<ul><li>The Central Government recently launched the mobile application of the PM SVANidhi scheme on July 17.</li><li>This scheme aims to target over 50 lakh street vendors who would be eligible to avail of a working capital loan of up to ₹10,000. </li><li>Here’s all you need to know before applying for a <keyword id="9601520" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="vendor-loan">vendor loan</keyword> under <keyword id="9632553" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="pm-svanidhi-yojana">PM SVANidhi Yojana</keyword>.</li></ul>The government’s scheme to bring relief for street vendors under the ambit of the Atma Nirbhar package has seen a response from over 1.5 lakh vendors. More than 1,54,000 street vendors have applied for loan across the country since the commencement of the Prime Minister Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) scheme on July 02. Out of which over 48,000 have already been sanctioned by the government. In a move to make this scheme more accessible, the Central Government recently launched the mobile application of PM SVANidhi Scheme on July 17. What is the PM SVANidhi scheme? The PM SVANidhi scheme was launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, on June 01, 2020. It aims to provide affordable working capital loans to street vendors to resume their livelihoods that have been affected due to the coronavirus lockdown. <div type="image" title="Capture" msid="77139118" hostid="261"></div> It targets over 50 lakh street vendors who would be eligible to avail a working capital loan of up to ₹10,000. The street vendors will be allowed to repay the loan in monthly installments in one year. If someone can pay earlier than the tenure, an interest subsidy of 7% per annum will be credited to the bank accounts of beneficiaries every quarter. And, there will be no penalty on early repayment of the loan. What is PM SVANidhi Mobile App? The PM SVANidhi Mobile App provides a user-friendly digital interface for Lending Institutions (LIs) &amp; their field functionaries for sourcing as well as processing loan applications. The application, along with others has an added feature of easy portability. The features range from e-KYC to processing of applications and real-time monitoring to vendor search in the survey data. The application is easily available on Google play store for download. “PM SVANidhi Mobile App is a step towards boosting the use of digital technology and will enable field functionaries of LIs like Banking Correspondents (BCs) and Agents of Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs)/ Micro-Finance Institutions (MFIs), who have proximity with the street vendors, to ensure maximum coverage of the scheme. It is believed that launch of Mobile App will give impetus to the implementation strategy of the scheme besides promoting paperless digital access of micro-credit facilities by the Street Vendors,” the ministry said in a statement after the launch. How to apply for a street vendor loan? <ul><li>Go to the website <a href="https://www.pmsvanidhi.mohua.gov.in/">www.pmsvanidhi.mohua.gov.in</a> or click <a href="https://www.pmsvanidhi.mohua.gov.in/">here. </a> </li><li>Click on <a href="https://www.pmsvanidhi.mohua.gov.in/Login">apply for a loan</a>. </li><li>Enter your mobile number and captcha. </li><li>Select the category and fill the details required. </li><li>Click submit</li></ul>These are the pre-loan checks <ul><li>Make sure you have all the documents handy. The requirements can be checked <a href="https://www.pmsvanidhi.mohua.gov.in/Home/PreApplication">here</a>.</li><li>Make sure your mobile number is linked to your Aadhaar.</li><li>Check your eligibility status <a href="https://www.pmsvanidhi.mohua.gov.in/Home/PreApplication">here</a>.</li></ul>SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/pm-kisan-samman-nidhi-scheme-sixth-instalment-will-be-sent-to-10-crore-farmers-from-august-1/articleshow/76885301.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme's sixth instalment will be sent to 10 crore farmers from August 1</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/pm-kisan-samman-nidhi-scheme-sixth-instalment-will-be-sent-to-10-crore-farmers-from-august-1/articleshow/76885301.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/pm-kisan-samman-nidhi-scheme-sixth-instalment-will-be-sent-to-10-crore-farmers-from-august-1/articleshow/76885301.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/pm-kisan-samman-nidhi-scheme-sixth-instalment-will-be-sent-to-10-crore-farmers-from-august-1/articleshow/76885301.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink"></a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/here-is-how-you-can-check-prime-minister-kisan-samman-nidhi-scheme-beneficiaries-list/articleshow/75323061.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">How you can check PM Kisan scheme beneficiaries status and list</a>

