MUMBAI, 5 FEBRUARY, 2023 (GPN): Hon’ble Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the last full-fledged Union Budget of the Modi government before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections on 1 February 2023. The government sweetened the new income tax regime by making income of up to ₹3 lakh exempt from income tax. With a rebate, now people earning up to ₹7 lakh need not pay any income tax. The FM also simplified the tax structure and called it the “default income tax regime”.

1) Anup Rau, MD & CEO, Future Generali India Insurance:

“Union Budget remains in line with the Government’s growth objectives. The focus is on strengthening the foundation regarding inclusive development, reaching the last mile and financial empowerment. Some key areas insurance companies will be closely looking at going forward are the proposed investments by the Government in technology and AI, data governance policy, simplified KYC process, common business identifier and MSME sector-related initiatives. In addition, various announcements related to infrastructure investment, including sustainable cities and green energy, will also open new avenues for the sector to mitigate and insure against potential risks. The additional income in the hands of the taxpayer owing to the expansion of the personal income tax ceiling too is likely to boost consumption. Overall, a very balanced budget”.

2) Yagnesh Dosshi, Co-Founder & Director, Raghnall Insurance Broking and Risk Management Pvt Ltd.

“We are disappointed with the recent budget announcement regarding the taxation of insurance premiums, as it will impact the high-value savings products that have been relied on by many customers. This, combined with the lack of increase in tax exemptions for premiums paid under health insurance, will negatively impact the growth of both savings and health insurance in India. Despite these setbacks, we remain committed to finding solutions and providing affordable insurance options to our customers while also adhering to regulations. We will also continue our efforts in promoting the importance of insurance and making it accessible to all.”

3) Nilesh Shah, Managing Director, Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company-

“This budget is a Bahubali budget. With one arrow multiple targets are shot. Fiscal prudence is achieved with lower deficit and path set till FY 26. Consumption is supported through tax cuts. Investment outlay is enhanced. No’s are realistic or conservative to enhance the credibility.

The budget could have focussed more on asset monetisation but that can be pursued otherwise also depending upon market conditions .

Net in nutshell a Bahubali budget”

4) Deepak Agrawal, CIO-Debt, Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company-

“The Minister has been able to do a fine balancing of increasing capital expenditure by 33%, while at the same time reducing the fiscal deficit from 6.4% to 5.9%. This step will further contribute to make the Indian economy more resilient. Investment in Capital Expenditure would result in boosting productivity over medium term and help in bringing down inflation structurally. The budget 2023 nominal GDP growth rate and revenue growth estimates are credible.”

5) MS Sreedhar, MD & CEO, Royal Sundaram General Insurance Co. Ltd

“The government announced various investment-based programs across crucial infrastructure sectors, including urban development, logistics, technology ecosystem and green projects. At the same time, focusing on reaching the last mile, empowering fintechs, and tax incentives strengthen its inclusion agenda. A host of initiatives around data and information repositories (National Financial Information Registry, Common Business Identifier, KYC Simplification, Central Data Processing Centre, etc.) will lead to an efficient, secured and integrated data access ecosystem.

The Insurance sector will gain from the increased economic activities and greater ease of doing business. At the same time, announcements such as vehicle replacement policy, Digital Public Infrastructure for Agriculture, a higher rebate on personal income tax and a more significant focus on public health will also substantially impact the non-life insurance sector.

Being now the most populous country in the world, India has built a robust foundation comprising of demographic dividend, economic stability, tamed inflation, improved incomes, phygital distribution network and above all, better awareness towards insurance. The success of health insurance in the past decade – backed by strong government resolve to offer low-cost access has set the right context for the sector. We believe the industry has just scratched the surface and will ride on a high degree of customisation and product innovation in the coming years”.

6) Mr. Gopichand P. Hinduja, Co-Chairman, the Hinduja Group

“When India is the lone shining star in the world facing threats of recession, Ms Nirmala Sitaraman has delivered a perfectly focused growth-oriented budget with massive capital investment outlays @ 4.5% of GDP while staying on track with the fiscal deficit reduction plan.

What is remarkable is the holistic, sustainable and inclusive approach taken covering every element of infrastructure and capability building and making the best use of the world-class digital public infrastructure.

The budget clearly reflects PM Modi’s long-term vision for India and it aims to engage with and carry every section of society towards the goal of a self-reliant and strong India.”

7) Amit Chadha, CEO & MD, L&T Technology Services

“The Union Budget 2023 has shown a strong focus on boosting digital infrastructure and adoption, which is a positive sign for the technology industry. It was also encouraging to see Hon’ble Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman share her vision of “making AI in India and making AI work for India”, further highlighting the importance of building a strong AI ecosystem in India. We welcome the government’s move towards developing three AI excellence centres and 100 5G labs, as well as introducing the National Data Governance Bill, which will open up a wide range of opportunities for business growth and employment generation. As a pure-play ER&D services provider, our belief is that such a mass scale enablement of digital transformation and innovation will unlock the full potential of the Indian engineering and technology sector. It will also result in complementing uptake of digital engineering capabilities resulting in the country maintaining its strong hold as a global preferred destination for engineering services.”

8) Venkatraman Narayanan, MD & CFO, Happiest Minds Technologies

“Digital has emerged as the hallmark of Union Budget announced today. Be it setting up of AI-focused CoEs, or Unified Digital Skilling platform, the role of digital technologies is empathetically at the forefront of India’s economic rise. It will be interesting to see how the paperless digital locker based documentation storage and management for citizens shapes up, as accordingly it promises to open up a wave of opportunities in the domestic market related to cyber security, cloud, AI and ML. While tax exceptions on exports are a welcome step, certain breather on corporate tax would have complemented it well.

Overall, it is a sound and holistic budget devised to ensure upliftment, empowerment and inclusivity to all.”

9) Mr. Saahil Goel, Co-Founder & CEO, of Shiprocket.

“The government’s focus on empowering the MSME sector with the revamped credit guarantee scheme is admirable. We’re also glad to witness infrastructure & reaching the last mile being included in the 7 priorities of this year’s budget. The budget’s focus on transportation and infra projects with the Urban Infra Development Fund will surely give a boost to the logistics sector. The revamped credit guarantee scheme for MSMEs and the Rs 9,000 crore infusion amount in the corpus would further push the entrepreneurial spirit of the country.”