The new India Budget 2023-24 has been announced recently which brings a lot of important policies, changes and opportunities to various sectors of India. The interesting fact remains that a lot of stress has been given to both green and renewable energy sources.
Under Green Growth, the Indian government will be implementing many programmes for green fuel, green energy, green farming, green mobility, green buildings, and green equipment, and policies for the efficient use of energy across various economic sectors. The finance minister also stressed the fact that this will help India to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2070.
Even the EV industry will be relieved, thanks to this Budget 2023, because the lithium-ion batteries will get exempted from import duties that full further help to reduce the costs of upcoming EVs. For agriculture too, the integration of modern technologies will pave a big role and the government’s understanding of this will implement major steps to educate & motivate in modern agriculture.
Lastly, also talking about the health industry, from Pradhan Mantri PVTG Development Mission to implementing 5G or AI in healthcare a lot of important decisions have been taken as well.
Here are some reactions by prominent figures in EV, Health & Green Energy sectors to Budget 2023-24
Mr Hari Subramaniam, Founder & Director, LifeSigns
“The budget 2023–24 is a significant step forward for the health-tech sector. With a focus on strengthening the research infrastructure and investment in digitalization through 5G, it sets a positive trajectory for companies like ours. The establishment of new nursing colleges and the allocation of resources for medical research and pharmaceutical innovation demonstrate a commitment to improving healthcare access and outcomes.
At LifeSigns, we’re particularly encouraged by the dedicated multidisciplinary courses for medical devices and the support for medical research in select ICMR labs. These initiatives will foster a dynamic environment for collaboration and more access to new technology in healthcare, skilling the manpower, and encouraging companies like ours to contribute to the growth of the sector and the improvement of healthcare for all citizens.”
Namit Chugh, Investment Lead, W Health Ventures
This year’s budget 2023 highlights the government’s continued push toward improving access to quality healthcare for all. We are particularly excited about the announcement to open 3 inter-disciplinary AI research and development centres to “Make AI in India and Make AI work for India.” AI in Healthcare has already shown immense promise across the globe in improving care.
We have seen use cases across diagnostics where AI tools are bettering accuracy, speed and also enabling early diagnosis, mental health where AI chatbots can be used as the first line of treatment, etc. Given the potential to create large healthcare data sets in India used to train AI and the pool of highly qualified tech talent, this move by the government makes us more ready than ever to make AI in Healthcare a trillion-dollar opportunity.
Healthcare continues to be a space where professionals like doctors, nurses, etc. have unequal influence over any individual’s care journey. Additional investment in developing and upskilling healthcare personnel like nurses and technicians was one of our key expectations from the budget. We welcome the announcement to set up 157 new nursing colleges in the country, a move that will be pivotal not only to healthcare but also employment.
Anjali Bansal, Founder, Avaana Capital
“The Union Budget 2023 rightly builds incentives to support low carbon development pathways with the focus on Green Growth among the Saptarishi priorities. Catalyzing sustainable growth in India will require incentives to drive investments in technology and innovation, to ensure that we do not have to make trade-offs between people and the planet.
We welcome the increased outlay towards energy transition, and particularly for Green Hydrogen and waste-to-energy, which will boost energy independence. The PRANAM scheme and bio-input centres shall incentivize the adoption of sustainable and regenerative agriculture practices. The Green Credit programme will channel much-needed capital to support the transition to a sustainable economy.
Concessional duties on Li-ion batteries will provide a further boost to the EV sector and help decarbonize the transport and logistics sectors. The measures announced in Budget 2023 will further strengthen India’s position as a global climate leader, and catalyze sustainable, inclusive development.”
Mr. Pratik Kamdar, Co-Founder Neuron Energy
“The Government’s fidelity to reduce carbon footprint in the country has been re-assuring in the Union Budget 2023. The push towards green mobility will propel the growth of the EV sector in India and will encourage further investments. To usher in a green industrial and economic transition, India is committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2070. With its focus on green growth and push for green mobility, this budget provides the much-needed impetus to the sector.
The Customs Duty exemption on capital goods and machinery to manufacture li-ion will be a facilitator for the country to transition to sustainable and eco-friendly mobility. The exemption will have a domino effect on the overall sector with the over substantial decrease in the overall cost of the finished products wherein the battery packs are likely to reduce by 5% coupled with lower initial investments. Additionally, the vehicle scrapping policy will also be beneficial if the old vehicles are replaced by electric vehicles. This will further aid in the country’s vision of mass EV adoption by 2030.
The sector also holds immense potential with regard to providing entrepreneurship opportunities and job creation. With decreased capital investments to manufacture ancillary supplies like li-ion batteries, it will provide a platform for new-age businesses and entrepreneurs to venture into the space.
Overall, we are confident that this budget 2023 will aid in the country’s adoption of electric mobility significantly.”
