Undoubtedly, the budget for 2021-22 is expected to act as an inflection point in propelling the Indian economy back into action from the aftermath of the pandemic. While boosting investment, job creation and increasing expenditure on infrastructure and healthcare are expected to remain a priority for the Finance Minister, the past year has shone a spotlight on the need for rapid digital transformation in both the public and private sector as it sits at the core of how businesses, big or small, optimize their performance.
In the past few budgets, the Government has taken adequate steps to give the technology sector its due. However, as we move into the new financial year, it would be of utmost importance to now lay emphasis on ease of adoption for digital infrastructure and technology for everyone.
India still lags in research and development, local component manufacturing and innovation and therefore incentives should be given to the sector to support the existing research and development centres and additionally create new centres with world-class infrastructure.
I firmly believe that the vast pool of talent combined with the research infrastructure can create new cutting edge skill differentiation in deep tech sector to enable India to take centre-stage and unlock India’s potential on the global tech space.
As a long-standing partner to the Government of India, NEC has significantly invested in creating centres of excellence and with the 5G revolution knocking on our doors, it would be recommended to infuse funds to enable the economy to harness the power of 5G.
The advent of Industry 4.0 and its impact on the daily lives of Indian citizens, The technology sector deserves a well-thought-out thrust to enable competitiveness, drive innovation in the country, and help the nation realize the vision of truly becoming self-reliant.
(The author is the President and CEO of NEC Corporation India)
Published 30 January 2021, 13:15 IST