Tax breaks, push for AI, 5G & youth power: Union Budget 2023
The measures announced by the finance minister are likely to have direct and indirect impact on the media and entertainment industry
Declaiming it to be the “first Budget in Amrit Kaal,” Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the last big budget before her government returns to the polls in 2024’s general elections, and introduced a slew of measures meant to cater to as wide a spectrum of the voting populace as possible.
Paying emphasis on inclusive and sustainable growth, the FM touched on a number of points relating to various industries, with some of the announced measures having both direct and indirect impacts on the media and entertainment.
As part of its continued Digital India push, the government has announced it will set up three centres of excellence for Artificial Intelligence at top educational institutions. These AI centres will see collaborations between top educational institutions and relevant industry leaders with an aim of researching and developing practical AI applications in the fields of agriculture, health, and sustainable cities. This will enable India to establish a strong AI ecosystem and to train skilled AI professionals within the country.
Sitharaman said, “Centres of excellence for Artificial Intelligence for realizing the vision of 'make AI in India' and 'make AI work for India'. Three centres of excellence for Artificial Intelligence will be set up in top educational institutions.”
The government has also undertaken to create 100 labs for the development of 5G apps, which will be set up in leading engineering institutes. This will encourage made-in-India apps, meant to increase the country’s presence and influence in the global tech market.
“To unleash innovation and research by startups and academia, a National Data Governance Policy will be brought out. This will enable access to anonymized data,” said Sitharaman, noting that special attention will be paid to agri-tech startups.
To provide support to 47 lakh youths in 3 years, a Direct Benefit Transfer under a pan India national apprenticeship scheme will be rolled out, and will especially look at empowering youth from rural areas and economically disadvantaged families with both soft and hard skills, notably in the emerging tech, software and data sectors.
The finance minister also proposed to reduce the number of basic custom duty rates on goods other than textiles and agriculture, from 21% to 13%. As a result, there are minor changes in the basic custom duties, cesses & surcharges on some items including toys, bicycles, and automobiles, and duty was lowered for select mobile phone components and TV sets.
And as perhaps the largest measure of appealing to a public headed for the polls next spring, Sitharaman announced that the government has lowered income tax rates and introduced revised slabs for salaried individuals, with the tax rebate having been extended on income up to Rs 7 lakhs in new tax regime.
For more detailed analyses on how this impacts the media, entertainment and advertising industries, stay tuned for exchange4media to decode the same.
