Budget 2021: 'Increase investment in new technology areas like AI'

By Ranga Reddy,

The Indian IT industry has been at the forefront of helping the world continue working ever since the pandemic struck. The IT sector is also the prime earner of foreign exchange and also an indirect contributor to employment and retail spends in the country. Given the new normal that we are living in, I expect that budget 2021 should,

• Increase the investment in new technology areas such as AI/ML/Cloud/Data streaming etc. These technologies should get an investment tax credit at 250% of the investment for 5 years.
• Also, enable a credit cover for SME (similar to fintech) at a concessional rate by ECGC;

Finally, Digital enterprises like e-commerce, health care, food distribution, and cab aggregators which are capable of generating or reviving the employment of people from the economically vulnerable background. They should be provided tax credit at 25% of the compensation paid to recruits or rehires they have done.”

(The author is the CEO of Maveric Systems)