Post Budget 2019 Reaction by Dr. Rishi Bhatnagar, President-Aeris Communications & Chairman IET IoT Panel India
The union budget 2019 supports India in its technological revolution where artificial intelligence along with IoT and big data are going to play a major role. The FM proposed to establish a National Research Foundation (NRF) which we believe will help the Indian workforce to skill/upskill and meet the industry demands in the technology space. Trained workforce on AI, IoT, Big Data, which are valued highly both within and outside the country; helping in creating more jobs and bridging the 15 million unemployment gap. The GOI needed focused efforts on building state-of-the-art facilities and bring reforms in the education ecosystem. The new budget initiatives positively addresses the skill gap problem.
The future is electric with EV the best option for sustainable development. However, The low demand and high cost are arresting its growth in India. Government being the largest enterprise of a country, the adoption push needs to come from them. While the GST reduction from 12% to 5%, and an additional rebate of Rs. 1.5 lakh of interest on loan for EV purchase is a welcome move, the FAME 2 scheme will only reap benefits when the GOI is able to create sustainable demand, bring down the cost of manufacturing with ‘Make in India’, and build infrastructure for EV charging stations the way we have petrol pumps today. Therefore, while a lot of efforts have gone in for bringing the policy, there’s a lot more to be done to make EV sustainable and a success story in India.
