With Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman putting huge emphasis on technology especially use of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and robotics to improve governance, healthcare and eliminating manual scavenging, the IT leaders from government sector termed the Union Budget 2020 to be a defining moment for Indian IT industry.
According DG STPI Omkar Rai, the Finance Minister push of proactive policy measures on emerging technologies such as AI, ML, Data Analytics and Quantum Computing could be a a great catalyst for the Indian IT industry.
“Union Budget 2020 is a defining moment for the Indian IT industry by bringing in proactive policy measures on emerging technologies such as AI, ML, Data Analytics and Quantum Computing,” said Rai.
The chief of STPI asserted that the Finance Minister announcement of allowing different stakeholder to open up data centers across the country will bolster India's e-governance and improve people experience of availing government to citizen (G2C) services.
“The policy on establishing data centers across the country will strengthen the necessary IT-grade infrastructure required for discharging services to the remotest part of the country while bridging the digital divide, revolutionise the digital economy and significantly play a catalytic role in securing data sovereignty of the nation, and eventually it will also bring enormous FDI into this sector,” said Rai.
Rai, whose organisation has been immensely focusing on promotion of emerging technologies and startup ecosystem across the country, explained that incentives and employee stock ownership (ESOP) offered to IT companies and small and medium businesses (SMBs) in the Budget 2020 will fuel growth and build momentum in transforming India into a software product nation.
“Incentivising the startups will fuel their growth and build momentum in transforming the country into a software product nation. These policy measures and reforms will holistically create humongous opportunities for startups and IT companies in providing cost-effective solutions to the masses for their betterment in all walks of life,” added Rai.
