Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the interim Budget 2024 in Parliament on February 1. She said rapid digitalization has been instrumental in India’s growth and digital public infrastructure has played a crucial role in formalizing the economy.
New age technologies and data are changing the lives of people and businesses. They create new “economic opportunities and facilitate the provision of high-quality services at affordable prices for everyone, including those at the bottom of the pyramid,” she said.
Sitharaman announced that India would continue to invest in digital technologies and ensure that they are accessible to all. The Finance Minister said that India’s strength in data and technology not only creates economic opportunities for all, but also for the country globally.
Rs 1-Lakh-Crore corpus for research and innovation
Sitharaman highlighted the importance of research and innovation for the country’s growth, highlighting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s emphasis on ‘Jai Vigyan, Jai Anusandhan’ (research with science). The Finance Minister announced a corpus of Rs 1 lakh crore for interest-free loans over 50 years, which will encourage the private sector to step up research and innovation in the growing areas.
Commenting on this announcement, BenQ India Pvt. Managing Director Rajeev Singh said, “The Budget’s focus on “upskilling initiatives and robust investments in R&D will not only broaden the base of innovation and startup culture, but will also result in to creating a technology-savvy workforce. For India to produce within its own borders, we will need a culture of continuous innovation, which can only be achieved through a strategic focus on R&D.
Deep Tech to strengthen defense
Sitharaman said the government would launch a new program to strengthen advanced technologies in the defense domain, which would accelerate ‘atmanirbharta’ (self-reliance) in the sector. Technology has a crucial role to play in national security. Innovations in the development and deployment of deep defense technologies, including the use of drones (unmanned aerial vehicles and unmanned ground vehicles) for surveillance, robotics and artificial intelligence, can provide a security advantage national and defense strategies of India.
Private players will be encouraged and impetus will be given to high-tech startups working in the defense sector, the Finance Minister said.
Nandini Tandon, Co-Founder and Chief Human Resources Officer, Indusface, said: “The focus on advanced technologies for defense purposes highlights the importance of self-reliance and innovation in critical sectors. . »
Skill India mission can help address AI skills shortage
The Finance Minister announced that the Skill India Mission had trained 1.4 crore youth, upskilled and reskilled 54 lakh youth and established 3,000 new industrial training institutes. A large number of new higher education institutions including IITs, IIITs, IIMs and universities have also been established. These higher education institutions are essential to developing a future skilled workforce.
“As the demand for technology talent increases, the government’s Skill India Mission has played a pivotal role in bridging the talent gap in the IT sector. With 1.4 crore youth upskilled and reskilled, the announcement of setting up higher education institutions, including IITs and IIMs, will help India address the AI skills gap and effectively fill the gap. gap,” said Manoj Nair, head of Indian GDC at Fujitsu India.
Focus on cybersecurity
In the Interim Budget 2024, spending on cybersecurity projects doubled from Rs 400 crore last year to Rs 759 crore this year, underscoring the growing importance of cybersecurity and data protection as that the digital threat landscape is expanding like never before.
“We found that 100% of websites were targeted by sophisticated bots in the last year and that they even target internal public-facing systems such as HRIS or ERP, according to our latest report on the Application security status. It is essential that cybersecurity receives the attention and resources it deserves in our national budget and strategic planning,” Tandon said.
Hrishikesh Rajpathak, co-founder and chief technology officer at nRoad, said: “There is an urgent need for stricter policies around data mining and use. As technology advances, data becomes increasingly valuable, raising concerns around privacy, security, and ethical use. Clear guidelines and regulations are essential to protect company data and ensure optimal use across all industries.
Increased IT/ITeS spending
The government also increased the allocation to IT services industries by over 8 per cent to Rs 130 crore in the interim budget 2024. The amount has been revised to Rs 120 crore for 2023-24 from the initial outlay of Rs 150 crore.
Two schemes (NEBPS and IBPS) under the IT pillar for employment have been launched under the Digital India program to encourage business process outsourcing/ITES operations across the country.