What is PM SVANidhi Yojana and how to apply for a street vendor loan

<ul><li>India’s <keyword id="3317575" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Government-e-Marketplace">government e-marketplace</keyword> (GEM) has made it compulsory for sellers to state the ‘<keyword id="1340631" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Country-of-Origin">country of origin</keyword>’ for the products listed on the platform.</li><li>The feature on the government’s marketplace comes at a time when due to the Indo-China border clashes, there has been a call to dump <keyword id="108268" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Chinese-products">Chinese products</keyword>.</li><li>Buyers can choose to buy only those products that meet the minimum 50% local content criteria, says the official release from the government.</li></ul>India’s government <keyword id="6572939" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="E-marketplace">e-marketplace</keyword> (GEM) has made it compulsory for sellers to state the ‘country of origin’ for the products listed on the platform. The measure has been brought in as a step to promote the Make in India initiative which got a further boost from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Atmanirbhar Bharat (self reliant India). “Sellers, who had already uploaded their products before the introduction of this new feature on GeM, are being reminded regularly to update the Country of Origin, with a warning that their products shall be removed from GeM if they fail to update the same,” says the official release of the government. The feature on the government’s marketplace comes at a time when due to the Indo-China border clashes, there has been a call to dump Chinese products and people have been uninstalling Chinese apps as well. Through this filter, buyers can choose to buy only those products that meet the minimum 50% local content criteria. Launched in 2016, the government e-marketplace is an online platform for public procurement for government departments and has almost 4 lakh sellers. It also offers e-bidding, reverse e-auction and demand aggregation. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/acharya-balakrishna-the-1-6-billion-ceo-behind-the-rise-of-patanjali-in-india/slidelist/76527837.cms">Acharya Balakrishna — the $1.6 billion CEO behind the rise of Patanjali in India</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/checkout-jagannath-rath-yatra-2020-images-pictures-without-the-lakhs-of-devotees/slidelist/76528249.cms">Contrasting images of the iconic Puri Jagannath Rath Yatra from 2020 and 2019 – without the lakhs of devotees</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/international/news/how-the-us-germany-and-other-european-countries-tried-to-protect-jobs-amidst-the-coronavirus-pandemic/articleshow/76529361.cms">This is how the US, Germany and other European countries tried to protect jobs amidst the coronavirus pandemic</a>

India’s government e-marketplace now has a Make in India filter – sellers have to specify the ‘country of origin’ for products

<ul><li>Desi micro-blogging platform <keyword id="3518161" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="koo">Koo</keyword> has been in news for the past few weeks, ever since many politicians and celebrities announced they are joining the platform.</li><li>The result has been massive downloads for the app in India. Currently the app has seen over 4.3 million downloads.</li><li>We talk to <keyword id="3140531" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mayank-Bidawatka">Mayank Bidawatka</keyword>, Co-founder, Koo, who takes us behind the scenes and tells us how they have been managing this massive spurt in downloads. He also shares his vision for the platform with us. </li></ul>For made-in-India micro-blogging platform Koo, the last few weeks have marked immense growth. Following its row with <keyword id="6354616" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Twitter">Twitter</keyword> over its stance on blocking a few accounts, various government and ministers and even actors have joined Koo. And this has been a major factor that has led to the app seeing close to 4.3 million downloads. The platform has tried to solve a problem that many Indians faced on global platforms like Twitter, not being able to express themselves