Players utilising Digital Public Infra will drive growth
Akash Sinha, Co-founder & CEO, Cashfree Payments
FinTech BizNews Service
Mumbai, February 3, 2024: The leading Fintech voices have responded to the Union Budget 2024, presented by the Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman in the Parliament in New Delhi.
Akash Sinha, Co-founder & CEO, Cashfree Payments expresses his viewpoints DPI, MSME, research and innovation, entrepreneurship, technology: "The budget lays out a strategic roadmap towards building ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047. The emphasis on ‘innovation being the foundation of development’ is a big booster for entrepreneurs to adopt a research and innovation-led approach while building their businesses. This is an indication of how India wants to further scale up in developing and building technologies, products and services for the global economy. The focus on Digital Public Infrastructure reflects the government's ambition towards inclusive growth and development through the process of digitisation. The strong emphasis on technology, research and innovation coupled with financial support will have a huge multiplier impact on employment and entrepreneurship leading to sustainable growth and opportunity creation for the youth."
Pratik Daudkhane, Co-Founder, Decentro, the full stack banking and payments API infrastructure: "The 1 lakh crore interest-free loan introduced in the union budget will have ripple effects in enabling financial inclusion - for example, better quality of life, access to credit, further adoption of disruptive technology, and so on. The ecosystem players powering the utilisation of Digital Public Infrastructure have a key role to play in our growth."
Jaya Vaidhyanathan, CEO, BCT Digital, reflects her views on economy, formalization, net-zero targets: “The budget presented was on expected lines. Being a vote-on-account, there were no major announcements, but at the same time it provided a clear overview of India’s economic trajectory and the government’s dedication to development through targeted schemes.
Revenue receipts for the year exceeding budget estimates, robust growth in GST collections, and a fiscal deficit at 5.8% of GDP – lower than anticipated – all indicate robust economic growth. This is bolstered by the formalization of the economy, which will have a positive impact on the banking system that lends to the formal economy. Further, despite the huge amount of welfare measures in place, the strong revenue figures have kept the fiscal deficit in check – estd at 5.1% in FY25 and on track for 4.5% by FY26 .
Significant capital expenditure growth of over 11% this year, accounting for 3.4% of GDP, underlines the focus on key areas like railway infrastructure and green energy. This is expected to transform the country while also ensuring employment generation to harness demographic dividend. Specific steps like viability gap funding and other financial assistance to achieve net zero by 2070 are expected to catalyze new industries and enable cleantech players to transform the landscape through innovative tech solutions. Overall, the budget aligns with India's path towards sustainable growth and development, balancing welfare measures with economic expansion.”
