Budget 2024 welcomed, Bengaluru experts hope for availability of funds

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Ahead of Lok Sabha polls 2024, the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's interim budget announcement of a scheme to boost scientific research seems to have been received well by the scientists, researchers and businessmen in Bengaluru.

Vice President of the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI), Balakrishna said that the interim budget 2024 is a much-needed and very welcome announcement.

"If we talk about innovation, the government has set aside Rs 1 lakh crore corpus with a 50-year interest-free loan for longterm funding of research and innovation especially in the aerospace and deep defence equipment manufacturing," he said.

Though the details of scheme allocation under different heads for ministries to take up R&D projects will emerge later, it appears to answer long-standing demand for greater enhancement of funds for innovations in core areas of defence that includes for marine and air platform engine development and manufacturing in India besides for next generation weapon system needed at a time of growing global insecurities.

Explaining about the deep defence technology, a Bengaluru-based aerospace and defence analyst, Girish Linganna, explained that the deep technology encompasses groundbreaking scientific and technological advancements capable of dramatically altering numerous sectors.

"This realm includes pioneering research and development in areas like artificial intelligence, biotechnology, blockchain, and quantum computing. The effects of these innovations can be deep and widespread, fundamentally transforming our daily lives, professional environments, and the manner in which we engage with our surroundings," Linganna said.

A top scientist from the department of Science and Technology welcomed the announcement but said that lack of adequate funds has always been one of the major hurdles in the improvement of research output from the country.

"We hope the new corpus will address this issue," he said.

A few Bengaluru based experts said that India’s defence budget remains one of the lowest in percentage terms, hovering around 2 percent.

A large chunk of the budget goes towards paying salaries and pensions, which keep growing every year.

The defence budget estimate for 2022-23 was Rs 1,52,369 crore, which was revised to Rs 1,50,000 crore. In 2023-24, the budget estimate was Rs 1,62,600 crore.

This shows that not only is the capital outlay low, it is also failing to spend the money allocated. However, stating that it is just an initial announcement before the Lok Sabha elections, the experts here are anticipating an adequate global benchmark of Research and Development (R&D) funding as a proportion of the Gross domestic product (GDP).

The scientific community in Karnataka expects to see a significant increase in the outlay for research. Managing Director of Muthoot, George Alexander said that the interim budget is balanced.

"We believe the FM's focus on higher outlay for infrastructure will help in boosting the broader economy and in the long term will boost investment activity," he said.

"While inflation has been a concern globally, FM's focus on staying on the path of fiscal prudence in the interim budget, will surely be an enabler for a stable interest rate scenario in the economy and bodes well for the overall financial sector," Alexander added.

Additionally the government is also planning to cover almost one crore houses with solar energy where the excess power will be taken back with the government.

Balakrishna, on this, said that this will enable each household to save Rs 15,000 to Rs 18000 in a month.