in their regional languages. Koo has tried to bridge this language divide. Currently, users can ‘Koo’ in 7 Indian languages, a number the founders want to take up to 25 within the year. Meanwhile, the plan is also to make the most of the tailwind the platform has received, thanks to its validation from the Indian government, and grow its user base to a massive 100 million by the end of the year, and Mayank Bidawatka, Co-founder, Koo, is pretty confident they will reach that magic number in 2021. Koo was co-founded by <keyword id="1063285" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Aprameya-Radhakrishna">Aprameya Radhakrishna</keyword> and Mayank Bidawatka in March 2020. However, the platform burst into public consciousness after the government’s tussle with Twitter over the banning of certain profiles led to many high profile ministers, actors and celebrities switching to this desi micro-blogging site that many say is India’s answer to Twitter. The app had also won the government’s AtmaNirbhar Bharat App Innovation Challenge held in August last year. The idea for founding Koo came from another platform that they were running called Vokal. This was a Q&amp;A platform where people could ask questions to experts, through voice or videos. “However, a lot of these experts also wanted a platform where they could express their free thought. While Twitter is already there, we realized these people were not using the platform because they couldn’t post in their vernacular languages. That was the inception of Koo,” shared Bidawatka. The platform that was launched with Kannada has already expanded its offering to 7 languages. “We aim at launching 25 languages by the end of this year,” he added. However, while they are marketing the product, a lot of the growth has happened organically, only boosted by the government endorsing it. “The government, for the larger population, is a great stamp of trust. India has always had talent, we have tech experts, entrepreneurs who can dream big and we also have enough people willing to fund those dreams. The government’s focus on aatmanirbharta and self reliance is a clear intent statement from them that they are willing to put their weight behind such ideas. They want India to be self-reliant and Koo is a part of that program. We are embodiment of the spirit that Indians can make products that can be used by a wider India as well as global audiences,” said Bidawatka. With the huge spurt in download numbers, the platform has been working relentlessly on scaling up its tech side. “We have a very sound tech team. At the same time, we are scaling up and hiring. And we are fixing bugs whenever we are coming across them. It’s a continuous process of realizing what is missing and fixing that. The speed at which we have created our product and innovated is pretty fast. To build the kind of product that we have today would have taken someone else a decade. We’ve been pretty fast and will continue this culture of building rapidly,” he added. While its offering of vernacular languages is its biggest differentiator, it is also working on smaller features to make it a less-toxic platform. It is working on a strong verification system. It has also added a small text beside its create comment box which says, ‘Be respectful’, in an attempt to dissuade people from being aggressive and toxic on the platform. “I can’t stop anyone from using the platform. But we will try to use technology to tackle these problems. We are also working on creating tools to help people address content that they find objectionable or questionable. People can report posts or comments. People who troll in the social media world are usually faceless. So we are trying to create a sound verification process,” he explained. So what is their revenue model? “We want to give users the flexibility to choose. If someone wants a premium model, that will give them access to a part of the app and the ones who don’t want the premium model will get access to ads and messages from brands. However, we haven’t started doing it already. It’s a part of our future plan, once we grow to a certain scale,” he explained. When asked about his vision for the platform, Bidawatka explained that his endeavor would be to be able to give a voice to every Indian. “Our objective is to be extremely inclusive as a product and as a philosophy, so that every Indian is comfortable voicing their opinions. We want to get to 250 million users a month. We want to reach a 100 million users by the end of the year, and I am as confident as an entrepreneur can be that we will reach there,” added Bidawatka before signing off.

