The Union Budget 2022-23 is likely to be tabled on February 1, 2022 by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. This is the 4th Budget of the Narendra Modi-led NDA government in its second tenure. Take a look at what Nikhil Sahni, Division President, South Asia, Mastercard, expect from the upcoming Budget 2022.
“In the upcoming Budget, we look forward to interventions to further accelerate the impact of Digital India on citizens, via promoting innovations in fintech, enabling digital infrastructure, and incentivising solutions with a focus on safety and convenience for both merchants and consumers. Investments in R&D to introduce newer products and diversify into underserved areas, especially in rural India, could be incentivised. Support towards technology skill-building initiatives in start-ups will go a long way in creating a viable fintech ecosystem,” Nikhil Sahni said.
“To ensure that the benefits of fintech and digital payments percolate to customers in rural India, the government could introduce initiatives to expand digital infrastructure: payment touchpoints, internet connectivity in remote areas, and make the digital ecosystem secure for individuals and businesses. This will facilitate speedy transactions and improve the overall payments ecosystem.”
“Mastercard has consistently welcomed and supported policy initiatives toward incentivising digital over cash. Providing the right incentives to banks and merchants to further digitize the country’s payments and an economic model that allows for investment in both issuance and acceptance, is key to further growing electronic payments in the country,” he said.
“Small businesses were severely impacted by the pandemic. We appreciate the government’s timely measures to support their recovery. We should continue the momentum by empowering small businesses with innovative digital financing solutions like supply chain financing, subsidizing loan insurance for financial institutions which service MSMEs, and continue to simplify GST slabs to further strengthen the sector. Incentivising asset-light innovations can enable millions of small business owners to adopt and benefit from digital payments,” he added.
“Finally, building awareness of digital payments and promoting financial literacy is critical to India achieving the vision of a $1 trillion digital economy. Mastercard, along with its partners, will continue its efforts towards this goal,” he said.
