Budget 2015: IT Industry's Expectations

The Union Budget 2015 is around the bend and it is that time of the year the IT Industry’s expectations reach a high decibel. Here we present some expectations from the IT industry:

Alok Sinha, CEO at Xchanging Solutions Ltd

"We expect the Union Budget to provide a comprehensive outlay to the government’s ‘Make in India’ campaign. It will help the manufacturing industry take a major leap towards revival, with a framework of reform policies and support measures in place for it.  The long term impact of this initiative would also be seen on creation of indirect jobs, as more manufacturing hubs populate our cities and towns.

In order to create the right investment climate, the government would also need to accelerate its focus on infrastructure development and power generation to support increased manufacturing activities. To stay competitive, it would be imperative for manufacturers to invest in IT and product engineering technologies that are at par with global standards, and help shorten production lifecycle. Indians have long been driving engineering process for companies around the world, and have the expertise to replicate it in India. We need to bring those technologies without breaching the IP rights, and this is where global technology providers with strong local presence can make a difference. To this end, we are hopeful that the government would focus on promoting investments on IT infrastructure and motivate entrepreneurs to adopt new technologies.”

Ashok Atluri, CMD at Zen Technologies

“Budget should focus on encouraging innovation leading to generation of significant Intellectual Property which, in turn, should be allowed to create an eco-system including manufacturing. This is the best way to capture significant value for the long term for the country and also provides a hedge against job-loss due to automation in manufacturing”

Aashish Kalra, Chairman at Cambridge Technology Inc

“Technology industry is one of the strongest engines for India’s growth and the government should focus on building this industry further. In the union budget 2015 this year, we expect government to bring the taxes close to 0% on IT exports, including clarified and optimized SEZ provisions. Simultaneously, the industry professionals needs to be continuously trained with necessary and newer skillsets. The relief on IT export tax will allow IT companies to invest those expenses in skill development instead, and for this IT companies should be mandated to spend a minimum of 20% of profit on Skill Development."

UK Gupta, President, Authentication Solution Providers’ Association

“With Prime Minister Modi’s thrust on making Digital India initiative a success and promoting ease of doing business, our hope is renewed that the process of e-payment of TDS will soon be simplified. It will be great if the government also sets up a proactive mechanism to initiate Income Tax refunds in cases where an assesse’ appeal has not further challenged by the IT department in a higher court within a stipulated time of being upheld by a Tribunal. Pre-closure charges on cash credit or term loan facility through banks should also be regulated and should be clearly highlighted in the agreement. The government should also simplify the Advance License Route to make re-export of any imported products easier and at globally competitive rates by ensuring prompt refund of paid duties up on presenting the proof of exports.