I am confident we will get to 100 million users by the end of this year: Mayank Bidawatka, Koo

Digital financial services firm <keyword id="6357120" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="paytm">Paytm</keyword> on Friday said its revenue for fiscal year ended March 31, increased to Rs 3,629 crore supported by increase in number of transactions across various segments and point of sale devices. The home-grown financial technology firm said its losses have narrowed by 40 per cent on a year-on-year basis. "We are on the path to empowering millions of Indians with digital financial services that would play a key role in building Atmanirbhar Bharat. We are also investing heavily in building digital services for our merchant partners. "Our efforts have started reflecting in the strong adoption of more profitable services by our consumers and merchants," Paytm President Madhur Deora said in a statement. Major growth registered from financial services and point of sales devices and optimising expenses resulted in a 40 per cent reduction in losses as compared to last year, the statement said. "We are on path to become profitable by 2022. Paytm is also moving its efforts to become a dominant digital financial services platform with Paytm Postpaid, Paytm Money and Paytm Insurance services contributing an increased turnover in the coming fiscal years," Deora said. Paytm has expanded its financial services with lending, wealth management and insurance segments, which the company claims have opened up new revenue streams. The company said that it has sold 2 lakh units of Android-based point of sale (POS) devices amid demand from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), grocery stores etc. Paytm expects significant push in recently launched stock trading segment on its online investment and wealth management platform Paytm Money and expects to get traction of both experienced as well as first-time investors. "Paytm has registered over 1.7 crore merchant partners benefiting from its payment and financial services with launch of merchant focused products such as Paytm for business app, Soundbox, Business Khata, Payout services among others that are transforming the way SMEs do business in the country," Deora said. Paytm said that it is investing heavily in hiring new talent even during this ongoing pandemic and is in the process of hiring over 1,000 engineers, data scientists, financial analysts among other positions for tech and non-tech roles.

Paytm’s revenue jumps to ₹3,629 crore, losses reduce by 40% – says it's on track for profitability by 2022

<ul><li>Indian <keyword id="1526308" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="actress-kajal-aggarwal">actress Kajal Aggarwal</keyword> has picked up a 15% stake in the recently launched startup <keyword id="10247574" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Okie-Gaming">Okie Gaming</keyword>. </li><li>While this may be the first investment for the actress in a startup, she believes there will be more.</li><li>The Okie Gaming platform is also launching a ‘Desi Sports League,’ which will launch one game according to each Indian state’s traditions. </li></ul>Indian actress <keyword id="38180" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kajal-Aggarwal">Kajal Aggarwal</keyword> has picked up a 15% stake in the recently launched startup Okie Gaming. The gaming platform is a subsidiary of Okie Ventures, which has its range of LED televisions. Aggarwal has also been the brand ambassador for Okie Ventures. “While I was associated with Okie Ventures, I felt their gaming platform had a very immersive experience. I’m very happy about the fact that the games are going to be centered around mythology, folklore and Indian culture. This gives a very different and unique experience to the users,” Aggarwal told Business Insider in an interview. The actress shared that with this strategic investment, she will be helping the startup in its promotions, marketing and PR and attract new users to the platform. “I’m also very happy to give my inputs on different sorts of games. I also want to bring in more women into the gaming industry – as users, developers as well as protagonists of the game,” she said. While this may be the first investment for the actress in a startup, she believes there will be more. “With Okie Gaming, I’m very confident about the team and the platform. It’s definitely the first of many investments,” she said. Okie Gaming – betting on regional games The Okie Gaming platform which was launched recently, already has real-money games like Smart Housie, Fantasy Cricket, Smart Number Quiz, Ludo, Cricket, Smart Words, among others. The platform is also launching a ‘Desi Sports League,’ with plans to launch games showcasing each Indian state’s traditions. This will begin with the launch of Dahi Handi from Maharashtra and Vallam Kali (Boat Racing, Kerala) which will be launched by December. “We started developing a regular real money gaming platform from February 2020. When we were thinking what next, we thought why go