By Kazim Rizvi
Budget 2020-21: To achieve the goal of a trillion-dollar digital economy, it is incumbent upon the government to focus on the technology sector. The 2019 budget provided significant portion to the technology sector. Setting up a target of achieving 100,000 digital villages, tax reforms and an unprecedented announcement of National Artificial Intelligence portal were some of the key highlights of the last budget which was welcomed by the majority in the industry.
Currently, with IT-BPM and IT; ITeS sector standing at $177 Mn and $181 Mn respectively, India is looking to be the next technological hub in the coming future. Be that as it may, India still lags behind in research and development, local component manufacturing and innovation. The debt ridden telecom sector cannot drive 5G if they are not getting help from the government. Given the advent of Industry 4.0 and its effect on the daily lives of Indian citizens, the technology sector deserves significant funds and policy measures in order to enable competitiveness and drive innovation in the country.
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In the past, government has contributed significantly towards the enhancement of digital sector. It is now the time for the government to put their peddle on accelerator. India has to embrace the technological innovation happening around the globe and in order to do that it has to make innovations friendly policies. It is important for the government to ensure that the budget contains certain funds and policies which drive innovation and growth in the technological sector.
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Therefore, as far as the digital sector is concerned, the upcoming budget should be focused on bringing in policies and reforms that helps in, first, lifting the already debt-ridden telecom sector and enabling them for driving the growth. Second, funds and policies should be invested to support the existing research and development centres and additionally to create new centres with world-class infrastructure. More policies should be made to get the fruitful results from the programmes such as Start Up India and Skill India. Further, tax reforms should also be looked into in order to make India an investment hub for every sector and especially the emerging digital sector.
Writer is Kazim Rizvi, Founder, The Dialogue. Views expressed si personal.
