Budget 2024: Expectations From Technology Sector Leaders

Union Budget 2024 to be presented on July 23 is drawing keen attention from all corners of India's economy. The technology sector is looking forward to how the government's fiscal strategy will shape the future.

Below are some expectations and forecasts of technology leaders for the Budget, drawing insights from pre-budget discussions, industry reports and expert evaluations.

Fujitsu

Manoj Nair, Head of Global Delivery Centres

“With close to 25% of the global workforce coming from India over the next decade, skill development and empowerment should be a strategic imperative. A skilled workforce is crucial for economic development. As technology rapidly advances, we need to prepare young people with a mix of education and skills to help meet the future needs of our economy. Now is the time to bolster digital literacy by establishing dedicated centres of excellence. Looking ahead to Budget 2024, another area that calls for a greater emphasis is research and development initiatives to enhance our competitiveness especially in AI. I remain optimistic that the government will introduce more ground-breaking and transformative initiatives, thus elevating AI use cases and intellectual property creation. By accelerating AI innovation, we can enhance the country’s technology development ecosystem and provide a major boost to sectors including healthcare and automotive among others.”

AHEAD

Praveen Grover, Vice President and Managing Director

“As we approach the upcoming budget, it is imperative to emphasise the need for tax incentives and subsidies for research and development. The tech industry anticipates a transformative phase that could set new benchmarks for innovation and growth. Expectations are high for increased allocations towards digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, aiming to bolster India's position as a global tech hub.

We also look forward to incentives to spur investments in startups and emerging technologies, furthering the vision of a digitally empowered society. Streamlined regulatory frameworks and policies promoting ease of doing business are anticipated to enable a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem, driving sustainable growth and business innovation.

Similarly, further investment in Skill India Digital can enhance our workforce's capabilities, as fostering innovation in emerging technology is essential to keep India competitive on the global stage. Streamlining the Advance Pricing Agreement and Mutual Agreement Procedure regulations will also play a major role in this journey.”

Indusface

Ashish Tandon, Founder and CEO

“We saw a 267% jump in attacks on Indian websites and APIs in Q1 FY’24 vs Q1 FY’23 according to our State of Application Security Report. We are increasingly seeing low-rate DDoS attacks, botnet-driven credential stuffing, and brute force attacks. 90%+ apps have faced a bot attack and 70% of sites have faced a DDoS attack.

India has been encountering a huge increase in attacks year on year leading to regulators tightening the noose of compliance for businesses and government; however, the budgets for cybersecurity are not keeping up pace with the requirements given the businesses are themselves subject to macro-economic challenges. The finance ministry should consider providing short-term financial benefits to businesses investing in meeting these compliance obligations upholding governments’ commitment towards cybersecurity of citizens."

HMD Global

Ravi Kunwar, Vice President, India & APAC 

"As we anticipate the Union Budget 2024, HMD holds optimistic expectations for the Indian smartphone market. We look forward to the upcoming Union Budget 2024-25 with a focus on initiatives that propel domestic manufacturing and foster a thriving Indian mobile phone ecosystem. We particularly look forward to extending or improving the Production Linked Incentive scheme. This policy has been instrumental in propelling domestic manufacturing, and its continuation will be crucial for building a robust indigenous component supply chain. We also wish that the government prioritises the policies that incentivise the production of key smartphone components within India, fostering a self-reliant ecosystem."

MathCo.

Sayandeb Banerjee, Cofounder and CEO

"India is known to be the most preferred destination for global capability centres. A recent report highlighted that India has over 50% of GCCs and most of the GCCs concentrate their efforts in driving AI/ ML and data analytics. This makes for a perfect playground for deep tech startups to innovate locally, tackling global challenges head-on, and building IPR in India. 

Given India's strength that lies in its young, highly capable and skilled population spread across Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 cities, we are well-positioned to emerge as a innovative and frugal solutions hub for large global enterprises. Amidst this dynamic landscape, the National Deep Tech Startup Policy is a welcome step for the startup ecosystem."