MUMBAI, 03 FEBRUARY, 2022 (GPN): HERE ARE THE REACTIONS-

Mr. Raj Das, Global Co-Founder & India CEO, Hirect

“With the presentation of the Union Budget, 2022 made by the Hon’ble Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, some of the most important aspects have been addressed as to how the country can build a resilient economy, especially in the post-pandemic era. The budget has several aspects that are clearly pro-growth and pro-technology, which would definitely boost the hiring and recruitment domain – majorly the startup ecosystem in India.

The recent announcement such as the reduction of surcharge on unlisted shares from 28.5 to 23 percent will boost the incorporation of furthermore startups. The tax incentive announcement for startups will not only motivate a robust ecosystem but also will help in the creation of more job opportunities. The PM Gati Shakti initiative and reduction in corporate surcharge from 12% to 7% is a positive initiative. Moreover, to boost the digital-first economy, the National Skill Framework will definitely play a vital role in the upskilling and reskilling of the workforce.

Overall, this looks to be a budget, which is focused on the growth of empowering startups, small, and medium-sized businesses along with overall economic growth.”

Dr. Anish Desai MD., Founder & CEO, IntelliMed Healthcare Solutions

“Digitalization will go a long way in helping to bring healthcare to the masses. It will help in disease and treatment awareness, adoption of new treatment modalities, accessibility to healthcare and make it more affordable. Focus on Mental health is a great forward-looking step as the pandemic had exposed the issue and these steps will help the society at large. The new healthcare schemes such the National Digital Health Ecosystem, National Tele Mental Health program in line with rapid digitization and the launch of 5G are steps that will play a key role in reforming the Indian healthcare system. Additionally with the government’s declaration for skilling, upskilling and reskilling for the youth, the local manufacturing will be critical for enhancing the skill and capabilities in the key healthcare sectors. This will help further the vision of Make in India and capability building of the Indian healthcare sector that will go a long way in making healthcare accessible and affordable to the Indian patients. It will bring  technology and innovation at the doorstep of Indian patients thereby transforming the Indian healthcare system at large.”

Aman Puri, Founder, Steadfast Nutrition

“The government’s thrust on addressing mental health problems through the launch of the National Tele Mental Health Programme is the high point of the 2022 Budget for the healthcare sector. The proposed network of 23 tele-mental healthcare centers of excellence will definitely boost the mental health sector and go a long way in ensuring access to quality mental health counseling. Mental health issues have skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic and the sector has anyways been neglected in the country. The National Digital Health EcoSystem is also a welcome move and a big step in ensuring universal access to health facilities. However, beyond this, the 2022 Budget has not brought any big bang reforms for the healthcare sector as was expected in the backdrop of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Surprisingly, the allocation to India’s COVID-19 emergency response and health system preparedness in FY23 is zero versus an allocation of ₹12,359 cr in FY22 revised estimates. The government has not really outlined specific funds to strengthen primary, secondary, and tertiary healthcare system, public health delivery and research given that the country has been through a devastating second wave of COVID-19 last year and is currently in the grip of a third one. More can be done if we plan to make India ‘Atmanirbhar’ in the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals and nutritional supplements. Expenditure on healthcare as a percentage of the GDP was also expected to reach 3% in this year’s budget from the prevailing 1.8% on the recommendation of the Economic Survey 2021, healthcare experts, and the National Health Policy 2017. However, this has also not happened. The world average is 6%.”

Sumesh Nair, CEO & Co-founder, Board Infinity

“The concept of digital university is a great move by the government. It increases access to education and gross enrolment ratio. The usual trend of flocking to cities/one specific location for all kinds of education needs to change and can, to some  extent, be reversed with this move, if implemented properly. However, the challenges at hand is the quality of education that can be imparted via such medium. If partnerships can be built with best practices where established universities, government bodies and individuals contribute, then this model can be implemented well.

Desh stack e portal can be a game changer in the skilling and training landscape. There are very few portals that are able to solve end to end needs for a customer who wants to get skilled. Desh can hope to solve issues in discovery, skilling and employment niche. One can integrate Desh stack over other initiatives of skilling like National Apprentice Training Schemes, and other NSDC , NASSCOM initiatives as well.”

Ankit Arora, Founding Director, Saarthi Education

“The Education budget for 2022 seems to be exciting. The provision of digital education opportunities to children from Grade 1 to 12 through the One class one TV channels and senior students through the digital university are definitely innovative ways to curb the learning gap set in due to the pandemic. However, just providing digital content, even if it is high quality does not ensure quality learning. This will have to be complemented with digital teaching practices that can be adopted by teachers and parents throughout the country. It would have been great to see some budget allocation focused on the re-opening of schools. As schools reopen after a long period, 600+ days in some states – the local and state governments will need budget and resources to put effective SOPs in place to ensure schools can be a safe place for learning.”

Supriya Munshi, Senior Director, Reshaweaves

“The union budget 2022 attempts to financially empower all the sectors while helping them cope with the ongoing pandemic. The Productivity Linked Incentive in 14 sectors with an excellent potential to create 60 lakh new jobs will bring us closer to the vision of Atma Nirbhar Bharat. Further, the use of Kisan Drones for crop assessment, spraying of pesticides and launch of a scheme in PPP mode is a major boost for the agrotechnology sector. This in a way will help strengthen the grassroots of the economy and create a major push in the agriculture sector by providing better agriculture infrastructure. Also, the extension of tax redemption for one more year, till March 31, 2023, is a huge benefit for the Indian start-up sector, which has now become the backbone of the Indian economy.” Ends