Tag: #SustainableGrowth

  • Union Budget 2025: Driving India’s Technological and Economic Growth

    From AI and wearable tech to real estate and healthcare, India’s Union Budget 2025 is poised to redefine innovation, inclusivity, and economic growth. Experts share their expectations for policies that will shape the nation’s future.

    As India prepares for the much-awaited Union Budget 2025, industries across the spectrum are setting their sights on transformative reforms that could redefine the nation’s economic and technological landscape. From AI innovation and wearable tech growth to digital healthcare education and real estate advancements, this year’s budget holds immense promise for sectors driving India’s progress. With a focus on sustainability, inclusivity, and global competitiveness, the 2025 Union Budget 2025 could pave the way for a future-ready India. Leading voices from key industries share their expectations for reforms that could unleash India’s full potential.

    Artificial Intelligence and Digital Infrastructure: Powering India’s Tech Future: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the heart of global innovation, and India is no exception. With the market projected to reach $17 billion by 2025, industry leaders believe AI deserves top priority in this year’s budget. Rajeev Singh, Managing Director of BenQ India and South Asia, emphasizes that targeted support through tax incentives, research grants, and public-private partnerships is essential to make AI research commercially viable. Singh also stresses the need to bridge the rural-urban digital divide by expanding digital infrastructure to underserved areas. “Shared infrastructure models and specialized AI hardware will democratize access and accelerate innovation across industries,” Singh shares. The government’s support for India’s first private semiconductor facility in Andhra Pradesh exemplifies the push for technological self-reliance. Singh hopes the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme will be expanded to include critical technologies, boosting domestic manufacturing.

    Digital Healthcare Education: Skilling the Nation for Tomorrow: The Union Budget 2025 is expected to prioritize investments in digital healthcare education, a rapidly growing sector with the potential to modernize India’s workforce. Gerald Jaideep, CEO of Medvarsity, advocates for tax incentives and funding for digital learning infrastructure to bridge skill gaps in healthcare. Innovation in healthcare education, backed by public-private partnerships, is critical to building a future-ready workforce, Jaideep explains. With the increasing reliance on AI, telemedicine, and data analytics in healthcare, equipping professionals with digital skills is essential for global competitiveness.

    Mobile Manufacturing: Expanding Local Value Creation: The mobile manufacturing sector, a key pillar of the Make in India initiative, has witnessed remarkable growth under the PLI scheme. However, Ravi Kunwar, VP and CEO of HMD India and APAC, believes the sector must shift from assembly to innovation. “Expanding local value addition above 18% and strengthening domestic supply chains will further enhance India’s leadership in mobile manufacturing, Kunwar states. Kunwar calls for continued policy support to deepen manufacturing capabilities, reduce import dependency, and ensure sustainable growth.

    Wearable Technology: Incentivizing R&D and Adoption: With India emerging as a global leader in wearable technology, stakeholders expect the union budget 2025 to support R&D initiatives and reduce import duties on critical components. CP Khandelwal, CEO of PR Innovations and Brand Custodian of Amazfit India, highlights the need for tax benefits and measures promoting digital adoption and workforce skilling. “Innovation is the driving force behind wearable tech growth, and the union budget 2025 can position this industry as a key contributor to economic progress,” Khandelwal says.

    Empowering Women in Technology and AI Innovation: Srividya Kannan, Founder and CEO of Avaali Solutions, emphasizes the importance of inclusivity in building a competitive tech ecosystem. To remain a digital talent powerhouse, India must prioritize upskilling and increase women’s participation in technology, Kannan shares. She also calls for subsidies and tax incentives to support AI innovation, automation, and cybersecurity infrastructure.

    Real Estate Sector: Making Housing Affordable and Accessible: Affordable housing remains a critical need for India’s growing population. Navin Makhija, Managing Director of The Wadhwa Group, advocates for tax incentives for homebuyers and interest subsidies for developers to stimulate growth. Reviving the 80-IB tax benefit for affordable housing projects would align with the government’s vision of Housing for All, Makhija explains. These measures could not only boost housing demand but also empower developers to meet the growing need for affordable homes.
    Retail Investors and Tax Reforms: Strengthening Capital Markets: Tax reforms are at the top of the wishlist for retail investors. Shripal Shah, MD and CEO of Kotak Securities, hopes for reductions in capital gains tax and Securities Transaction Tax (STT) to improve market sentiment and attract foreign investment. Tax relief for smaller taxpayers could stimulate economic growth and benefit both the capital market and consumption-driven sectors, Shah notes.
    Conclusion: The Union Budget 2025 presents an opportunity for India to cement its position as a global economic and technological leader. By prioritizing AI, wearable technology, digital healthcare, and real estate reforms, the government can foster innovation, inclusivity, and sustainable growth.
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  • Budget 2025 Wishlist: Industry Leaders Highlight Key Reforms for Startups, Real Estate, and Hospitality

