Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the government’s final full budget on February 1, 2023. In her speech, she said that the government’s ‘vision for the Amrit Kaal includes a technology-driven and knowledge-based economy with strong public finances, and a robust financial sector’.
All technology-related announcements made by the minister during her budget speech are listed below.
PAN as common identifier
The Permanent Account Number (PAN) will be used as the common identifier for all digital systems of specified government agencies for business establishments. This will make doing business easier, and it will be facilitated by a legal mandate.
Digital Payments
Digital payments continue to gain popularity. They expect a 76% increase in transactions and a 91% increase in value by 2022. In 2023-24, fiscal support for this digital public infrastructure will be maintained.
Scope of DigiLocker
An Entity DigiLocker will be made available to MSMEs, large corporations, and charitable trusts. This will be focused toward securely storing and sharing documents online with various authorities, regulators, banks, and other business entities as needed.
Our digital public infrastructure, such as Aadhaar, PM Jan Dhan Yojana, Video KYC, India Stack, and UPI, has facilitated fintech services in India. The scope of documents available in DigiLocker for individuals will be expanded to enable more Fintech innovative services.
5G Services
One hundred labs for developing applications using 5G services will be established in engineering institutions, resulting in a new set of opportunities, business models, and job opportunities. The labs will cover applications such as smart classrooms, precision farming, intelligent transportation systems, and health care applications, among others.
Production of Lab Grown Diamonds
Lab Grown Diamonds (LGD) is a high-potential emerging sector driven by technology and innovation. These eco-friendly diamonds have the same optical and chemical properties as natural diamonds. A five-year research and development grant will be provided to one of the IITs to encourage indigenous production of LGD seeds and machines and reduce import dependency.
Skill India Digital Platform
The digital ecosystem for skilling will be expanded further with the launch of a unified Skill India Digital platform for enabling demand-based formal skilling, connecting with employers including MSMEs, and facilitating access to entrepreneurship schemes.
Experts praised the government’s emphasis on new emerging technologies in Budget 2023, which included the establishment of three centres of excellence for Artificial Intelligence (AI) in top educational institutions, skilling in areas such as machine learning and robotics, and the establishment of the national data governance framework.
