Diverse Women Leaders Share Pre Budget-Expectations

By: WE Staff

The unveiling of the annual Union Budget is one of the most anticipated fiscal events for Indians. From industry leaders, and businessmen to the common tax-paying citizens of India, everyone is hopeful that the Budget announcement will bring some good news for us all.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is all set to unveil India’s Union Budget for 2024 on July 23, 2024.

As the road to the Union Budget 2024 gets shorter, women leaders from different industries share their expectations and predictions for the 2024 Union Budget with us. With an emphasis on their expectations from the budget announcement specifically for women, here is what women leaders have to say.

For Radhika Kalia, Managing Director at RLG Systems India, the expectation is that the Union Budget for 2024 will incentivize women-friendly sectors thus amplifying Indian women entrepreneurs.

She says, “Despite progress in gender equality, Indian women entrepreneurs still face many challenges.  Women’s businesses are still largely limited to low-revenue sectors, restricting the nation’s growth. I would expect the interim budget 2024 to incentivize women-friendly sectors such as apparel, consulting, beauty and well-being, education, processed foods, e-commerce, etc., and facilitate their entry into additional domains such as manufacturing and construction.”

Radhika highlights the challenge faced by women entrepreneurs in terms of incentivizing women-friendly sectors. To remedy this, her expectation is the following. “Women-led startups can receive very low amounts in venture capital funding, and there remains a lack of social support and proper mentorship. Gender-biased funding is also a reality in several areas and regions. Limited access to credit and restricted networking opportunities further impede women’s entrepreneurial progress. The forthcoming budget must provide for provisions that reinforce financial and institutional support for women entrepreneurs. This could include improving funding scenarios through gender-lens investing, increasing access to credit, and creating a dedicated, supportive network of mentors and business accelerators. Special funds and PLI schemes could assist women entrepreneurs.”

Seconding Radhika’s thoughts is finance entrepreneur Aparna Acharekar, Co-Founder of Coto. She takes a look back at the announcement of the Interim budget and its implications for women.

She says, “Women have broken barriers, defied stereotypes, and driven progress toward a more just and equitable society. Their influence spans numerous industries, transforming the business landscape and achieving remarkable results across various sectors. This year, the interim budget highlighted women's empowerment as a major theme, aiming to enhance their socio-economic status and provide better opportunities to succeed as leaders and entrepreneurs. In line with the government's vision, we anticipate robust policies in the upcoming union budget to increase women's participation in the workforce and promote digital entrepreneurship. We believe that the upcoming budget will incentivize and empower women-led businesses by providing better access to funding and capital while giving them a conducive environment to grow.”

Bringing in the perspective from the social development sector we have Prachi Kaushik, Founder & Director, of Vyomini Social Enterprise sharing her thoughts with us.

Talking about India’s swift growth towards becoming a $7 trillion economy she sheds light on the need to promote women-led innovation. “As we sprint towards a $7 Trillion economy, it is pivotal to strategize the allocation of funds to the sectors that need it the most. The Make in India initiative has led to Atmanirbharta in the last decade, however, an additional capital push is required to boost the MSME and SMEs in rural India. Moreover, women-led innovation should also be in focus. We anticipate subsidized loans for women and marginalized entrepreneurs and facilitating government procurement for women manufacturers. Similarly, with inflationary pressures, it is important to provide tax relaxation to individuals and business owners and a tax break should be proposed in Budget 2024 along with more facilitation centres for GST issues,” says Prachi.

Smitha Shetty, Regional Director - APAC - Achilles Information, talks about the need to boost Indian MSMEs and more.

Sharing her two cents, she says, “The upcoming budget is anticipated to bolster support for MSMEs and prioritize supply chain sustainability. Enhanced infrastructure development, streamlined regulations, workforce upskilling, and increased investment in innovation-driven technologies will be pivotal in fostering MSME sector growth.”

She also shares the expectation perspective from Achilles' Information. “We envision a budget that encompasses eco-friendly incentives, advanced digital infrastructure for seamless logistics operations, and equitable trade practices. Such policies will fortify supply chains and bolster the competitiveness of MSMEs in the global marketplace."

Sharing her perspective from the IT sector Payal Nambiar, Founder and Director, B-Square Solutions says, “The upcoming Budget 2024 must recognize the start-up IT sector for their innovation and entrepreneurship capabilities. In the Union Budget 2024, adequate provisioning should be made for start-ups in the IT sector in the form of tax sops, tax holidays, rebates, etc., to encourage them, spur innovation and R&D. Start-up IT firms harnessing new-age technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Robotics should be encouraged with special incentives to propel them up the innovation ladder.”

Payal is also optimistic about the budget’s focus on improving India’s digital infrastructure. She says, “Furthermore, this budget should focus on investing in propelling digital infrastructure, high-speed internet connectivity (read: 6G), cloud computing capabilities, and state-of-the-art data centers. This will not only benefit the IT industry but also enable broader adoption of digital technologies across various sectors, driving productivity and competitiveness. Furthermore, the budget should address the need for human resource development or skilled workforce development in the booming IT sector. This could be through increased funding for STEM education, skill-building programs, and collaborative efforts between the industry and educational institutions.