Presenting the Interim Budget 2019-20 in the Lok Sabha on Friday, Piyush Goyal said that Artificial Intelligence would be a national program, with the national portal to be developed soon in India and that Artificial Intelligence and related technology as a part of the national program now has been contemplated by the government. The Narendra Modi led NDA government has been knelling high on technologies such as AI, and is eyeing to launch fifth-generation (5G) technology. And thus the govt.'s steps to setup a national centre for Artificial Intelligence and development of an AI portal through identification has received a thumbs up from industry leaders. 

Here are some perspectives from start-ups and industry leaders -
 

Rama Krishna Kuppa, Founder & CEO - ONGO Framework

The Interim Budget 2019 is definitely a pre-election plan. It caught the attention of a large section of Indian population by focussing on MSMEs, start-ups, farmers and indeed employees. Rather than emphasizing on giant units, the budget drifted towards making India an economic superpower working with primary sectors.

Major moves like- involving around 25 per cent of MSMEs in government projects sourcing and allocating three per cent to women entrepreneurs. And, allowing businesses with less than Rs 5 crore of annual turnover to update quarterly return eases up business processes makes India a land of opportunity. Further, the interim budget smart gesture to encourage MSMEs to register as a GST taxpayer by reducing 2 per cent on interest rate leverages benefit for both the parties. This is a huge encouragement for MSMEs growth surge.

India has turned into a centre for start-ups working rapidly to innovate Artificial intelligence in different spheres. The advancement to build National Artificial Intelligence portal shows the importance of inheriting AI to multiple sectors across India. It permits to comprehend MSMEs market and position the needs of the same.”

Suman Reddy Eadunuri, MD - Pegasystems India

“Focusing on AI in two consecutive budgets, the announcement of a national centre for AI supported by Centres of Excellence in 9 priority areas conveys how important this key technology is for the government, as the country aims to become a $5 trillion economy in the next 5 years. This furthers the announcements in AI investments and institutions made in 2018 which expands the scope of research and collaboration. However, the industry is looking to understand how these institutions are creating a favourable environment to foster entrepreneurship or AI research, and how the investment is creating on-ground impact, helping enterprises and deep-tech start-ups to create market value. The national AI portal is a good move to facilitate the vision of Minimum Government, Maximum Governance as part of Vision 2030, being a catalyst for emerging technologies, and a platform to unite the efforts of a massive institution like the central government.”
 

Mahesh Makhija, Partner and Leader, Digital and Emerging Tech - EY

“Artificial intelligence has the potential to deliver large economic and societal impact for India, especially across financial inclusion, healthcare, education, agriculture, and smart cities. National Centre on Artificial Intelligence along with the Centre-of-Excellence announced by finance minister must work on creating data ecosystems, developing talent pipeline, increasing R&D, strengthening data regulations and initiating the AI adoption in government programs to truly derive its benefits.”

Sunil Sharma, Managing Director Sales, India & SAARC - Sophos

"With India poised to become a USD 5 trillion economy in the next five years, we welcome the Government’s proposal of ensuring the growth of SME’s & rural India through initiatives such as promotion of digital villages. Additionally, through steps such as the establishment of a national centre of artificial intelligence, the Government plans to skill India’s youth, through the adoption of new technologies such as AI, so that they can reach their full potential.

As the technology landscape evolves rapidly, along with the infinite opportunities that it provides us, there are also a myriad of new challenges especially in terms of IT security and data protection. Even though Indian businesses (67%) were the highest hit by ransomware with an average impact cost of approximately USD 1.17mn and 2018 being the year of serious data breaches, there was very limited focus on IT security in the budget. That said, while we welcome the Governments proposed steps in strengthening the MSME & SME sectors that provide employment to millions of people, there still remains a pressing need for further investment in technology for data protection and IT Security, both from the Government and organization’s standpoint.”

Rajesh Uttamchandani, Director - Syska Group

"As India is poised to become a USD 5 trillion economy in next five years, there is an immense opportunity for Indian organizations to develop and flourish. With the rapid proliferation of new age technologies such as internet of things, artificial intelligence and others, we welcome the Government’s keen focus on building a digitally vibrant India in the next few years.

This will provide an opportunity for companies such as Syska to introduce IoT enabled products that are affordable in the Indian market and help in developing smart cities. Additionally, as energy efficient product & solutions are seeing increased adoption, we are pleased with the Government providing 143 crore LED bulbs to rural areas. This resonates with our mission of providing energy efficient LED lighting solutions that are ‘Made in India’ to every Indian household."

Vishal Gondal, CEO and founder - GOQii 

"The 2019 budget looks promising for the healthcare sector; we have seen some major initiatives and announcements that will potentially change the health Index of India. One of the key highlights is the establishment of a system that ensures a stress free environment and comprehensive wellness for all. Keeping in mind that 55 per cent of India’s workforce are millennials, this is definitely need of the hour. Therefore, paving way for a stress-free India is directly proportional to its growth. The healthcare announcements made in the budget are a welcome move and will help build a strong economy. This will provide opportunities for companies like GOQii to contribute to making a stress-free India and creating a space that encourages preventive healthcare over curative.

Further, Ayushmann Bharat’s vision of improving the lives of 50 crore Indians which will potentially result in cumulative savings of INR 3,000 crores by the poor, is a testimony that the Government of India is strengthening the nation’s health ground up. We support the same philosophy that is making healthcare easily accessible for all Indians and governments efforts are evident through increased focus on making medicines, healthcare services and other health related instruments more affordable."

Pankaj Bansal, Founder and CEO - PeopleStrong

“It's good to see that something like the National Programme on ‘Artificial Intelligence’ being part of the budget speech. I am sure a government this will take the application of AI to a much wider audience which will not only promote job creation but also result in growth of digital start-ups which can come up from the grassroots level.

Secondly it will help improve the quality to life in general. Finally income tax rebate is a big step for organized economy..!”