Pre-Budget Expectations excerpts from the AI, Electronics, and Tech Leaders

IT and Tech Sector in 2022 should be encouraged to use more "Made in India" products. This will help India to become Atamnirbhar Bharat. Indian government should reduce import tariffs and waive customs duty on electronic components, so that our country can match up with the other competing countries like China, Thailand, and other countries.

TCL

"Reduction on import tariff is something we are expecting, this will help us compete with countries like China, Mexico, Thailand and more. In the last two years, the PLI schemes have provided momentum to domestic and international investments, but so the investment from the Government side for infrastructure building will boost the 'Make in India' movement. We have to integrate India into the global supply chain scenario, to achieve that tariffs should be equal or less than competitive markets."

Vijay Kumar Mikkilineni, Head of Marketing, TCL India

"We are expecting that the import tariff will be reduced, so that our country can match up with the other competing countries like China, Mexico, Thailand and more. Additionally, we have witnessed much of compliance reforms in the last two years, the PLI schemes have indeed helped in domestic and international investments, but we have to keep in mind that setting up manufacturing units might take several years, so the investment from the Government side will boost the 'Make in India' movement."

Rimo Bose, PR and Branding Manager, TCL India

World of PLAY

"On the supply side, a much-needed relief would be to waive customs duty on the import of electronic components. This will provide a boost to a growing electronics manufacturing sector and relieve stress that has built up over the last 18 months.

It is important that we see a reduction in GST rates, given the component shortages we have seen the price of electronics skyrocketing. Lowering GST will make products affordable and give a boost to the electronics industry. A progressive take by the government would be to see the government providing incentives to companies with spends on research and development."

Hamish Patel, Chief Product Officer, World of Play

MPL

The online skill gaming and esports industry has been one of the very few sectors that has not just weathered the pandemic-induced slowdown, but has witnessed exponential growth. The industry is bound to grow even further, opening up new career opportunities for both gamers and game developers, and helping take Made in India games to the world.

As we look ahead, we hope the Government of India will introduce measures to adequately support this next phase of growth. Online skill gaming companies, which have flourished amid phenomenal investor interest, are well-placed to create jobs in roles ranging from VFX designing to software development. The Budget should consider levying a lower tax slab than the existing 18% to aid this. With esports a medal event at the Asian Games, and continuing to gain prominence, this will also help incentivise a greater number of professionals to get into esports and represent the country at global tournaments of this stature.

The industry will also benefit from a fund that can provide capital to talented developers and designers, putting India on the path to becoming the hub for game development globally. Access to infrastructure will be crucial in this regard. This can be achieved by establishing specialised AVGC Centres and Universities for talented designers, visual artists, and developers who may have the capabilities but not the resources to build world-class games. Lastly, we hope that this year will bring more clarity from a regulatory standpoint. Online skill gaming suffers from a lack of differentiation from prohibited categories and games of chance. A uniform policy will be welcome and provide much-needed stability to the sunrise sector.

Sai Srinivas, Co-Founder and CEO, Mobile Premier League (MPL)

Haptik

"Due to the increased push toward digitalization, the usage of AI across industries has increased remarkably. While the previous two budgets had recognized the importance of technology in shaping the new India, we now anticipate opportunities and significant government efforts to locate India as one of the world's preferred AI attractions this year. Considering this, we hope this time too the Finance Minister will put special emphasis on AI and technology for future ready solutions. We at Haptik.ai are optimistic about the center's vision for a digital strong Bharat and are looking forward to favorable measures that will boost the tech ecosystem in India."

Aakrit Vaish, Co-Founder & CEO, Haptik

Pickrr

With India aiming to be a $5 trillion economy by 2030, the logistics sector will be a crucial enabler in achieving this. According to the reports, currently, the Indian logistics sector contributes 14.4 percent to the country's GDP and incurs a cost of 14 percent of the GDP against the global average of approximately 8 percent. Keeping these numbers under consideration, we expect the focus of this year's budget to be growth-oriented for the supply chain industry. We foresee new policies being introduced to help strengthen logistics-related infrastructure and rationalize the dwell time across all major ports and customs to expedite connectivity.

The government should also make a concrete move on the National Logistics Policy as it will help positively impact the logistics industry.

While the previous two budgets had recognized the importance of technology in shaping the new India, we now anticipate opportunities and significant government efforts to recognize India as one of the world's preferred AI and SaaS attractions this year.

Subodh Garg, CFO and Growth leader Pickrr

The year 2022 started positively, with our Prime Minister announcing a day dedicated to start-ups.

Indian start-ups have played a vital role in the economy's growth, and this base continues to witness steady growth. With technology playing a crucial role in shaping the country's start-ups, the Union Budget 2022-23 should introduce start-up-friendly policies and tax relaxations to enable innovation and ease-of-doing-business and reduce compliance costs.

We hope this year's budget will continue to deliver on the government's vision under Start-up India to focus on digitalization, favourable infrastructure development, and strengthening the ecosystem.

Gaurav Mangla, CEO Pickrr