Today was the big day for Indian Economy as there have been lot of speculations, expectations from all corners of industry to common man as the Budget Session was about to come. Though every one expected GST, boost in Make In India program and of course the most expected by a common man, increase in Tax slabs or some way or other get a cut in tax payments. Though, the NDA government didn't quite carry all these but in a balanced budget managed to keep enterprises satisfied and at the same time made Farmers and low class happier. Here are few reactions from industry top men and women.
Debjani Ghosh VP Sales and Marketing group , Intel
"The budget is strongly focused on bridging the
divide between the ‘haves’ and ‘have not’s’, and good work by the
Government in identifying the right priorities for focus under the 9
pillars called out by the
FM. This budget, unlike any other, has not treated technology in
isolation but integrated the effective use of technology across all the
strategic imperatives in keeping with the intent of a Digital India.
This budget has laid emphasis on governance reforms
and ease of doing business, while highlighting the need for enhancing
educational skills in order to make India a knowledge based economy.
Intel along with NASSCOM launched the National Digital Literacy Mission
in 2012 and we are very heartened to see the
government’s continued commitment towards building technology
relevance at the grass-roots by extending NDLM to 6 crore rural
households. We are disappointed with announcement of the R&D
incentives reducing because we believe that it is critical for India
to be one of the most innovative countries in the world and this move
could be detrimental in building India as an innovation hub. I strongly
urge the government to re-consider this move, as any restrictions on the
R&D ecosystem are likely to decelerate innovation
in the country and restrain the ambitious Make in India and Digital
India vision."
Ambika sharma, Founder, Instappy
Government
has recently been focusing a lot on the growth of woman Entrepreneurs
in the country, cheering them to establish themselves. Allotting funds
of Rs. 500 crores especially for them will encourage the startup
ecosystem to reach another level. Furthermore, since last budget,
service tax has been the topic of discussion and by giving 100%
exemption; the Finance Minister has done his bit to act as an enabler.
Startups can now more effectively and efficiently concentrate on
establishing their businesses and weave their path.
Soumitra Gupta, CEO, Togofogo
"We
appreciate the Finance Minister’s move on Tax holiday for startups as
every startup takes minimum three of five years to setting up the
company. We welcome the effort by Indian government for startup
industry. It will give a strategic boost to the current ratio of Indian
entrepreneurs and will support the Startup India campaign by Modi
Government."
Mr. Puneet Gupta, CEO, Buzzmeeh
"We
welcome the Budget 2016-17 as it’s a well strategized move for Indian
startup industry. 100 % deduction on profits for 3 out of first 5 years
will definitely strengthen the base as it will assist in setting the
right pace for the company. Additionally, the amendment to the Companies
Act in order to ensure speedy registrations of fresh startups will also
lend a positive boost to the startup ecosystem. These positive moves
will surely encourage the entrepreneurs wanting to establish themselves
as a key part of the economy."
Padmanabha Krishnamurthy CFO, Paladion Networks
"It
is a comprehensive budget covering various sectors and is focused on
growth. With regards to IT sector to be more specific, few positive
aspects are - thrive on innovation and patents from India, extension of
SEZ deduction, increased focus on digital initiatives spend including
rural areas are few things to mention. Though we will have to wait
for more specifics, overall I think it is balanced budget. If
government can emphasize on implementation of various schemes announced, it can be a real boost to our economy.
Ms. Kulpreet Kaur, co-founder Shop Pirate Coupons
As
expected the Union Budget 2016 has its focus on Standup India and
boosting the budding entrepreneurs. We expect that 2016 is going to be
a fruitful for women entrepreneurs as Stand
Up India scheme allocated Rs.500 Crores for SC, ST and women
entrepreneurs. However I am somehow not happy with the special treatment
given to SC/ST entrepreneurs as this may discourage the upcoming
talents who might not get an opportunity to bring an innovative business
idea due to the scheme and at the same time might give an encouragement
to someone who don’t deserve. Though it’s a good move to encourage
entrepreneurs who didn’t get a platform to showcase their skills, but
ensuring that scheme benefits right people and keeping an eye of the
system to maintain discrepancy,
will be a tough challenge for the government. Allocation of Rs 1,000
crore for new EPF (Employees' Provident Fund) is welcoming. However no
change in current taxation system is disappointing for ecommerce
industry. Overall a good budget but not very impressive.
