Comments
In a move that bodes well for India’s tech ecosystem, the Centre is focusing on enhancing India’s digital infrastructure in the coming financial year. The Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced a slew of initiatives to bolster digital infrastructure in the domains of agriculture, finance and education. The Indian tech industry welcomed these proposals as they open many opportunities for Indian IT giants, MSMEs and startups in the tech space.
Proposing a digital push to many infrastructural initiatives, the Centre promoted emphasis on digitisation across many government schemes. In the Wednesday budget, the finance minister announced that a Digital Public Infrastructure for agriculture will be built, “as an open source, open standard and inter operable public good.” This will focus on relevant information services for crop planning and health, improved access to farm inputs, credit, and insurance etc.
National Digital Library
The Centre will also be setting up a National Digital Library for young children and adolescents to facilitate availability of quality books. A digital epigraphy museum is to be set up this year, to which will digitise one lakh ancient inscriptions in the first stage.
To further more fintech innovation, the scope of documents in DigiLocker for individuals will also be expanded according to Sitharaman’s speech. For MSMEs, an Entity DigiLocker will be set up for use by MSMEs, large business and charitable trusts. This will be towards storing and sharing documents online securely, whenever needed, with various authorities, regulators, banks and other business entities.
National Data Governance Policy
The Centre is also going to introduce a National Data Governance Policy, enabling access to anoynmized data to startups and academics for further innovation in the tech space.
Top industry associations and companies in tech welcomed the 2023-24 budgets push for digitisation, especially as it furthers opportunities for companies such as TCS, Infosys and startups in this space.
Rajesh Gopinathan, MD & CEO, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) said, “The Union Budget 2023 further builds on the government’s focus on enhancing India’s digital infrastructure and enabling growth pathways for the Indian economy. Bringing in the National Data Governance policy is also a welcome step. Overall, it’s a forward-looking budget that will fortify the digital spine of the country.”
Ashish Agarwal, Vice President and Head of Public Policy, NASSCOM added, “Overall digital focus is good from a tech industry perspective and sectoral initiatives in health, fintech and Agri, all of these can open up opportunities for startups and even mature businesses. Unlocking the value proposition of DigiLocker along with a risk-based KYC regime and national financial information registry is expected to boost digital services.”
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.