Swapnil Shrivastav, Co-founder, Uravu Labs
“The focus on the green economy not only addresses climate change problems but also provides a favourable environment for startups like those in the water and climate-tech domain to grow and expand. The green initiatives in the budget, such as the reduction of indirect taxes on customs duty for the green economy and the allocation of funds towards the Ministry of Energy, Oil, and Petroleum and the National Green Hydrogen Mission, demonstrate the government’s commitment to supporting the transition towards a greener and more sustainable future. This presents growth opportunities for startups in this field and can help drive their success and expansion in the coming years.”
Mr. Pankaj Sharma, Co-Founder & Director, Log9 Materials
“The government’s decision to extend the concessional duty on lithium-ion cells for batteries for another year is definitely welcoming as it would sustain the ongoing momentum within the Indian EV sector. Considering EV batteries account for approx upto 60% of the EV cost, this relaxation will make electric vehicles more affordable and hence enhance the EV adoption rate.”
Raman Bhatia, Founder and Managing Director, Servotech Power Systems Limited
“The Budget 2023 has put a reinstated focus on Green Growth. With the FM allocating Rs 35,000 crore towards this sector, prioritising India’s net zero goals and energy transition, this presents players in this space a unique opportunity to make clean energy solutions like solar and EV charging both accessible and affordable for the people, unlocking mass consumerization. This extensive budgetary allocation for the sector coupled with additional production-linked incentives for manufacturing high-efficiency solar photovoltaic modules, will lead to significant advances in the country’s decarbonization initiatives.
In addition, quicker approvals for new storage systems, flexible policies allowing storage structure changes after project commissioning without affecting current initiatives, and capacity-building efforts for operators are other areas for consideration that will aid India’s accelerated transition to renewable energy. The Union Budget 2023 has hinted that all efforts at decarbonization will need supportive policies that incentivize both finance and technology. Developing large-scale carbon markets and green financing through budgetary allocations will shape up the framework empowering energy producers and providers.”
Mr. Banwari Lal Sharma, CEO Consumer Business, CarTrade Tech Ltd
” The Union Budget 2023-2024 announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is progressive, prudent and growth-led, with an eye to provide impetus on the savings of the public. It is a ‘green budget’ for the automotive and mobility sectors. The sustainability measures taken through announcements on green hydrogen and other energy sectors will help in furthering the government’s target of carbon neutrality by 2070.
The increased Capex outlay on energy transition is likely to spur investments and skill development in a green economy. The viability gap funding for battery energy storage systems is also likely to create critical infrastructure, while custom duty reduction on capital goods for Lithium batteries manufacturing will facilitate faster adoption of EVs.
Increase in spending on infrastructure, setting up of 50 new airports and heliports, creation of 100 transport infrastructure projects are welcome moves, in addition to the central support for replacing old vehicles. All of these should drive consumption and overall demand of vehicles.”
Mr Gaurav Gandhi, Founder and CEO at Echelon Edge Pvt Ltd
“The 5G ecosystem in India will get further stimulus from this budget. 100 labs for developing applications using 5G services are to be set up in engineering institutions. These labs will effectively develop 5G services to be implemented in a variety of fields. This holds some potential for private 5G deployment in these institutions and further growth of private networks for research purposes.
The setting up of these labs will also help the telecom sector which has been at the center of mobile telephony distribution in India. More than 50 cities in the country have access to 5G services, so these labs will help them cover applications such as smart classroom, precision farming, intelligent transport system and healthcare.”
Mr. Ankit Alok Bagaria, Co-Founder, Loopworm
“The 6000 Cr infusion via budget 2023 to promote fisheries would help Shrimp farming the most. Decreasing import duties on feed ingredients are going to help the feed manufacturers and help formalise animal agriculture but would lead to reduced margins for domestic feed ingredient manufacturers.
For young startups, the agri accelerator fund is a good initiative but there was less focus to promote Agri-Startups at the growth stage. Funds to support Bio-based products to promote natural farming should boost the plant Bio-stimulant & Bio-fertiliser industry,” stated Bagaria, while welcoming the budget.
“Significant agricultural credit support and significant fund infusion in allied agri sectors should promote existing farmers and people looking for secondary income streams to set up livestock/ poultry/ fish/ insect farms which would lead to a growth in non-arable land agriculture.”
Mr. Raj Mehta, Founder, Greta Electric Scooters
We at Greta Electric Scooters heartily welcome the Budget the Honorable Finance Minister presented. While there is no major announcement for the EV sector, the Budget’s focus on green growth involving energy transition, achieving the net zero target of 2070, is encouraging for the industry. Initiatives will not only help reduce carbon intensity but will create employment. Exemption of customs duty is another welcome move.
Another element that resonated with me was the Green Credit Programme I believe this will add fuel to companies’ endeavour to adopt green practices, and it will contribute effectively to reducing our carbon footprint. Finally, the reduction in Income tax slabs is definitely something to cheer about.
