Yay or Nay: Women VCs Share their thoughts on the Union Budget 2023

By: WE Staff

The Union Budget 2023-24, presented by the Finance Minister on 1st February 2023, has outlined various measures to support the country's growth and development. Some of the key highlights include:

Focus on infrastructure development: The budget has allocated a significant amount for the development of various infrastructure projects such as roads, railways, airports, and ports.

Emphasis on healthcare: The government has announced plans to set up medical colleges in every district and increase the availability of medical facilities in rural areas.

Boost for agriculture: The budget has introduced several measures to support the agriculture sector, including increased allocation for agriculture and rural development, and a focus on expanding access to credit and markets for farmers.

Support for startups and MSMEs: The government has announced several measures to support the growth of startups and MSMEs, including tax incentives and easier access to credit.

Education and skill development: The budget has emphasized the importance of education and skill development, with increased allocation for these sectors and plans to set up new schools and colleges.

Experts have widely appreciated the budget and its focus on inclusive growth and development. Many have noted the increased allocation for key sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, and education as a positive step towards ensuring that the benefits of growth are shared by all sections of society. Some have also appreciated the government's focus on infrastructure development and its efforts to support the growth of startups and MSMEs.

Among the number of significant policies, revisions, and prospects for India's diverse industries, the exciting fact is that renewable and green energy sources that have received a lot of attention.

The Indian government will implement numerous programs for green energy, green farming, green transportation, green buildings, and green equipment under the Green Growth initiative, as well as laws for the efficient use of energy in a variety of economic sectors. The fact that this will assist India in achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2070 was also emphasized by the finance minister.

Commenting on the budget 2023 and its focus on Green Growth, Anjali Bansal, Founding Partner of Avaana Climate and Sustainability Fund said:

"The Union Budget rightly builds incentives to support low carbon development pathways with the focus on Green Growth among the Saptarishi priorities. Catalyzing sustainable growth in India will require incentives to drive investments in technology and innovation, to ensure that we do not have to make trade-offs between people and the planet. We welcome the increased outlay towards energy transition, particularly for Green Hydrogen and waste-to-energy, which will boost energy independence. The PRANAM scheme and bio-input centers shall incentivize the adoption of sustainable and regenerative agriculture practices. The Green Credit program will channel much-needed capital to support the transition to a sustainable economy. Concessional duties on Li-ion batteries will provide a further boost to the EV sector and help decarbonize the transport and logistics sectors. The measures announced in Budget 2023 will further strengthen India’s position as a global climate leader, and catalyze sustainable, inclusive development."

On the other side, Pooja Mehta, Chief Investment Officer at JITO Angel Network, a premium community-based organization that invests in budding entrepreneurs and supports them by leveraging the community platform of the Jain International trade organization talks about the National Data Governance Policy.

She says "The government's announcement of a National Data Governance Policy is a landmark moment for India's start-ups and academic community. With India being recognized as the third largest start-up ecosystem in the world and a leader in innovation quality, it's a powerful testament to the entrepreneurial spirit in the country. The Focus on R&D and AI Execution to move India more towards Digitisation. Also, an extension of tax benefits and the relaxation of the conditions for the carry-forward of losses for start-ups is a positive step forward. This shows that the government is again fully committed to supporting, and promoting, entrepreneurship and Technology development which will drive economic growth and development in India."

Additionally, The Union Budget 2023 is positively tackling the economically and socially disadvantaged rural and corporate sectors of India. “It is also a good idea to support women entrepreneurs in India by investing in their skill development as well as branding and marketing. This would help Indian niche and driven enterprises grow,” says Harini Ramachandran, Co-Creator of Excellence Installations Technology and Co-founder of Antano&Harini, Legacy Accelerators.

She added, “As the government continues to invest in mental health and skill development, I believe it’s also time that we prioritize Capability Building for India’s burgeoning entrepreneurs and workforce. Capabilities like being able to model and learn from the geniuses around, to disassociate and bring creative, out-of-the-box ideas, and capabilities of emotional resilience, and mastery. Because capabilities are for life and naturally grow and evolve the current capacity an individual has to accelerate their success, launch a unique legacy, and create a BIG Impact in the world.

My hope after this year’s budget announcement is that the people will leverage the increased tax exemption and ease of compliance to invest in themselves, in building superior capabilities of world leaders that will enable them, furthermore, to create a big impact in the world."