That is not where the ‘new’ ended – Sitharaman dredged out a slew of initiatives where they were not expected. But in turn, she evaded some projected ‘Budget sure-shots’. Yes, there had been anticipation of a Budget that would drive the digital economy forward, aiming for the US$1-trillion milestone by 2030, along with a rocket boost to R&D activities, and the FM fired mostly true on these fronts.

Digital Push: Kharif Survey and Kisan Credit Card

In a boost for the agriculture stack, Sitharaman announced a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) that would cover farmers and their land records within three years, something she had flirted with in her Budget speech last year. For this year’s heady agricultural romance, she player Pied Piper by announcing a ‘Digital Crop Survey’ for kharif (the autumn crop) in 400 districts, as also the issue of Jan Samarth-based Kisan Credit Cards in five states.

Under these programs, over 6 crore farmers and their land holdings would be integrated into a digital registry, powered by a fund allocation of Rs 1.52 lakh crore for the agriculture and allied sectors. The survey will be designed to delineate crop planting plans across the country’s farmlands through the seasons, with the larger intent being to have a one-stop repository of information on farmers and their intended crops.

This foresight would be digitally coded and decoded, as required, to study foodstuff availability across categories and determine any deviation from pre-determined national requirements.

Other farm-digitizing initiatives include a Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN), or ‘Bhu-Aadhaar’. This unique 14-digit identification number would be issued for each plot of land as part of the Digital India Land Records Modernization Program (DI-LRMP).

Further, there are also plans to digitize land records in urban areas with GIS (Geographic Information System) mapping, converting physical land records into digital and integrating them with GIS tech. This will allow for detailed and accurate mapping of land parcels, including geographic location, boundaries and other relevant data.

The intent is to improve land management, make access to land information easier, enhance accuracy in property records and enable better planning and development of urban areas.

“Public investment in digital infrastructure and innovations by the private sector have helped in improving access of citizens, particularly the common people, to market resources, education, health and services. We will step up adoption of technology towards digitization of the economy,” the Finance Minister said in her speech.

Govt Seeks More Private Participation In R&D

Stressing on the pivotal role of Science, Technology, and Innovation in driving growth, the FM emphasized the need for increased non-governmental spends in research and development initiatives, as is the case in the United States and China. 

It was this that drew the ‘Number 8’ rank in the Narendra Modi Government’s Budget list of nine priorities – innovation, research and development. It was announced that the government would operationalize the Anusandhan National Research Fund  (ANRF) to spur private sector-driven basic research and prototype development with a Rs 1-lakh-crore pool of funding.

Implemented by the Department of Science and Technology, the ANRF will provide high-level strategic direction for research, innovation and entrepreneurship in the fields of natural sciences, mathematical sciences, engineering and technology, environmental and earth sciences, health and agriculture.

“This will encourage the private sector to scale up research and innovation significantly in these domains. We need programs that combine the powers of youth and technology,” the FM said.

At present, India spends far less on research than other countries. In absolute numbers, India spends 0.64 per cent of the GDP on research, while China spends 2.41 per cent, the US 3.47 per cent and Israel a whopping 5.71 per cent. Also, private companies in India do not contribute much to research activities.

To ensure that research turns into useful inventions faster, the Economic Survey outlined on Monday underlined the fact that India’s universities, businesses and researchers need to work together more seamlessly. Additionally, the movement of technology – from the lab to people’s lives – takes too long. The ANRF will be given the mandate to address these issues and make research initiatives more effective and faster to market as completed products.

India’s present Science & Technology (S&T) schemes are also being derided for underutilization. Budget allocations for key programs like ‘Institutional and Human Capacity Building’ and ‘Biotechnology R&D’ have been scaled back from planned outlays, and the numbers announced for 2024-25 substantiate this fact. Nevertheless, funding for overall R&D projects is still higher than envisaged, with an increase in the next fiscal.

In other news, the Budget has also attempted to propel the space economy to newer heights, with a Rs 1,000-crore venture capital fund aiming to expand it five-fold by 2025.

“This opens new avenues for securing funds to advance cutting-edge technologies, underlining the Government’s recognition of the need to foster an environment to encourage startups and drive tech advancements,” Pranav S, Founder & CEO of Control One AI, told The Secretariat.

Additionally, the government is attempting to march ahead in nuclear energy by teaming up with the private sector to establish Bharat Small Reactors, spearhead R&D and explore cutting-edge nuclear technologies.

Missing Areas: AI And Semiconductors

After the Economic Survey announcement, it was widely expected that the Budget would outline plans and funding to boost the Artificial Intelligence (AI) industry, which has been projected to have an impact on employment in the country. However, Sitharaman followed her own cue from the Interim Budget this time around too, and AI was all but given a miss.

There were also no schemes announced for semiconductors, an industry the government has been publicly bullish on. However, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) assured that a semiconductor-specific scheme would be a post-Budget occurrence.

However, MeitY, which is looking at India’s AI Mission, semiconductor expansion and the ‘Digital India’ program, has Rs 21,936.90 crore in its kitty. Over the medium term, India’s focus will be on integrating and getting its lines aligned with global supply chains, particularly in sectors like renewable energy and ‘Deep Technology’.