Mr. P.G Lakshminarayan, Vice President-Finance, eScan
“The Budget looks pragmatic and realistic and was in line with expectations. Defined focus on domestic manufacturing & infrastructure, investment allocations to build Smart Cities & to increase broadband penetration of Indian villages, liberalization of FDI in ecommerce sector, promised actions to finalize GST this year, clarity on transfer pricing along with a collaborative framework to minimize future disputes etc., are all steps in the right direction and indicative of a positive start to a long-term process. To conclude, this Budget is quite optimistic with clear roadmap ahead and it will be quite interesting to track how it plays out eventually”
Sushmita Das VP – Business, Kobian Pte Ltd
Governments’ initiatives have given the Indian IT industry some reason to cheer the Budget 2014 by allocating Rs.7060 crore for smart cities, Rs.500 crore for bridging the digital divide, a 100 crore for technology development fund and several other e-governance. It is a
good sign that there will be no additional duty on components that go into the manufacturing of PCs, as earlier; there was a 4 percent tax.
This year, we can also expect support towards our production and research from GST law. Online and mobile advertisements, digital/ web/ social media agencies will have additional service tax now; this may face a negative impact.
Puneet Dhandharia Country Manager – India at Astrum Holdings Ltd
We are happy with the government’s decision to encourage start-ups and entrepreneurs. Provision of 7060 crore for smart cities, creating venture capital fund of 10,000 crore for micro, small and medium enterprises and 100 crore for technology development fund will inspire many product based companies; also it increases the employment opportunity. This year, we can also expect support towards our production and research from GST law. The focus on education, infrastructure and agriculture sector is really appreciable. Overall it’s a balanced budget and we are hoping to see the best execution of it
Vivek Varshney, Vice President & Global Head Telecom Practice at UST Global
“We feel that the new government has presented a progressive budget, which will help in creating an investor friendly environment and attract more foreign and domestic investment in the Telecom sector. Allowing FDI in telecom will attract more investment across functional technology areas like 4G and WiFi enablement of cities, railway stations and trains will create more opportunities for telecom solution providers like UST Global. Another key highlight of the budget is the creation of rural broadband vision which will allow telecom companies to be a part of inclusive growth and improve the penetration of technologies to rural households, thereby improving the living standards of the citizens. Government earmarking Rs 7,060 crore in this financial year for developing 100 smart cities in the country would also help create communication infrastructure.”
