Among the key highlights of the budget, technology sector was definitely seen to be at an unbeatable advantage. This Budget was the first union budget to be tabled after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s bold move of demonetization, which was an exercise that started the beginning of a ‘Cashless India.’ Government has taken strong measures to make digital India serious about technology.
The Union Budget 2017 saw encouragement of digital payments and universal access to financial services. It is important for India to create a robust infrastructure to offer high-speed, reliable Internet access to one and all. Improving access to digital services with tax rebates on the production of affordable smart phones and offering subsidized data will also go a long way in democratizing India’s payments sector. The focus was on digital money to stay digital, by strongly encouraging digital payments of all forms, as compared to ATM machines. Waiving off transaction fees for low-ticket purchases and increased access to credit would also help bring millions of unbanked and under-banked individuals into the folds of the mainstream economy.
This budget we saw Finance Minister Arun Jaitley taking the reins and creating major milestones in creating Digital India.
Among many, here are some important Tech-Related announcements made by Jaitley –
- Online booking of rail tickets became cheaper.
- BHIM app was highlighted
- Digital education saw a mention in his speech
- Cyber security became a concern
- New digital payments for senior citizens
