Digital Initiatives Announced in Budget 2023-24 Appreciated by EdTech and AgriTech

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled a slew of initiatives in Budget 2023-24, her fifth consecutive budget, earlier this week. Every sector and stratum of society responded positively to the Budget, and EdTech and AgriTech are no exception.

The Budget 2022-23 prioritized agriculture on a larger scale to increase yield and income for Indian farmers.

"This union budget contains commendable reforms and announcements for the agriculture sector. The budget places a strong emphasis on the supply and input side of the agricultural value chain. The open-source digital agriculture infrastructure and an agriculture accelerator fund focused on youth in rural areas, as well as the increase in the Agri credit target to 20 lakh crores, are excellent government moves that will benefit the Indian agricultural system in the coming years. These steps will benefit the nascent Agri-tech industry, which still employs nearly half of the country's workforce. The government's decision to invest Rs 2200 crore in high-value horticulture and decentralized storage capacity "provides an additional benefit for AgriTech startups to work towards excelling in their business and adding value to the agricultural economy of the nation," said Raj Yadav, Founder, and CEO of Agri Junction.

"From the standpoints of crop diversity, sustainability, and nutrition, the increased emphasis on promoting millet cultivation, consumption, and exports, as well as increased investment in fisheries and the promotion of natural farming, are all positive moves for the Indian agriculture sector. Farmers will receive higher prices for their produce if cooperatives and producer collectives are properly managed. Furthermore, the government's decision to spend Rs 2 lakh crores on food grains for all priority households under the PM Garib Kalyan Yojana is highly commendable. The National Rural Livelihood Mission has achieved remarkable success by mobilizing rural women into 1 lakh SHGs and increasing per capita income to Rs 1.97 lakh "Yadav went on to say.

Similarly, Shan Kadavil, Co-founder of FreshToHome, applauded the government's decision to reduce the cost of shrimp feed. "We applaud the central government's initiative to strengthen the agricultural industry by supporting the development of agri-tech startups. The establishment of the agricultural accelerator fund will pave the way for the agricultural sector to attract new ideas, tech-driven solutions, and increased use of technology. The need for tech-driven growth is urgent. This will be critical in increasing production, lowering production costs, reducing waste, and assisting farmers in gaining higher returns. Attempts are being made to reduce the cost of shrimp feed for marine products. This is a positive step because lower feed prices will help to reduce shrimp production costs. We can use these lower production costs to compete in international markets with other countries," he said.

"The term "Digital Public Infrastructure" is also mentioned, and we anticipate that it will work to digitize the infrastructure resources available to farmers. Due to a lack of digital facilities, there is a huge gap in the system, which has resulted in farmers relying on middlemen to sell their products and, in many cases, to even receive the profits they earn from the produce. The Budget proposes a new sub-scheme, 'PM Matsya Sampada Yojana,' with a target investment of Rs 6,000 crore, to further enable the activities of fishermen, fish vendors, and micro and small enterprises, improve value chain efficiencies, and expand the market. Funding injections into the ecosystem, farmer-friendly infrastructure policies, and business-friendly reforms will welcome new players. The Budget addresses the Fisheries sector's immediate needs," Kadavil added.

The announcements of digital initiatives with a focus on AI in the education sector were also warmly received by the EdTech industry, which saw them as a step toward realizing the center's vision of a "digital revolution."

The announcement of the establishment of AI centers of excellence in premium educational institutions, 100 laboratories in engineering institutions for developing applications using 5G services, and a national digital library for young learners has been met with approval from the industry.

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