By Rajiv Kapoor, Vice President, India & SAARC, Cambium Networks
“The Union Budget provides a major boost to the interests of broadband services enablers and aligned stakeholders as one of the major takeaways that evidently emerged was the fact of connectivity being at the core of all key pursuits planned by the government. Towards this, initiatives announced such as providing push to smart metering, setting up five new smart cities, establishing new data centres across the country and more importantly the allocation of Rs.6000 crore towards BharatNet to provide connectivity to 100,000 gram panchayats within this year itself, augers well for the telecom industry.”
By Deepak Kagliwal, Director & Head, Sales and Marketing at Blazeclan Technologies
There is no doubt that our nation is rapidly moving from adopting global digital trends to redefining the entire digital landscape of the country. As a public cloud service provider, Blazeclan Technology is encouraged by the government’s recognition of the potential of big data and analytics. We align with the Finance minister’s analogy of calling “Data as the new oil’ as we believe that data lies at the core of ensuring scalability of businesses regardless of the industry they come from. Proposing relevant policies to govern and budget to grow, the government has provided a boost to one of the strongest arms of the Indian Economy.”
By Dipesh Kaura, General Manager, Kaspersky (South Asia)
“Government’s growing interest in the use of Advanced technologies such as Artificial intelligence, quantum computing, etc was definitely seen as the base of the IT budget for 2020 and an interesting move for Digital India.
In today’s budget we saw the government allocating funds to make data centers across India which will also support their upcoming Data Protection Act. However we do hope that this budget will be majorly focused on protecting the stored data especially of sectors like BFSI and large enterprises that consist major quantity of critical data.
As it was rightly said that Data is the new oil, it becomes increasingly important for a country like India to protect and secure their data moving forward and also invest in securing other vulnerabilities that may target India’s critical infrastructures, banking, and financial institutions and government bodies against the ever-evolving cyberthreat landscape.”
By Sandeep Bhambure, Vice President and Managing Director, India & SAARC, Veeam Software
”The government’s announcement of setting up a policy to build data centre parks throughout India for digital connectivity and the allocation of Rs 6,000 crores for BharatNet is a big step towards a successful Digital India initiative. This will increase the adoption of technologies such as IoT, Analytics and AI; leading to an unprecedented amount of data generation. Data management and protection will play a key role to safeguard the citizen’s data from cyber-breaches. Additionally, the implementation of intelligent data management platforms will help achieve positive outcomes from the data.
By Chandrahas Panigrahi, CMO and Consumer Business Head, Acer India.
“This is positive budget overall from the technology focus point of view. We are pleased that the Government is allocating Rs. 8,000 crore for the National Mission on Quantum Computing and Technology. The government’s move on encouraging manufacturing of electronic equipment in India is also a big step as this would provide much needed impetus to technology and manufacturing sector, which has been developing capacities and generating employment opportunities. Also, more focus on technology such as Machine Learning, Robotics, AI will support the industry to grow and establish India as a robust ecosystem for technology and innovation,”
By Sumit Sood, Managing Director, Asia Pacific (APAC), GlobalLogic India
We welcome the government’s commitment to bring policies that will allow private sector to build data centre parks across India, which will further enable the organizations to skillfully incorporate data in their value chains. Also, with the announcement of government’s most ambitious BharatNet project to link the entire country through a common optical fibre network and launching Quantum computing scheme with an investment of more than $1 billion over a period of five years, India will surely showcase its true potential in the technology sector this year. The way technology is sweeping in the common man’s day-to-day activities, data has become the new need in today’s date. We support the government’s decisions and look forward to their aid in transforming the technology sector and the digital economy.
By KT Prasad, Country Sales Director, Zendesk India
“I believe the Union Budget 2020 will have a positive impact on helping further drive Indian businesses, given the current local and international market conditions. The startup sector will benefit greatly from the tax breaks, and the move to tax ESOPs on liquidation will encourage the retention of talent in the sector, poising it for continued growth on the global stage. We are happy to see the push for adopting AI and ML particularly in the healthcare sector, which will help boost access to services as well as quality of care for more people, and further infuse growth in the economy. It is also interesting to see that the government has invested Rs. 8000 crore to the National Mission on Quantum Technologies, which will ensure India remains a key global technology player. This move aligns and propels India into the future with an eye on data, communications, cybersecurity, and technology, and from Zendesk’s position as a global Saas company, this is particularly encouraging.”
By Ashwin Kumar, Director, Data Centre and Cloud Operations, Linode India
“With a focus on technology and innovation, Budget 2020 sets the foundation for India’s future. The allocation of INR 3000 crore for skills development will help bridge a sizable technological skills gap in the country and enhance the global competitiveness of small and mid-size businesses throughout the country, which today employ 40 percent of India’s total workforce and contribute nearly 30 percent to the India’s economy. We welcome all efforts that positively drive the key levers of modern business — innovation, growth and efficiency.”