Kenny Ye, MD, UCWeb India
IT’S A CONSTRUCTIVE BUDGET
“Finance Minister Arun
Jaitley has presented a well-rounded and constructive budget, focusing on most
critical aspects of the economy.
Thrust on farm sector, increased
spending on rural development and infrastructure planning shows that this
government means business. The record digitization plan outlined is another
major positive. The new digital literacy mission scheme will cover 6 crore
additional households and bolster employability of rural youth. There is also
the much-needed thrust on entrepreneurship training, higher education and
skills development that will help make India a knowledge base. While the
reduction in corporate tax is welcome, it is applicable only to select
companies and is a minor negative. Measures to reduce tax hassles and address
disputes, on the other hand, are a positive.
Tax exemption for Start-ups,
amendments to Companies Act and allocation for Stand-up India scheme will
further aid cost and ease of doing of business in India.”
Vinu Cheriyan
CFO & Director Operations at Sennheiser Electronics India Pvt Ltd
The
Union Budget 2016-2017 significantly focuses on bringing socio
economic development in the country while emphasizing on the nine key
initiatives for economic reforms — agriculture
and farmers' welfare, rural sector, social sector including healthcare,
education, skills and job creation, infrastructure, financial sector
reforms, ease of doing business, fiscal discipline, tax reforms to
reduce compliance burden. It is heartening to see
our accelerated to 7.6% and the CPI inflation has come down to 5.4%.
It is also quite encouraging to see that fiscal discipline has been
given priority at today’s budget while focusing on the GDP growth.
Mr Sudarshan, COO & Co-Founder, CreditMantri
This budget
has provided a number of benefits that has helped to increase cashflow and
savings for the common man. Specifically additional Rs 50000/- deduction for
first time borrowers, increase in limit of house rent paid to Rs 60000/-,
increase in ceiling of tax rebate for small tax payers, will help lower
and middle income groups to aspire for better & affordable housing. Further
with more cash flow in the hands, he can plan finances better to either
save or service loans and maintain good credit.
Aditya
Agarwal, Founder,Wealthy.in
"It took us 45 days to register our startup last
year. Bringing it down to 1-day is disruptive. It's even faster than 3-days it
takes to start a business in Singapore. The three-year tax-holiday and
reduction of LTCG period for unlisted securities to 2 years is also a positive
move for startups.It's promising to see digital-India at the core of many
initiatives. Aadhaar based delivery of financial services and subsidies will
promote financial inclusion and bring more Indian households under the formal
banking system.Government could have done more to promote participation of
Indian households in financial markets. Pre-budget, there was an expectation of
raising section 80C limit to 2.5 Lakhs. This move would have helped households
reduce tax-liability and also channel some savings to capital markets through
ELSS funds."
Sumit Sood, MD, Global Logic India welcomed the budget
We welcome the Government’s plan to launch a
mission to provide Digital Literacy for rural India, as it is a very
forward looking move. One that will take the country closer to the goals
of Digital India. The drive which will bring
about 6 crore rural households under the umbrella of being digitally
literate in the coming three years is definitely going to put India on
the road to becoming an economic power. In addition, the move to create a
digital repository for all school leaving
certificates and diplomas will give the education system an edge it had
hitherto lacked. Moving away from a paper-dependent to a digital-led
system is a hallmark of all modern economies.” Said Sumit Sood, MD,
GlobalLogic India.
He further added that “With significant
attention on start-ups and Digital India, in the Budget, the Government
has focused on tier-2 cities by providing higher budget allocation. This
includes subsidies for infrastructural development
and internet penetration. We believe that these steps provide a
stronger thrust to the Digital India vision of the government. The
Budget also reflects the Government’s increased focus on technology to
support India’s economic growth.