behind the typical games as there is no experience to it. We thought of giving a new experience to the user. When one of my colleagues suggested why not make a boat race game, and that’s how Desi Sports League was born,” Jitin Masand, CEO, OKIE Ventures told Business Insider. Masand is also building on the Atmanirbhar initiative of the Indian government by encouraging ‘very Indian’ games. “We’ll have 12 games by next year,” said Masand, who took a conscious decision to stay away from real money gaming where there is a confusion between the game of skill and game of chance. “We want to promote Indian culture and aesthetics in gaming and take it to the world,” said Masand, who has himself invested ₹4 crore into developing the platform. Masand also said that they are focussing on India’s Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets where they are not targeting payments online but are instead going for the old school method of recharging from the nearest kirana or mobile recharge shop. The minimum amount to play a game is ₹10. “We are going with the offline distribution of e-recharge. Users can recharge their Okie Gaming wallet from the shop and we have already onboard 10,000 retailers across West Bengal and Tamil Nadu,” said Masand. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/google-will-be-probed-by-indias-competition-commission-for-allegedly-abusing-dominance-to-push-gpay/articleshow/79141895.cms">Google will be probed by India’s Competition Commission for allegedly ‘abusing dominance’ to push its payments app</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/facebook-backed-meesho-is-the-latest-to-roll-out-an-esop-buyback-plan-worth-5-million/articleshow/79143384.cms">Facebook-backed Meesho is the latest to roll out an ESOP buyback plan worth $5 million</a>

INTERVIEW: Kajal Aggarwal turns investor with a bet on Okie Gaming that features regional games like 'Dahi Handi' and 'Vallam Kali'

<ul><li>Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget for 2022-23 in Parliament on Tuesday.</li><li>This year's budget is indexed towards startups, MSMEs, infrastructure projects, rural revival, digital payment apps, telecom growth and affordable housing.</li><li>We reached out to digital, media and creative agencies to understand how the increased focus on digitalisation, sustainability, blockchain and push to MSME can impact the ad and marketing industry.</li></ul>Be it the introduction of a Digital University to make education accessible across the country or the proposed launch of a Digital currency by the Reserve Bank of India to the government’s focus on promoting digital payments and fintech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made it is clear that digital is the way forward. The Union Budget 2022-23 aims to boost the country's digital infrastructure and enable a cashless economy. The government also announced that it will set up an Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) promotion task force to give a push to the animation and gaming industry. To facilitate the roll-out of 5G mobile services in India, FM Sitharaman said that Spectrum auctions will be conducted in 2022. This, in turn, will give impetus to Voice, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality and pave the way for the Metaverse. The Digital Rupee using blockchain will help Indians accept virtual currency and accelerate cryptocurrency exchange in India. Overall, the budget also shows a promise for Electric Vehicle brands, digital payment apps, MSMEs, gaming industry and start-ups. We reached out to digital, media and creative agencies to understand how the increased focus on digitalisation, sustainability and blockchain can impact the advertising and marketing industry. Here’s what they said: Anupriya Acharya, South Asia CEO, Publicis Groupe: The Budget is positive, growth-oriented and with reforms in the right direction. The advent of 5G is sure to transform communications – for our industry it will help creation of better AV, voice and AR/VR experiences. It will also fuel digital payments, streaming entertainment, gaming, e-commerce, tele-medicine etc which in turn will aid more Unicorns! It is also heartening to note that a special Task Force is being set up for AVGC (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comic) as this will help us build the much needed capacity both for domestic as well as global markets. And then there have been no changes in income-tax slabs for people, which many consumer segments were worried about. This in turn boosts consumer sentiment. From e-passports, to battery swapping for electric vehicles, setting up of optic fiber in the remotest of villages, setting up of a digital university and skilling through an e-portal, the big push is for technology, digital infrastructure and empowerment. Narayan Devanathan, Chief Client Officer, dentsu India: Having gone through the 38-page document of the Finance Minister’s budget speech, I decided to do a search for a couple of words that I thought kept repeating throughout her speech. The words “will be” occurred 110 times in the entire speech. When I narrowed my search to the single word “will,” the number rose to 362. To me, those two words sum up the essence of what this year’s budget is and is not. What it is, is a future-focused budget, aiming at the distant vision of India@100, with a 25-year Amrit Kaal lead-up. What it is not, and what I felt was sorely needed this year of all years, is a present-focused budget. A punishing 2021 for the aam aadmi with more-than-usual expenditure on health and sustenance meant the general populace was looking for immediate relief that would place more cash in their household budgets. That did not happen. Nor was there any extraordinary investment in relieving the healthcare expenditure burden. For all the importance of farmers in upcoming poll-bound states, there was neither major sop nor stimulus given to back the importance of agriculture as a spine if not engine of the economy. Even the MSME sectors were only handed a slightly longer lease of life with the extension of the ECLGS, but there was no real move to stimulate consumption by placing more cash at consumers’ disposal, for example, extending LTA claims to restaurants (and not just accommodation). There is perhaps plenty for the industry to cheer about since it can afford to think about the future and a slightly longer term than just the here and now of survival. The stock market did cheer up even before the FM’s speech, but that only served to underscore the dichotomy between the real health of the population and the Minority of Haves. When the general population probably can’t afford to wait for the benefits of trickle-down economics to reach them in yet another trying year, the dreams and wheels of a consumer-driven economy might move slower than the industry might like, despite the many future-facing and progressive policies announced. Virat Tandon, Group CEO, MullenLowe Lintas Group: The union budget can be termed as consistent with the government's vision to reach the 5 trillion GDP mark by 2025-26. Hence, the strong focus on capex to boost infrastructure that connects and streamlines middle India and provides the engines of entrepreneurship across the length and breadth of the country. It also shows India's commitment to bring a digital first economy with the 5G rollout planned for next financial year, clarity on India's policy for cryptocurrency, data centres, EVs and our very own digital Rupee. Start-up culture will continue to flourish with the right policy framework. These investments and policies will generate jobs and go a long way in inclusive and sustainable growth for Bharat. Anurag Bansal, COO &amp; CFO, DDB Mudra Group: This Union Budget looks neutral, with no major changes in taxation. The launch of digital Rupee based on blockchain technology is a big move to bring in official cryptocurrency in India. New e-passports with embedded chips would definitely ease overseas travel. Managing the Fiscal deficit while pushing for growth and investments is a great balancing act taken on by the government. It will give a boost to capital investments and infrastructure development. Kartik Sharma - Group Chief Executive Officer – India, Omnicom Media Group: With an impetus on holistic growth, developing infrastructure and job creation across sectors, the 2022 union budget shows promise with a focus on the big picture. Reviving economic growth in the post-pandemic environment has been a focus for this government and this progressive, digital-first, and development-oriented budget reflects that. Not only does it provide a boost to the MSME, agriculture and healthcare verticals, but also signals that investing in infrastructure today will connect India better tomorrow. With an increased focus on digitization, some of the standouts for me were that the budget recognized the current gaps and opportunities within the education sector, and is advancing towards uplifting India with the creation of a digital ecosystem - one that is focused on upskilling and creating more employment; aligned with the dynamic needs of today. It also aims to further strengthen communications in the rural sector and build upon the overall financialization of India. Furthermore, while the rollout of a 5G ecosystem will improve the quality of services, the launch of digital money, supported by blockchain, signals an increasing focus on transparency. With consistency in strategic direction and focus on propelling the MSME and start-up ecosystem, this is a welcoming budget for new-age businesses and a hopeful one that will ultimately lead to a boost in the A&amp;M industry as well. We're at the cusp of the next stage of India's digital revolution and although certain factors like data privacy still remain an area to be delved deeper into, as infrastructure and banking penetrate further into rural India, we’re looking hopeful and strong to transform into a forward-leaning digital economy of tomorrow.” Deepak Mittal, CEO and Co-Founder, TO THE NEW: The government's unprecedented commitment to technology innovation and adoption