By Sunil Sharma, managing director – sales, Sophos India & SAARC
“The Government’s Union Budget 2020 is built on the bedrock of emerging technologies including Artifical Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Internet of Things (IoT) and more. Initiatives such as building data center parks across India aiming to safeguard ‘data’, the most critical asset of organisations along with the digitisation of 100,000 Gram panchayat through its Bharatnet initiative will strengthen the digital fabric of the country. However, increased digital penetration brings along with it cybersecurity risks. As per a recent report, Indian IT managers detected 39% of threats on servers, 35% on the network, 8% on endpoints and 18% on mobile. Additionally, 90% of IT managers believe cybersecurity awareness and education among employees is a major challenge for organisations. That said, while we welcome the Governments proposed steps in strengthening the MSMEs that provide employment to millions of people, we need more impetus on building skilled cybersecurity professionals in the country. The government’s allocation of Rs. 3,000 crore towards skill development is a step in the right direction towards building India’s youth and economy.”
By Leon Yu, Regional Head, India & South Asia, Asus
“At Asus, we believe that the Union Budget 2020 announcement has covered several pressing issues faced by the economy and is going to bring growth opportunities. All eyes would be on the manufacturing sector, with the FM proposing a scheme to encourage mobile phones, semiconductor packaging, and electronic equipment. The new scheme, Nirvik, is also going to offer respite for exporters, promising to settle refunds for electricity and VAT previously levied. Furthermore, the provision to bring digital connectivity to all public institutions at Gram Panchayat and allocation of INR 6,000Cr to bring fibre to home through BharatNet linking 100,000 Gram Panchayats in FY21 are also welcomed moves.
With India’s rising aspirations reaching the rural locales, internet connectivity will pave the way for connected and smart consumerism. At Asus, we shall be pursuing ways to support the government in enriching India’s economy and traversing through rural India to ensure optimum growth and development. We also look forward to the policy on private players setting up data parks and shall be offering full support with our cutting-edge products and services.”
Dr. Keshab Panda CEO&MD, L&T Technology Services
“From a perspective of the engineering and technology services industry that thrives on innovation, the government’s move to re-revitalize the IP filing and protection process is a welcome step. Additionally the thrust on quantum computing as a key focus promises to further consolidate India’s position in the global digital transformation landscape. The announcement of proposal to set-up Data Centers is also a step in the right direction in terms of acknowledging the importance of data and data analytics.
Overall, the budget puts the role of technology in limelight spanning across all the three focus areas as announced by the government namely aspirational India, economic development and a caring society.”
By Rajesh Uttamchandani, Director, Syska
“We welcome the steps taken by the Government in the Union Budget towards boosting electronic manufacturing in the country. The electronic industry has huge potential both in terms of manufacturing in India and job creation and will provide a major impetus for growth. This will further enhance the exports of networked products. Another important step taken is the further push provided by the Government for its smart cities mission. It aims to create 100 cities with state-of-the-art infrastructure that includes intelligent lighting, Wi-Fi access points, leading to enhancement of the quality of life of every citizen while building efficient living spaces for future generations. As a company, Syska has been striving towards developing technology-driven, energy-efficient and affordable solutions that positively impact the lives of our customers. With India heading towards mass urbanization, we are aligned towards promoting sustainability, enhancing social development and creating new employment opportunities through rapid digital innovations.”
By Bishan Jain, Director, Goldmedal Electricals
“The Union Budget 2020 has provided enormous opportunities for companies looking to set up manufacturing facilities in the country. The steps taken by the Government towards making India a manufacturing hub by providing impetus on electronics manufacturing in India will give a further fillip to the Government’s flagship Make in India initiative. Additionally, the budget also provides emphasis on making every district of the country an export hub, with the Government allocating Rs 27,300 crore for the development and promotion of industry and commerce in 2020-21. This initiative will enable Indian companies to develop the infrastructure and manufacturing capabilities required to build products that can be exported. We also welcome the Government’s commitment towards boosting emerging technologies such as internet of things, (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), Analytics and the creation of a sustainable environment to combat climate change. As a company, Goldmedal Electricals has always been at the forefront of introducing innovative and sustainable solutions that make our planet not only smarter but also sustainable for future generations.”
By Abhishek Kumar, Regional Director, ONCAM
This year’s budget includes a number of positive reforms for the surveillance and security agency. The government has announced the launch of Police Academy and Forensic Sciences, 5 more smart cities, 9,000 KMs of economic corridor, enhancement of tourist attractions, and improved business landscape for MSMEs alongside others. Security and Surveillance infrastructure is a core element of all of these reforms and will give a strong stimulus to the segment.”