Union Budget 2023: Technology and Startups are Emphasized

Technology and Startups are emphasized in budget 2023, and also urged easing regulations for startups by prolonging the advantage of transferring losses further ten years.

The IT industry in India is being recolonized, and the country is now ready for the next stage of growth. In FY22, the IT sector contributed 7.4% of India's GDP, and by 2025, it is anticipated to make up 10% of India's GDP. As a result of this rise, the Indian government has begun to take steps to promote this industry. With this in mind, the Union Budget 2023 encouraged a focus on startups as well as technology like 5G and financial technology. Technology and Startups are emphasized in budget 2023, and a number of new initiatives for the tech sector were launched by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. These include boosting the country's digital payments industry, introducing hundred 5G application development labs, and making PAN the universal identifier for all digital payments used by certain government entities.

The budget highlights digital payment. As they demonstrate a 76% rise in trades and a 91% increase in the value in 2022. In 2023–2024, financial support will still be provided for this digital infrastructural development. The digital public infrastructure, which includes India Stack, Aadhaar, Video KYC, PM Jan Dhan Yojana, and UPI, has made fintech services in India more accessible. The range of documents that are accessible to persons in DigiLocker will be increased in order to facilitate more innovative Fintech services.

The government unveiled a number of initiatives for the technology industries, including an accelerator program for agritech companies, a boost in funding for the IT department of 40% with Rs 16,549 crore, and the elimination of customs taxes on the production of lithium-ion batteries, and many others. New businesses have benefited greatly from the Budget. One of the main advantages is the one-year extension of the incorporation date for entrepreneurs who qualify in order to receive tax breaks. The extension of the carrying forward and laying off impairment period from seven to ten years is significant government support for entrepreneurs.

In the domain of agriculture, digital infrastructure will be developed as a free, open-source, and interoperable general welfare. Through pertinent data systems for crop management and wellness, greater access to farm inputs, loans, and insurance, support for crop prediction, industry knowledge, and support for the expansion of the agri-tech industry would enable inclusive, agriculture solutions.

The education sector was not overlooked in the budget; it was announced that a National Digital Library for children and teenagers will be established to make high-quality books more accessible on any device and available in all languages, categories, and degrees. Governments will be urged to build physical bookstores for them at the wards and panchayat levels as well as to provide the necessary infrastructure for them to access the National Digital Library's resources.