Sectoral Wishlists for Budget 2024-25: What Industries Hope to See

The Union Budget for 2024-25, scheduled to be presented on February 1st, is a highly anticipated event for every sector of the Indian economy. From infrastructure, Information technology, telecom, agriculture, healthcare, and human resources to education, stakeholders are eagerly waiting to see how the government's financial roadmap will impact their industries. This article will delve into the key highlights and expectations for different sectors’ industry leaders in Budget 2024-25, based on pre-budget consultations, industry reports, and expert analyses.

T V Ramachandran, President of BIF says, “India is undergoing rapid digital transformation on the back of continuous Government reforms. The recently notified Telecommunications Act 2023 is a game changer and will help catalyze the growth of the sector even further.
As Broadband India Forum, we would like to see the Union Budget 2024-25 focus on three important aspects viz.
•         Facilitate affordable Broadband through Satcom through reasonably modest spectrum fees 
•         Budgetary support for the growth of Public Wi-Fi through waiver of duties & levies on equipment and on revenues
•         Budgetary support to incentivize Fiber to the Building +Wi-Fi to enable rapid growth in Fixed Broadband, by way of reduction in statutory fees and levies and exemption of GST on service revenues
With the above measures, we hope that Union Budget will help accelerate the momentum of the reforms in the sector which has been set by other Government policies & measures”

Manoj Nair, Head of Global Delivery Centres, Fujitsu say, “Major economies across the world are seeing a challenging macroeconomic situation with slowdowns that have affected various industries. Amid this period, it is the tech industry that is leading the charge in recovery with a positive outlook. The demand for IT skills, especially in the new-age technologies - AI, ML, analytics, data science and other digital capabilities continues to surge presenting an opportune time to GCCs to further scale and usher in the next phase of digital revolution in India. India is a leading hub of Global Capability Centers (GCCs) with 1500+ GCCs housed in India that play a crucial role in growth of the tech industry. According to EY, the domestic GCC market size is expected to hit US$110b by 2030 with the number of GCCs  expected to scale to 2400. Over the past few years, there has been a major shift in how GCCs operate - from delivering cutting-edge services to becoming powerful innovation hubs. These GCCs, with their vast trove of STEM talent and heavy investments in technology and upskilling are uniquely positioned to spearhead digital transformation for customers. Our technical capabilities across AI, ML, data science, cloud, automation, enterprise applications are crucial to powering deep research and product development. “

“Now, as GCCs continue to invest in reskilling talent in the face of evolving tech landscape, building demand-based and niche skills in relevant areas, they are playing a crucial role in employment generation for India. With GCCs being a major engine for economic growth, Budget 2024 can play a key role in facilitating growth and sustainable development. GCCs require support and investment for infrastructure and growth environment. The Budget 2024 can help GCCs further scale and accelerate innovation at a faster rate as India emerges as the world's technology and services hub.”

Bimal Khandelwal, (Chief Financial Officer, STT GDC India) says, "As India charges ahead on its digital transformation journey, the upcoming budget offers a timely window to cultivate a world-class data center ecosystem that steers this advancement. We are hopeful of incentives to spur domestic manufacturing and infrastructure builds specially tailored for data centers' massive scale and seamless connectivity needs. Attractive capital subsidies for setting up future-ready facilities and easy financing options to offset development costs will unleash growth. We also envision provisions that encourage the adoption of renewable energy to meet data centers' clean power appetites. Additionally, preferential procurement directives favoring home-grown data centers will provide an upside. With an emphasis on nurturing a cutting-edge domestic data center industry, India can swiftly go up the technology value chain and cement dominance in delivering digital services globally. Having granted an infrastructure tag has remarkably expedited logistics. "

Sumit Sabharwal, Head of HR Shared Services, Fujitsu International Regions says, “As an HR leader, I eagerly anticipate the 2024 budget, urging the Government of India to prioritize robust investments in skill development. A strategic focus on honing our workforce's capabilities will propel India's IT industry to new heights, fostering innovation, and global competitiveness. The India artificial intelligence market size reached $ 680 million in 2022 and further it is expected to reach $3,935.5 million by 2028, showcasing a growth rate (CAGR) of 33.28% between 2023-2028. Data Science and Analytics have emerged as a game-changer across industries, with organizations harnessing data-driven insights to make informed decisions. With exponential growth in the digital realm, this field is expected to witness substantial opportunities in the coming years. The demand for STEM jobs in India has increased by 44% in the last 5 years. STEM skills will be a requirement for 80% of the jobs created in the next decade. To meet the increasing demands for STEM professionals in India's rapidly growing technology, engineering, and manufacturing sectors, it becomes imperative to offer robust STEM education. For organizations, it has become necessary to provide upskilling and reskilling opportunities to existing employees. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is upon us, and STEM education will align closely with its demands. To keep up with this new information-based and technology-dependent world, India must scale up the innovation ladder with initiatives.”
 

Meghan Nandgaonkar, Head of JDU, Fujitsu shares his views saying that, "Technology has played an important role in India's growth story. Our expectation from Budget 2024 furthers to boost technology solutions for sustainable society, green initiatives, agro-tech, etc., Additional focus on skilling initiatives for people engaged in traditional sectors, using technology and online delivery along with incentives for technology companies in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.”