in this union budget is highly encouraging. Breakthrough developments and futuristic technology such as the introduction of digital currency, the rollout of 5G within FY22-23, and e-passports using embedded chips are exciting for the country's future. Among the measures announced, the budget highlights special incentives to startups and the launch of a progressive, new portal encouraging a digital ecosystem for skilling and upskilling. These initiatives will serve as a successful catalyst for the country's economic growth. Atul Shrivastava, Group CEO &amp; Executive Director at Laqshya Media Group: The union Budget underlined the government’s focus on long-term growth. As India’s economic growth is estimated to be 9.2% in the upcoming financial year so it would be good for all the industry and with overall growth, we are sure advertising &amp; media will also show remarkable growth which was low due to the pandemic in the last couple of years. As announced the National Highways to be expanded by 25,000 km under PM Gati Shakti mission. Highways are adding a new dimension to the growth of the OOH Industry as advertising on the Highways is emerging as very strong choice for brand building for many categories. Prasad Shejale, Founder and CEO, Logicserve Digital: The FM has announced a very progressive budget with an intention to widen India's horizons and outlook in the next five years, leveraging emerging technologies. The Government has addressed some urgent priorities underpinning the digital sector, including the launch of digital currency, API-based skill credentials, digital learning channels, digitization of manual processes, etc. On the digital connectivity front, the 5G spectrum auctions will finally make the dream of a tech-savvy India a reality, further boosting the country's digital infrastructure. Additionally, the launch of a design-led manufacturing scheme for the 5G ecosystem as part of the PLI scheme will ensure affordable broadband and mobile communication even in far-flung areas. The availability of high-speed internet connectivity in urban as well as rural areas will encourage marketers to experiment with blockchain, AR, VR. On the skilling front, initiatives like establishing a digital university will provide an opportunity for youth to learn new skills from the comfort of their homes. The creation of a new task force to build domestic capacity in the Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comic (AVGC) sector is commendable. The overall budget is future tech-enabled and balanced. Ahmed Aftab Naqvi, Global CEO &amp; Co-founder, GOZOOP Group: While there will always be hope for more and better, the continued push towards digital, fintech and the boost for start-up ecosystem with the extension of tax benefits till March 2023 along with capping the surcharge at 15% irrespective of the amount of long term capital gains, will fuel the fire of entrepreneurship in our nation. Varun Duggirala, Entrepreneur, Co-founder of The Glitch, Author, Content Creator and a Podcaster: The twin announcements of the digital rupee and the taxation on ‘virtual digital assets’ is clearly a focused drive from the government to regulate the crypto space. What needs to be seen is how this plays out because regulating a decentralized space is a paradox in itself. Another point that stood out for me was the national mental health program. More than anything else it signifies the normalizing of mental health as a legitimate area of focus for us as a nation. Shrenik Gandhi, CEO and Co-founder, White Rivers Media: In my opinion, it is a fairly balanced budget. There is sufficient emphasis being laid on up-skilling, and making right investments in tech which is the need of the hour. The previous budget was more inclined towards setting up a strong foundation in the digital space, and this one is essentially focused on making further advancements. Besides, Digital Rupee being introduced is indeed, a great news across sectors and it will be exciting to finally watch it become a reality. It can prove to be a game-changer in India's future as transactions will become even more instantaneous. Speaking of the expected benefits, let’s not forget that this is India’s #Budget and not a Big Bazaar scheme announcement. So, the immediate benefit may not be seen right now but considering the long-term narrative, it is a fairly established budget. Sahil Chopra, Founder &amp; CEO- iCubesWire: While the general trend of the <keyword id="12134566" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="union-budget-2022" source="Orion">union budget 2022</keyword> has its emphasis on ease of doing business, I strongly believe, data and digital occupied the centerpiece of the budget. The plans to focus and promote the fintech and digital economy are a very strong positive move. New age technologies, keeping data and digital at heart of it will allow the tech enablers to transform multiple industries. For MSMEs, the government has plans to outlay Rs 2 trillion which is again a welcoming move that will help in enhancing startups