Uday Kotak hails Centre's 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' based Budget; says 'Proud to be Indian'

As Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday, February 1, presented the Union Budget 2022 in the Parliament, there were high expectations revolving around government support through regulatory measures, tax sops, and investment incentives. Responding to the Budget announcement in line with 'Atmanirbhar Bharat', CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank Uday Kotak said that he is "proud to be Indian'. 

Hailing the Budget announcement, Uday Kotak tweeted, "Budget: trust based governance to build Atmanirbhar Bharat. Reposes faith in taxpayers, entrepreneurs, investors. Build an open, digital and inclusive India with a 25-year vision. I am proud to be Indian."

Presenting the Budget for the fourth time, Finance Minister Sitharaman mentioned that the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for achieving Atmanirbhar Bharat has received an excellent response, with the potential to create 60 lakh new jobs.

FM Nirmala Sitharaman on PLI schemes

The Finance Minister stated that the PLI schemes have received investment intentions worth Rs 30 lakh crore. Key sectors covered under the PLI scheme include pharmaceuticals, medical devices, large-scale electronics manufacturing, food products, solar EV modules, automobiles/auto components, ACC battery, textile products, and more. 

The government had notified the National Policy on Electronics 2019 (NPE 2019) scheme to position India as a global hub for Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) by encouraging and driving capabilities in the country for developing core components, including chipsets.

According to the Economic Survey 2021-22, under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for large-scale electronics manufacturing, the country saw an investment of Rs 2,595 crore and production worth Rs 67,275 crore, of which, 31 per cent or Rs 20,568 crore worth of products were exported (till June 2021).

In another announcement, Nirmala Sitharaman mentioned that as a step towards the promotion of Atmanirbhar Bharat that would reduce the dependency on imports of defence equipment, in this year’s budget, 68 per cent of the capital procurement budget for Defence had been earmarked for the domestic industry.

Image: PTI