Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present her seventh Union Budget on July 23. This will be Sitharaman’s seventh consecutive budget in a row.
With this being the first budget after the general elections, all eyes are on it. The interim budget presented in February gave a major boost to the deep-tech sector. It announced a Rs 1 lakh crore corpus to boost private investment in sunrise technology. The Finance Minister said that this will mark a golden era for the country’s tech-savvy youth.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry is considering suggesting a specialized policy in the upcoming budget by the new government to foster innovation among deep tech startups, as per a PTI report.
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Meanwhile, the National Deep Tech Startup Policy (NDTSP), which intends to address the challenges of deep-tech start-ups, is reportedly in the final stage of consultation. The draft of the policy was released last year in July for public consultation.
“Given India's strength that lies in its young, highly capable, and skilled population spread across Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 cities, we are well-positioned to emerge as an innovative and frugal solutions hub for large global enterprises. Amidst this dynamic landscape, the National Deep Tech Startup Policy is a welcome step for the start-up ecosystem,” said Sayandeb Banerjee, co-founder and CEO at MathCo.
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“Until now, the focus has primarily been on academic and government institutions to promote and nurture start-ups. The private sector's contribution has largely been confined to CSR spending, often directed through these same institutions,” said Sunil Shekhawat, CEO of SanchiConnect.
It is now imperative to consider special measures to facilitate operations for institutions that support start-ups beyond the scope of government grants, added Shekhawat.
Artificial intelligence has become a constant in our lives. To give a push to AI, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced plans to establish three centers of excellence for artificial intelligence at leading educational institutions in the interim budget.
Experts expect a similar focus on AI in the upcoming budget as well. However, to harness the potential of AI, ethical guidelines are imperative.
“Ethical guidelines and comprehensive regulatory frameworks, as underscored by recent NITI Aayog studies, are essential to ensuring responsible AI deployment, safeguarding against biases, and protecting data privacy,” said Lokesh Nigam, co-founder and CEO of Konverz.ai.
Nigam further added that prioritising reskilling and upskilling initiatives is crucial to preparing the workforce for AI-driven changes. A recent study by ServiceNow and Pearson reportedly says that artificial intelligence and automation will need 16.2 million Indian workers to upskill and reskill.
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Additionally, the country has less than 2,000 senior engineers who would be able to make core AI products, according to a Moneycontrol report. While expectations are high regarding the upcoming budget, it is unknown what’s in store for the deep-tech sector.
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