India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented Union Budget 2020 delivering new initiatives to boost the growth of the technology sector.
The INR 80 billion investment in the next five years for the National Mission of Quantum Technology and Application will boost the technology sector.
Sanjay Jalona, CEO and MD of LTI (L&T Infotech), said: “Focus on artificial intelligence and targets set for quantum computing is a step in the right direction to strengthen India’s position as a frontrunner in exponential technologies.”
Interest in the use of technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, etc. was seen as the base of the IT budget for 2020 and an interesting move for Digital India, Dipesh Kaura, general manager, Kaspersky South Asia, said.
Prakash Mallya, VP, and MD – Sales and Marketing Group, Intel India, said: We welcome efforts to use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to improve disease detection and pre-emption.
“Such applications of emerging technologies combined with the focus on increasing the penetration of fibre connectivity in the nation have the potential to impact the lives of millions in the coming years,” Prakash Mallya said.
Policies and investments enabling data centres and quantum computing and applications will help India spur the development of new breakthroughs across sectors, Ramesh Mamgain, area VP for Sales India and SAARC, said.
The proposed Rs 8,000 crore outlay to for National Mission on Quantum Technology will spur development of new breakthroughs in promoting indigenous science and technology at a global level, said Vikas Garg, deputy CFO of Paytm.
“The government’s focus on enhanced digital connectivity, and focus on technologies such as machine learning and artificial intelligence, along with the allocation towards quantum computing are sure to provide a fillip to India’s economy,” Keshab Panda CEO and MD at L&T Technology Services. “The announcement of proposal to set-up Data Centers is also a step in the right direction in terms of acknowledging the importance of data and data analytics.”
Sharad Sanghi, MD and CEO of NTT-Netmagic, said: “We welcome the proposal to roll out a policy enabling the private sector to build data center parks. Initiatives like Smart Cities and Digital India, policies around data localization and the digitization of various industries such as financial services, e-commerce, media, and the manufacturing sector have fuelled the demand for the data center industry in India.”
Focus on artificial intelligence and targets set for quantum computing is a step in the right direction to strengthen India’s position as a frontrunner in exponential technologies, said
Debjani Ghosh, president of NASSCOM.
The quantum computing race already has stiff competition, with companies like Amazon, Google and IBM in the fray.
“From the government’s perspective, quantum computing and its related applications will have significant implications for India’s digital citizen initiatives in healthcare, smart cities and research. For the wider technology sector within India, it would mean attaining indigenous capabilities in quantum technologies,” Nishant Singh, head of Technology and Telecoms Data at GlobalData, said.
Building data center parks will be necessary to cope up with the volume of data that would be generated if the government is to continue its digital initiatives for its citizens. Significantly, this move will also pave the way for better privacy regulations within India, such as the European Union’s EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Finance Minister announced degree level online education program by institutions ranked in the top 100 of the National Institutional Ranking Framework. This move should help provide wider access to higher studies for several Indians for whom the education costs prove to be a hindrance in their attempt to pursue higher education.
GlobalData’s estimates at the start of this year, the domestic enterprise ICT market in India was expected to grow at a compound growth rate of around 7 percent for the next five years.
NASSCOM said budget 2020 has simplified the ESOP policy and extended the tax incentives for up to 100 crore startups over a 10 year period. Incentives for MSMEs like audit exemptions for up to 5 crore companies will enable ease of business for small companies.
