Budget 2022: Response of Agri-Tech, Healthcare, and Startup Experts of various Sectors

Quotes from some of the industry experts on what they think about the 2022 budget announcement made today in their respective sectors.

Kunal Vaid, Founder & CEO-Resham Sutra

"It's good to note the continuity in Government policies in the new budget. The budget proposal of policy and financial support for agro-forestry can prove to be very useful over the long term, particularly in the tribal areas. We also look forward with great anticipation to the proposed fund allocation to support Agri and rural microenterprises -- which form the backbone of our rural economy. Also, the continued support for the growth of Renewable Energy technologies in the country is very encouraging and in line with India's ambitious Climate Action goals. However, we would have liked to see some more ground-level policy initiatives to encourage and incentivize rural livelihoods in the Budget, which did not happen and hence remains as a missed opportunity."

Vasanth Madhav Kamath Founder & CEO of Hydrogreens Agri Solutions

"The Budget 2022 has rightly initiated a significant focus towards the rural economy and rural development. With the introduction of Kisan drones, that seems to usher a wave of technology in the agri-tech sector. In another interesting development, funds with combined capital were also announced under NABARD. We welcome the Government's low carbon development strategy which would help unlock more job opportunities. We are also happy to see the allocation of Rs 19,500 crore for the PLI scheme to manufacture high-efficiency solar modules. Tax deduction for cooperative societies up to 15% is another welcome move. However, I'm albeit disappointed to see that no major specific announcements were made for greening the dairy farming value chain."

Roshan Farhan- Founder and CEO, Gobillion

"Start-ups are the next high impact growth drivers for the Indian economy and will promote an Atmanirbhar Bharat. The proposed extension of tax incentives for one more year will help startups at the early stage attract more funding and optimize their working capital. The proposed fund for promoting agri-tech startups and rural enterprises will boost the rural economy. We are excited for India's economic growth this year and looking forward to startups playing a pivotal role"

Shivendra Singh, Founder and CEO, Barton Breeze

It's an investment-focused budget with a strong focus on public investment. There has been increase of 35 percent in infrastructure, that will accelerate the economy and also increase manufacturing in the country. Use of technologies for farmers like drones indicates 'forward looking policy' thinking of the Government. This will help improve farmer's income and drive up consumption in the long term. The focus on AgriTech will help in inclusion of new-age technology in the agri sector in India. This massive ramp-up of capital spending on integrating technology across sectors, resonates with digital India and use of tech for young and aspirational India with strong focus on health, education, startups.

Siddharth Kukatlapalli, Co-Founder and CBO, Syntizen

India has more than 61,400 startups recognized by the DPIIT. The growth in the number of startups and unicorn-startups in the country, exhibits the potential that the startup community brings to the economy. Not just the variety of services and products, but also the contribution of startups to the economy holds a significant place. The provision made for startups, in today's budget announcement, of implementing tax incentives to startups for four years of incorporation is a big step for enabling and encouraging newer startups. This will help startups in attracting more funding, therefore optimizing their working capital and continuing to drive growth for the economy.

Rajesh Ranjan, Founder of Krishify

Union Budget 2022 is a great development, it was very exciting to hear the government taking interest in digital services, digital records, etc but I am keen to see what steps they are going to take to bring these initiatives to reality. As the founder of Agri-Tech startup, I was elated to hear about the digital distribution through the PPP model that we would be very interested in. Great initiatives have been taken to promote the involvement of gadgets and tech such as 'farm drones' for crop assessment and spraying of pesticides. Also, digitization records will bring more transparency to the agriculture sector. improved and quick banking services will help the farmers a lot to have a hold of their income and gained profit.

The government's willingness to promote organic and chemical-free farming is a great initiative to boost the sustainable agri-productivity and income of the farmers. the industry has waited a long time for schemes to deliver high-tech services to the rural farmers which is now over. ₹ 44,000 crores Ken-Betwa river linking project will also be a boon to a section of farmers. The promotion of Agri-Universities is another initiative that I am very excited about. The way young kids are excited about going to IITs, NITs or top medical colleges for their graduation, I hope the coming generation will be excited about going to agri-colleges.

The introduction of the Unified Logistics Interface Platform will enable data exchange amongst all-mode operators resulting in efficient movement of goods and reduced logistics costs and time, Railways will be seen to be a major part of this. The game-changer for the agriculture sector can be said to be the ₹ 2.37 lack crore direct payment of Minimum Support (MSP) value to farmers' accounts and the facilitation of funds to start-ups for agriculture and rural enterprise, relevant for farm produce value chain start-ups will support FPO by NABARD.

Puneet Aggarwal, Founder & CEO Nirogam

It is indeed a Booster Budget for the healthcare sector and overall economy of the country. Allocation of Rs 64,180 crore for the Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana is a commendable initiative for holistic healthcare development where equal attention is paid to preventive health, curative health, and well-being. More evidence of the government's seriousness for this sector in this budget is apparent in its plan of establishing 12 central institutions, while strengthening the National Center for Disease Control and expanding the health information portal to all states and UTs connecting all health labs.

Now, healthcare facilities will be accessible to all in urban as well as rural India because the decision of setting up 17,000 rural and 11,000 urban health and wellness centres will be instrumental in overcoming healthcare disparities. Moreover, the establishment of a regional World Health Organisation office, nine bio-safety level 3 laboratories and four regional National Institutes of Virology will further reduce the disparity between urban and rural healthcare infrastructure.

Rs.1200 crore are also allocated for comprehensive medical support to pregnant and lactating mothers, childcare services, and people suffering from non-communicable diseases. Free diagnosis and medical drugs are also promised for each section. If things are implemented on time, we will soon witness one of the world's best healthcare sectors in India

Abhishek Negi, Co-Founder, Eggoz

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has taken a host of measures in the Union Budget 22-23 to boost up the economy and the initiatives made towards the agriculture and allied sectors are expected to create a multiplier effect on Agri start-ups. Logistics plays an important role in the growth and survival of agro-businesses, especially the timely shipping of perishable food items. As FM announced that Indian Railways will develop new products for small farmers and MSMEs, many transportation issues of agro-businesses seem to get resolved soon. Also, initiatives like a fund with blended capital under the co-investment model through NABARD to finance start-ups in agriculture and rural enterprises for farms will help to add value to their products.

Pranav Dangi, Founder of Hosteller

The FM has announced a forward looking budget with an impact horizon of 3-4 years. Already struggling travel sector has still not come to pre Covid levels and hence a boost to small players in the sector through extension of ECLG scheme from 50k cr to 5 lakh cr shall help the small operators stay afloat and in turn keep the industry's base strong and intact.

Dr Harshit Jain, Founder and Global CEO Doceree

''The high point of the budget is its focus on mental health. It shows the government's commitment towards creating a holistic health environment. The pandemic has had a visibly damaging impact on the mental well-being of people. The situation got compounded as there was another epidemic we were facing simultaneously – the mental health epidemic which was global in nature. The proposed national tele-mental health programme will create a supportive environment for people to talk about emotional issues they counter on a day-to-day basis and help remove the stigma that we have around mental and emotional problems. Also, the decision to create an open platform for the National Digital Health Ecosystem is yet another move to digitize healthcare in the country which surely has a far-reaching impact on making quality healthcare accessible to all''.