The Indian IT and IT-enabled Services (IT & ITeS) sector has witnessed a complete turnaround and an unprecedented boost in the wake of COVID-19. Furthermore, the year 2021 promises to be a huge year for the sector fuelled by the growing need and adoption of digital technologies across the board. Given, the current business scenario, we expect a strong push towards policies promoting IT innovation by pushing business-critical and bold policy interventions to propel digital adoption across multiple industries. ‘Digital-first’ and ‘Data-centric’, should be the key focus areas for the Government in our view as we push for Digital innovation as an important building block for India’s future growth.
— Deepak Mittal, CEO & Co-founder, To The New
The previous year proved to be a gamechanger for the education industry by drastically replacing traditional classrooms with online teaching methods. This along with the introduction of National Education Policy 2020 made a strong foundation for the following year. We expect the 2021 Union Budget to be open to creating an Edtech ecosystem with greater access to the internet and robust data protection. By allowing innovation in the sector and improving the basic digital infrastructure of the country, the Government can ensure that our education system is immune to any pandemic in the future. Our education system needs a perfect combination of digitisation and traditional classroom learning; the budget must elevate startups in the EdTech sector which reciprocate the same beliefs.
— Dr Sunita Gandhi, Founder — Global Classroom Pvt ltd & Global Education Training institute
The biggest challenge the healthcare sector/industry is facing currently is the shortage of skilled medical workforce. Our country needs more MBBS, MS and MD medical post-graduates and well-equipped hospitals and colleges. The Government should allot funds for medical education in rural areas. The health facilities should be improved in rural areas with qualified doctors and better equipment. The special allowances should also be provided to the doctors and their paramedical staff. The health scheme for children should be launched by the Government that should especially focus on the paramedical courses. New courses should be started in the existing Government colleges. There needs to be a system where we can focus on skilling and upgrading medical workforce skills in the needed geographies. In order to achieve this, major reforms are needed.
— Gaurav Tyagi, Founder — Career Xpert
As the country recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic, it is hoped that the budget 2021-22 kick-starts the economy while boosting expenditure on education and healthcare infrastructure. In this regard, the Government could plan to forego fiscal restraints and increase capital expenditure in these particular sectors. There should be transparency and accountability in every rupee spent on education and ensure equitable distribution of funds. It is expected that the budget should look at boosting private investments and give a fillip to avenues of employment generation. The focus should be on upgrading the basic infrastructure and digitalisation of educational institutions, measures to encourage student retention, and comprehensive teacher training programmes to remain updated with global learning standards.
— Rustom Kerawalla, Chairman, Ampersand Group