Dr Bappaditya Mukhopadhyay, Professor, Great Lakes Institute of Management, Gurgaon:
“The expectations were mainly about job creation. There were attempts at addressing them. It must be said that the Minister has identified the right pulses- tap the unfulfilled potential first and keep an eye on the threats. On the positive side, the announcement to promote service sector is exemplary. For India, this is one sector which has the capability to absorb many without much pressure on additional constrained resources (land, environment) as well as can employ many with varied skill levels. Indeed, identifying 17 iconic model tourist place is the right move. But why stop at 17? Education and health are two other predominantly service sectors that India has a lot to develop, offer and to employ. While there is increased allocation, are they anywhere near sufficient? Our education spending is at 3.1 per cent of GDP, less than half of where it should be because we have the potential to be the employee centre. The emphasis on Robotics and AIML is welcome but given the current skilling, how far can we tap such potentials? Surely any effort to prepare the young work force for emerging technologies and threat is a welcome move. What remains disappointing is perhaps giving up the idea on Make in India. Very little is on the agenda when one looks at logistics, warehousing — both these are employment generators.”
Fr P Christie, SJ, Director, XLRI- Xavier School of Management:
“A robust education system forms the bedrock of a strong and progressive nation. The government’s initiative in bringing in the New National Education Policy in the near future is a welcome step. There is need for better governance framework within the education sector and the government’s announcements like bringing reforms in the Higher Education Regulatory Arms to promote greater autonomy and focus on better academic outcomes and the allotment of ₹400-crore for “world class institutions” are steps in the right direction to build a robust education system; and we look forward to the legislation to set up Higher Education Commission of India (HECI). However, this right intent of the government can truly be attained if we also have long-term strategy and organisational structure in place.”
Anil Sachdev, Founder and CEO, SOIL:
“This Budget has some promising ideas to prepare our people for the future. The idea to develop skills in foreign languages and artificial intelligence is a welcome move to develop talent for the global market. The idea to set up the National Research Foundation to encourage research, the setting up of 80 livelihood and 20 technology incubators in agro-rural sector, development of women entrepreneurs, starting a TV programme for start- ups will develop an eco-system for risk taking, innovation and economic development resulting in job creation- a critical need.”
Dr VP Singh, Professor, Economics, Great Lakes Institute of Management, Gurgaon:
“The government had promised in February that the 25 per cent corporate tax rate will be made applicable to companies above ₹250 crore turnover also if it was voted to power. We see that happening as companies up to ₹400 crore has been brought in ambit 25 per cent tax. This, on the back of consecutive repo rate cuts, should certainly give an additional incentive to investment demand. The increased investment demand needs to matched with banks ability to lend. Leading Rating agencies had hinted that public sector banks needed to be recapitalised by about ₹1 lakh crore. The budget sees recapitalisation to the tune of ₹75000 crore. This should certainly help in targeted investments being realised and employment generation getting a boost.”
Sanjay Padode, Secretary, Centre for Developmental Education, IFIM Institutions:
“The emphasis of the Budget on ease of living, infrastructure development, education reforms, women empowerment, sanitation and farmer prosperity are a clear indication of the intent of the government to fix all the broken issues in our country. Capitalizing banks to the extent of ₹70,000 crore, addressing tax pains of the start-ups, extending the 25 per cent tax slab to corporate with turnover of ₹400 crore, rationalising import duties, updating of labour laws and providing an easier route for direct investment by foreign companies are strong measures to sustain the 7-8 per cent growth rate of the economy. In my view, this is a balanced budget which provides a clear runway for the economy to take off in the next five years.”
Dr Jitin Chadha, Founder and Director, Indian School of Business & Finance (ISBF):
“While it is heartening to see the Government finally focusing on the most crucial areas of higher education and research, through initiatives like the National Research Foundation and the allocation for developing world-class institutions which will pay rich dividends in the long run, I don't think the problem of human capital formation in the next 5-10 years has been adequately addressed. The Budget has shown a willingness to bring in foreign funding and expertise in areas like aviation and insurance but is silent on steps to harness best-in-class higher education from across the world and make it accessible for our youth. This is crucial because we find ourselves faced with the contemporaneous challenges of a rapidly growing yet grossly under-skilled workforce. We must alleviate this relatively quickly so that they can start helping the country reap a demographic dividend.”