Union Budget 2024: Indian Startups, Investors, & Experts Questions What's Next?

Rustom Kerawalla, Founder Chairman, VIBGYOR Group of Schools - "In the upcoming Union Budget 2024, we anticipate significant investment within the education sector. This includes enhancing infrastructure for effective education delivery, advancing teacher training, promoting inclusive education and focus on outcomes mapped to 21st century skills. These priorities aim to ensure equitable access to high-quality education and build a resilient system that prepares students early on for real-world scenarios. These factors coupled with technology will play a pivotal role in shaping a dynamic and experiential learning environment. Through collaborative tech-driven solutions, infrastructure upgrades, comprehensive training, advancements in pedagogy, and adapting to new age learning methodologies, we can unleash the potential of educational reform. I strongly believe with these measures, India can establish a future-ready education system that is inclusive, equitable, and globally competitive."

Rohin Kapoor, Partner, Education and Skilling - Management Consulting, BDO India mentioned about the current situation of Education sector and told,

Expenditure on the education sector could be increased to at least 5% of India’s GDP. Rolling out a fair & transparent central government driven regulatory framework for attracting foreign investment in the K12 sector, similar to efforts in higher education. Reforming & reorganizing NTA in the best interests of the students & to avoid future controversies. Announcement of investment in digital infrastructure to curb malpractices in competitive examinations.

Reintroduction of Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) Bill to form one single regulator for higher education in the country. Increased investment & intent in transforming teaching as a career of choice for the next generation. Higher allocation to ‘train the teachers’ initiatives.

Vocational Education & Skill Development Sector:

•Higher budgetary allocation for building greenfield training facilities to meet future skilling requirements and further improvement of existing facilities.

•Announcement for conducting skilling census to identify level of skills possessed & mapping it with the current/future demands of the industry. This will help us in identifying areas for future investments by government/corporations.

•Job guaranteed linked skilling programs are more likely to deliver better results. Steps to increase participation of industry in the sector to increase employability.

•Healthcare is paramount for any country’s government as it needs a lot of funds and care to make it world class providing people the best lifesaving treatment. So this sector is expecting a good amount in the budget to undertake state-of-art research and development along with enhancing affordability & quality.

The Modi Government’s initiative Ayushman Bharat Yojana needs restructuring, and the government needs to promote the use of high-end medical equipment to strengthen National Digital Health Mission. The pandemic exposed the vulnerabilities of the healthcare sector and showed how it is important to make the health infrastructure more robust. We need to achieve the perfect combination of modern technologies like AI or ML which startups are fostering in the industry.

About the healthcare industry, Abhishek Sinha, Co-Founder, HealSpan mentioned, "As we approach the Union Budget for 2024, we urge the Finance Minister to prioritize comprehensive healthcare funding and robust support for pharmaceutical innovation. Given the recent global health challenges, it is crucial to strengthen our healthcare infrastructure to withstand future crises and improve accessibility for all citizens. We envision several significant changes in the overall healthcare industry, starting with reducing the GST on healthcare expenditure for individuals and corporations to 5%, ensuring continuous investment in hospitals, particularly in Tier-II cities and below. Treating these investments as infrastructure projects can lower interest rates and prioritize lending from financial institutions.”