Industry reactions to Union Budget 2022-23 (Part-14)

“This is a growth oriented, forward looking budget with focus on capital expenditure in the infrastructure sector, particularly in roads, railways and their associated logistics. Coming on the back of nascent economic growth, estimated to be around 9.2% in the current year, and in the midst of the third wave of the pandemic, the Union Budget provides for targeted policy prescriptions for enabling inclusive development, productivity enhancement and financing of investment mainly through PPP model. Keeping in view the prevailing financial strain, especially on small businesses, during the pandemic, the extension of ECLGS till March 2023, and expansion in the guarantee cover of CGTMSE, will indeed be a boon for MSMEs, which have been primary beneficiaries under the scheme. I am sure that the Budget announcements will go a long way in achieving the goal of “Atmanirbhar Bharat.”
- Rakesh Sharma, MD&CEO, IDBI Bank 
   
“The finance minister reiterated Govt.’s commitment to the policy of stable and predictable tax regime. The announcements continued to build on the themes of the previous year, such as infrastructure, education, health, housing and ease of doing business. The substantial increase in capex is expected to have a multiplier effect and a tightrope to manage between growth and inflation.
The extension to Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) was expected and needed to ensure the growth and survival of MSMEs. Linking of various MSME portals, and initiatives announced towards skill development, credit and market access reflect Govt.’s commitment towards the growth of the critical sector.  
The other interesting announcement of bringing post office accounts onto a Core Banking System will make interoperability possible, resulting in the next phase of growth for UPI and other digital infrastructure. This will also bolster the public welfare and delivery contributing towards financial inclusion of the country.
The budget also had something for the sunrise sectors like EVs and Solar, along with capping on the LTCG which will help the start-up employees. Introduction of Digital Rupee will be a very interesting area to look out for.
It will be important to look at the finer details as they emerge and the execution, on which the success of all the policy announcements will depend.”
- Ram Iyer, Founder & CEO, Vayana Network, India's largest trade finance platform.

 “Union Budget 2022 sets the pace for the Indian Economy’s growth trajectory amidst the challenges brought forth by the pandemic. The big boost to capital expenditure is welcome and it would give a fillip to the Indian economy. For the automobile sector, we welcome the ‘PM Gati Shakti Master Plan’ focusing on building world-class infrastructure and improved connectivity for commuters. The strong push towards augmenting agricultural productivity should help enable buoyant rural demand.  In the electric mobility space, we strongly support the measures undertaken by Government to promote clean and green mobility, mainly introducing the battery-swapping policy will be instrumental in supporting an efficient EV ecosystem. There is an impactful thrust towards renewable energy incentives with an increased focus on reducing infrastructural waste for a greener tomorrow.  We appreciate the Government’s vision of building the skilling ecosystem for youth in India, which will play a critical role in driving innovation in the industry.” 
– Venu Srinivasan, Chairman, TVS Motor Company

“The FY23 Union Budget is a growth-oriented and pro-development budget with sizeable capital investment for sustained and speedy economic revival. The budget has sharply hiked the capital expenditure for FY23 by 35% to Rs 7.5 lakh crore. The government's thrust has been to allow public investment to take center stage so that private investment can follow suit. The sizeable capital expenditure will also have a multiplier impact on the economy as it will create not only assets but also large-scale employment opportunities and lead to higher demand for manufactured goods by both large industries and MSMEs. Beyond the immediate task of ensuring that growth momentum is sustained, the budget has laid the roadmap for the nation’s development in the next 25 years with building blocks for future growth areas like artificial intelligence, geospatial systems and drones, semiconductors, space economy, genomics, green energy, and clean mobility systems. The plan to launch sovereign green bonds for green infrastructure to reduce carbon intensity and thematic funds to provide blended finance to sectors like climate action and the digital economy shows that government is now following up its commitment at COP 26 with credible action.”
- Sunil Duggal, Group CEO, Vedanta, 

"The Union Budget 2022-23 is a progressive budget, our Government is concentrating on infrastructure, employment generation, and future developments. This appears to be a growth-oriented budget as efforts are being made to reduce compliance burdens and improve ease of doing business. The Budget has given an extension of the ECLGS Scheme which would provide much-needed help to the MSME sector especially the hospitality and related food processing segments. The past few years have been tumultuous for the hospitality segment and I am hopeful that this initiative gives the industry a much-needed boost." 
- Vikram Agarwal, Managing Director, Cornitos

“We wholeheartedly welcome the Union Budget 2022-23. It is gratifying to see a sustained push towards digitisation & promoting the Aatmanirbhar Bharat vision. We believe the measures & initiatives announced for the upliftment of MSMEs will significantly help in boosting the economic activity impacted by the pandemic. The decision to revamp the Credit Guarantee Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) scheme & infuse additional credit of Rs 2 lakh crore will also assist in business continuity, exploring new opportunities in manufacturing, and creating more employment avenues. In addition, the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) extension up to March 2023 is a great push for the MSMEs, especially for enterprises that are not yet back to the pre-pandemic levels of business scale & are slowly moving towards their recovery. 
This Union Budget has also recognised startups as key drivers of growth and innovation in the country. The extension on the period of incorporation and providing tax incentives will provide impetus and inspire entrepreneurs to continue driving innovation to put the Indian economy strongly on a clear growth trajectory.”
- Rahul Raj, Founder & CEO FloBiz