as well as entrepreneurial opportunities for all. Besides, extension on tax exemption to startups and promotion of startups to facilitate ‘Drone Shakti’ through varied applications and drones as a service is also encouraging. The ambitious optical fibre to the villages under PPP in 2022-23 shall get the next 100M in the Digital Universe soon. To sum up, it’s a positive budget for the digital sector which has always vouched for a strong digital infrastructure in the country." Chetan Asher, Founder and CEO, Tonic Worldwide: The budget clearly will help the country march towards digital adoption and transformation in many sectors. With 5G rollout on the cards we will see an acceleration across the board. The digital rupee will put India right up on the map of advanced digital economies. Clarity on Digital assets and crypto will give it new impetus. All of these initiatives will help us emerge as leaders in adoption and growth of blockchain technology Ambika Sharma, Founder &amp; MD, Pulp Strategy: The Budget is interesting as the Government has focused on all sectors. The financial support for the digital payments ecosystem is a welcome move and further reaffirms the Government of India's digital banking push. This push on digitization will make way for more inclusion in the ecosystem. The focus on 'Ease of doing business is a great step, as it will further promote entrepreneurship in the economy” . The 2022-23 budget finely balanced fiscal retreat with supporting economic recovery. The budget focused on a familiar strategy of driving capital expenditure to drive growth, to crowd in private investment through higher public spending. Although markets could be disappointed with a higher fiscal deficit of 6.4% of GDP for FY23 than expected, it is perhaps prudent to not undertake aggressive fiscal consolidation at this nascent stage of recovery. While elevated market borrowings are likely to pressurize bond yields, the inclusion of green bonds in the borrowing plan is an interesting innovation. In terms of specific policy announcements, the move towards self-reliance through protection for domestic manufacturers (change in custom and import duties) aligns with the long-term goal of Atmanirbhar Bharat. The government has extended the startup tax holiday and concessional tax for manufacturing startups by a year. While that was on the cards, it doesn’t address the core need of startups to be given a longer tax holiday of 5 years as required. One of the most encouraging aspects of the budget has been the announcement to set up an AVGC (animation, visual effects, gaming, and comics) promotion task force to plan and build domestic capacity for serving domestic as well as global markets. Loss from the transfer of virtual digital assets cannot be set off against any other income. The creation of a unified logistics platform and the developments of 100 new cargo terminals in the next three years are significant steps in improving the supply chain ecosystem in the country. Infrastructure status given to Data Centers will provide a huge boost to the fast-evolving digital environment of the country. The fiscal outcome is broadly in line with our expectations with the government having continued its focus on infrastructure and rural demand. Himanshu Arya, Founder and CEO, Grapes: The Union Budget for the financial year 2022-23 has set the stage with an invigorated focus on ramping up the process of the digital revolution. The government’s focus on the digital ecosystem is a progressive move to render an inclusive landscape for job openings and entrepreneurial opportunities. The extension of tax incentives for startups for one more year will give a slight relief to the industry. I hope that the cash flow improves in the market. The Union Budget has various encouraging initiatives and is directed towards a more viable and flexible business ecosystem that completely aligns with the ideologies of Make in India. Siddharth Devnani, Co-Founder &amp; Director, SoCheers: Digital and digitization stood out as a strong overall trend in the Union Budget 2022. The budget put a great focus on long-term growth and given how intricately ‘digital’ was integrated into several measures, it can be seen as an integral part of that growth. Implementation of the Central Bank digital currency will definitively aid the growth of digital economy and finance in the country, opening doors for digital acceleration across sectors. The announcement about the new digital university and the renewed focus on digital learning, further presents an opportunity, especially to the fast-evolving Educational Technology sector. However, a definite plan on how this will pan out for all corners of India remains to be seen. Moreover, digital will also be leveraged in the set-up and operation of tele-mental health centres, providing the necessary focus and access to mental health services to the Indian masses. This comes as one of the most welcome move as it’ll contribute infinitely to the nation’s long-term growth.

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