Industry leaders welcome Union budget for stress on education, skill development

"I applaud the Union Budget 2019 for its allocation of Rs. 400 crore to education and skilling. The focus on the Swayam programme, and on imparting skill training to 1 crore students will serve the country in good stead and it is encouraging to hear that there are plans to make India a hub of higher education. The 'Study in India' initiative, it is hoped, will serve to attract many foreign students thereby increasing possibilities for educational collaborations," said JIS Group MD Sardar Taranjit Singh.

Vivek Jain, chief business officer at Shiksha.com and Naukri FastForward said: “The GIAN initiative is a positive step as quality of teaching is the building blocks of our education system and requires improvement at various levels. I am sure if it's implemented properly there will be many Indian institutions in top 200 global institutions bracket. The study in India program will enable Indian Institutions to build global reputation. Focusing on relatively newer areas like AI, Big Data, Robotics will also increase pool of good talent in these high demand areas.”

Ayush Bansal and Shubham Sharda, co-founders of Foxmula also lauded the Study in India programme and said it could prove to be one of the best initiatives, with Institutions implementing Industry-oriented skill development with exposures.

"As the technologies create new pressures on career scopes, upskilling, reskilling and continuous learning initiatives will be key to ensuring both that individuals have access to economic opportunity by remaining competitive in the new world of work, and that businesses have access to the talent they need for the jobs of the future," Bansal said. "It's great to see the government realising and acting towards it at the right time, with growing investments in the domain."

Ernst & Young tax partner Gaurav Chadha said: “The numerous amendments proposed by the Hon’ble Finance Minister in the Finance Bill 2019 and tax policy road map provided in the budget speech confirms government’s agenda of providing conducive environment to start-ups and raising India’s ranking in ease of doing business index. Eligible start-ups can now carry forward of losses where shareholders beneficially continue to hold 51% shareholding or voting power. Period for investment of capital gains tax in eligible start-ups has been extended from March 31, 2019 to March 31, 2021, also now only 25% investment in shareholding is sufficient to claim exemption.”

On the finance bill, he said: “Tax Amendments Proposed in Finance Bill 2019 - Investment by Alternate Investment Funds (Category II) exempted from the rigour of ‘Angel tax’. Start-ups are likely to get relief in ongoing tax audits, and as for carrying an enquiry or verification, now the tax officer is required to obtain approval from the supervisory officer. For providing relief from ‘angel tax’, identity of investor and source of investment in eligible start-up is to be resolved by e-verification mechanism.”