    From empowering startups to driving sustainable real estate and boosting hospitality, industry leaders urge the government to adopt bold measures in Budget 2025-26.

    Empowering Startups: A $10 Billion Opportunity for Innovation: India’s startup ecosystem, ranked as the world’s third-largest with over 1,40,803 startups as of 2024, is poised for exponential growth. However, challenges such as regulatory inefficiencies and funding hurdles persist.

    Single-Window Clearance and Regulatory Stability: Anirudh Damani, Managing Partner at Artha Venture Fund, emphasizes the need for a single-window clearance system for fund registrations. He states, Introducing stability in the regulatory framework will encourage more domestic and foreign capital inflow, making fund management more efficient.

    Strengthening SIDBI’s Role: The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has catalyzed startup growth through its Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS). However, Damani suggests enhancing SIDBI’s allocation by an additional ₹10,000 crores, complemented by a sovereign-backed $10 billion anchor fund. This would attract contributions from global sovereign wealth funds and create a pool of patient capital for startups.

    Real Estate: Building a Sustainable and Inclusive Future: The real estate sector, contributing over 6% of India’s GDP, seeks reforms to drive growth, affordability, and sustainability.

    Enhanced Housing Affordability – Budget 2025 : Prashant Sharma, President of NAREDCO, advocates increasing tax exemptions under Section 24(b) to ₹5 lakh. He highlights, This step will boost homeownership and encourage mid-income buyers, especially in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. Shraddha Kedia-Agarwal, Director of Transcon Developers, adds, GST rationalization and incentives for rental housing could attract institutional investments and benefit urban renters.

    Green Building Practices: Sustainability remains a top priority. Leaders like Kuldeep Jain from Build Capital propose tax rebates for eco-friendly building technologies, aligning with India’s Net Zero Emissions commitment.

    Streamlining Approvals: Many developers, including Samyak Jain from Siddha Group, stress the need for a single-window clearance system. This would minimize project delays and reduce costs, enabling faster deliveries.

    Hospitality: Unlocking Tourism’s Full Potential

    Infrastructure Status for Smaller Projects: The Federation of Hotel and Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI) urges the government to lower the infrastructure status threshold for hotel projects from ₹200 crore to ₹10 crore. This would unlock funding for smaller projects in emerging tourism hubs. K. Syama Raju, President of FHRAI, explains, “The one-million population requirement excludes the vast majority of India’s cities, preventing tourism development in heritage and pilgrimage destinations.”

    Simplifying Licensing and Liquor Policies – Budget 2025: FHRAI calls for a simplified liquor licensing system, similar to the FSSAI model, to reduce compliance burdens.

    Additional Insights Across Industries – Budget 2025
    MedRabbits Healthcare: Amol Deshmukh, CEO of MedRabbits Healthcare, highlights the need to address India’s aging population through affordable home healthcare solutions. “The home healthcare market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 17.36%, reflecting the demand for patient-centric care.”
    Education and Skill Development: Rohan Rai, Co-Founder of Edupull, emphasizes bridging the gap for students in rural areas. Simplified access to learning tools and AI-enabled personalized education can transform India’s 58,000+ institutions into innovation hubs.
    Technology and Cybersecurity: Srinivas Shekar, CEO of Pantherun Technologies, discusses safeguarding startups from cyber threats. India’s $151 billion startup ecosystem thrives on trust. By offering robust cybersecurity solutions, we empower startups to focus on innovation without fear.
    Conclusion: A Vision for Inclusive Growth: Budget 2025: As India prepares for Budget 2025-26, the combined voices of industry leaders highlight the need for progressive policies across startups, real estate, and hospitality. Simplified frameworks, sustainability incentives, and inclusive growth strategies are critical to unlocking India’s potential as a $5 trillion economy.
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