-Hub, also adding that the dedicated fund for Agritech is a great move. She, however, felt that emphasis on ‘Nari Shakti’ looked like a missed opportunity on supporting inclusion and diversity.