The Finance Minister of India Shrimati Nirmala Sitharaman announced the policy measures to improve India’s technology and startup ecosystem, particularly in the sunrise sectors, while presenting the Union Budget 2024.
Boosting the EV Infrastructure
Sitharaman has showcased the government’s interest in the EV infrastructure. According to the budget 2024, the Government will be putting more interest in helping with the growth and development of electric vehicles. This is a good focus towards appreciating technology and the automobile industry. Sitharaman also emphasized how the Government is in plans for more production of electric buses for everyday travelers to commute.
It has been reported that the government could unveil an expanded third phase of the incentive scheme for electric vehicles. Setting aside Rs 10,000-12,000 crore for the third installment of the Faster Adoption & Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme.
The Finance Minister also emphasized the government’s support to crore households under the rooftop solarization scheme. This might improve the electric vehicle charging ecosystem.
Research and Development
The Finance Minister in addition to the budget 2024 said the government will establish a total of Rs 1 lakh crore with a 50-year interest-free loan to aid the growth of India’s tech-savvy youth. With low interest or zero interest rates, it will boost the private sector and hence inspire young tech individuals to participate in the field.
Right from the Budget announcement last year, the government has attempted to make hardware and electronic manufacturing in India the biggest priority for global companies.
The BJP government lowered customs duties on several components while increasing it on the finished product. The Budget last year also extended the concession on customs duty for several input parts by one more year to boost local manufacturing investment.
In May last year, the government notified the second phase of the PLI scheme for IT hardware with a budgetary outlay of Rs 17,000 crore, double that of the first phase.
Deep Tech Focus
According to Sitharaman, budget 2024 would introduce support for deep tech inside the military industry for the Parliament.
Last year, the government floated a draft national deep tech startup policy proposing changes across nine themes including access to funding, strengthening the intellectual property regime, sustaining deep tech startups, and enabling shared infrastructure and resource sharing.
Apart from the interest in EV and Research, the gaming industry has received quite a lot of attention and notice in the Budget 2024.
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