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   Union Budget 2016 expectations: With a couple of days to go before FM Arun Jaitley makes his presentation in Parlaiment, IT players have voiced their expectations. Among the expectations are major ones that stretch from 'Designed in India for India' idea, 'Digital India', removing MAT to 'Smart Cities' and more. We take a look at what they had to say about what they would like Arun Jaitley to say on 29th February:

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   Budget 2016: Designed in India for India - The new government has brought with it a renewed focus on utilizing technology for better governance, better citizen services and smarter cities through initiatives like Digital India & Smart Cities. PM’s JAM (Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhar, Mobile numbers) vision coupled with new payment banks will drive a different level of financial inclusion in the country. For this to succeed, it is important that the government procurement policy motivates and encourages Indian IT Service providers to participate and play a role in government’s Digital India initiative. Under Make in India initiative, it is important that budget stimulates a build-up of design ecosystem on the technology side. It should help support technology products which are ‘designed in India for India’ and are thus a feeder to ‘ make in India’. Rajesh Janey, President-India and SAARC, EMC.

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   Budget 2016: Digital India and Smart Cities - We have already seen some favorable and positive steps taken by the government over the last year in the form of inviting Foreign Direct Investment in railways and defence, insurance legislation, labor reforms and progress in infrastructure projects across the country. The rollout of Make in India and Digital India have given a tremendous boost to the IT sector and opened up several new opportunities for the development of the digital ecosystem.We hope to see continued support of the start-up ecosystem and the development of scientific research, R&D and innovation which is the foundation of future business growth, and the key to making India a global innovation hub. We also hope to see continued investment and government support in building the crucial technology infrastructure the India needs to achieve its ambitious growth, including projects like NOFN, data centres and digital highways. There is also an acute need for skilled labour accompanied with labour reforms across segments and we expect that the budget this year will address this need. Ravinder Rana- India – ‎Country General Manager, Concentrix.

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   Budget 2016: Extending SEZ schemes and Removing MAT - Our exports are becoming more and more difficult, due to budget cuts, visa restrictions etc., all around the world. In order to make Software companies stronger, there is need for extending SEZ schemes and removing MAT. This will not only help Indian software companies but also incentivize foreign companies to set up software development facilities in Indian SEZ and provide further employment. Diwakar Nigam, MD – Newgen Software.

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   Increasing terrorist threats, cyber crimes and data breaches are driving investments in monitoring, security in IT and video surveillance systems in the country, said Anil Valluri, President, NetApp India and SAARC. (Source: Webside)

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   Budget 2016: India as ‘world’s factory’ - The government has started a revolutionary growth trend with Make in India initiative and we truly appreciate its relentless focus towards making India a global manufacturing hub. We feel that the next decade will be dominated by the electronic manufacturing services sector and it will bring about the next revolution in India. This sector has the capability to not only meet our country’s burgeoning employment needs but also make India – ‘World’s factory’. We have seen the government extend its unflinching support to the mobile handset industry by declaring it as a priority lending sector and through single window clearance mechanism, tax exemption on direct and indirect taxes for made in India products, tax holiday and incentives for startup entrepreneurs among other exemptions. Additionally, supports like deduction of CSR expenses, lowering the MAT rate can further boost the Indian economy and will accelerate investments in R&D, enable localization of electronic components and digital content’s availability in offline areas. Ritesh Suneja, Group CFO, Lava International.