KT Prasad, Country Sales Director, Zendesk India: “This is a forward-looking budget designed to accelerate commerce by encouraging foreign investment while also giving local home-grown businesses a leg up, and propelling job creation are encouraging steps towards boosting India’s long term economic growth. The impetus on improving youth skills in disruptive technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) and robotics reinforces the government’s efforts towards building a Digital India. It is also encouraging to see initiatives that will boost India’s standing on the global technology stage, such as establishing National Research Foundation (NRF) to promote research in AI, accelerating the Standup India program for budding women entrepreneurs, easing FDI rules, and proposing a host of enhancements to the digital payment systems among others. Businesses in India – large or small, new or established – are well-positioned to harness these opportunities by breaking free from outdated legacy technology and infrastructure and adopt more agile, scalable technologies that will empower them to achieve rapid growth. I would give this budget a thumbs up.”
Abhishek Gandhi, Co-Founder & CFO, RupeeCircle: “The budget is on expected lines with a focus on reviving the economy. Efforts have been made to encourage NRIs to invest in India with steps taken to merge NRI portfolio route with FPI route and easing KYC norms for NRIs. Also, the budget is favorable for start-ups with exemptions on Angel tax and no scrutiny of funds from income tax department. Another positive is promotion of digital economy and making digital transactions free for customers. That is the right step in boosting the digital economy. We also welcome the idea of the social stock exchange however, a bit disappointed that something with the impact potential of P2P was missed in the budget. Steps taken to promote P2P in any way would help the sector which has been driving financial inclusion and creating an alternate investment asset class.”
Bhavin Patel, Co-Founder & CEO, LenDenClub: “I along with many startups had urged FM to simplify the angel tax issue. And here comes the move which we all would like. Provision of e-verification of such investment and declaration from startup/angel is good enough to stay away from angel tax scrutiny.”
Dewang Neralla, CEO, Atom Technologies: “The budget is set the strong tone for incentivising digital paynents. Inplementarion of low cost payment modes for business more than 50 cr turnover will definitely drive QR and low cost options across organized retail and larger enterprises. However announcement of no MDR for customers and merchants would require clarity with respect to which instrument as well as mode.”
Abhishek Ray, Head – Legal and Compliance, ePayLater: “We are glad to note that at the very outset there were specific references to boosting Digital India and Startups in the 10 point vision of Hon’ble Finance Minister. The multiple initiatives announced for improving transport, in terms of road corridor, port connectivity and UDAN scheme will boost domestic trade. The MSME centric steps are also very encouraging in terms of allocation of more resources for loans and the creation of a platform for filings bills. All this will go a long way in helping small businesses.The increase of the turnover limit for the lesser corporate tax bracket is a measure which will massively benefit the industry. In terms of startups, the angel tax related steps and clarifications are welcome, along with the steps to reduce tax scrutiny. We are very enthused to note that the Hon’ble Minister emphasised on the need for a cash free economy. Initial steps have been initiated for encouraging digital payments. However, the thresholds mentioned are quite high. This is a good start and we are certain to expect more incentives later on. Innovation is the backbone of the startup sector and for boosting industry in general. We are also very glad to note the boost being given to centers of higher learning to encourage research. Overall we think this was a well balanced budget which has balanced the aspirations of both urban and rural India.”
Anand Kumar Bajaj, Founder & CEO,PayNearby: “The Union Budget today has enabled our economy to make the transition towards a New India with a Nation First approach. The mobility powered payments with NCMC and policies to boost further acceptance of digital payments along with Startup facilitation focused measures will help the nation take strong steps towards efficient and inclusive growth. Introducing pension for retailers helps to bring in much needed sustainability in the retail ecosystem. Bridging the banks to become interoperable at any counter for the customer truly symbolizes that FinTech is here to be a mainstay of future India.
Simultaneously, the government has also enhanced its control on unappreciated credits in the Bank account as a stroke of RegTech. By allowing PAN and Aadhaar to be used interchangeably, interoperability has been enhanced which will not only provide flexibility for the customer but also bring many individuals under the formal domain.”
Piyush Khaitan, Founder & MD, NeoGrowth: “The Union Budget announcement on scaling up the Indian economy from USD 2.7 trillion to USD 3 trillion in FY20 and further targeting USD 5 trillion by 2024-25 is a strong roadmap for economic growth which will boost business activities in country. Our customers i.e MSMEs are facing a consumption economy. With the encouraging measures for boosting GDP driven by consumptions and investments, it ushers in positivity for our line of business. Overall Govt. measures announced for road, port connectivity, foreign flows into debt instruments, construction of 9.5 Crore houses in next 3 years and other tax measures will boost the Indian economy. Moreover, the Govt. has acknowledged NBFCs as a major contributor to GDP growth with adequate measures for supporting their liquidity requirements, lowered tax rates and Guarantee facilities for raising competitive funds.”
Vishal Kumar, CFO, A&A Business Consulting: “Finance Minister’s Union Budget proposals are highly growth-oriented. FM kept a reasonable balance of inclusiveness and laying the path for a USD 5 trillion economy by focusing on infrastructure spending, providing growth capital for PSU banks, beckoning support for NBFCs, making India an electric car hub, a large investment in quality higher education, incentives for start-ups, etc.
Proposal to provide Rs. 70,000 cr. for PSU bank recapitalization and disinvestment target raise to Rs. 105,000 cr. to boost credit is a welcome move. The budget proposal to bring 25% tax for companies having annual turnover of up to Rs. 400 cr is in line with a phased corporate taxes reduction plan. No change in personal taxation is certainly a dampener for the middle class taxpayer and a steep increase in Cess for Super rich is a big blow.
Not much is proposed to stimulate the growth and provide much needed financial support to MSME sector. On the other hand, a resolution to the long pending Angel tax and relaxation of tax scrutiny are a few welcome moves and will boost the morale of Startups in the country. Further, promotion of digital economy and incentivizing digital transactions are the right steps in boosting digital economy.”
Abhishek Chakraborty, Executive Director, DTDC Express Ltd: “The logistics sectors plays a very crucial role in propelling India to become a trillion dollar economy. With some key measures like Ease of Doing Business, simplification of e-way bills, UDAN, Bharatmala, Jal Marg Vikas etc., it will only improve the overall logistics sector and also reduce the cost of transportation. The budget also specifically mentioned on the Government’s vision to focus on rivers for cargo transportation which help in increasing the freight movement whilst making it cost effective. The proposals made in the budget look very conducive to improve the sector’s competencies. The budget announcement has made special emphasis on the ‘Ease of Living’ thus making it very citizen friendly. The only thing now is execution which remains key and be watched for.”
Jaydev V. Sanghavi, Executive Director, Aarvi Encon Limited: “During the union budget announcement, the government mentioned its plan to spend 100 lakh cr on infrastructure and development over the next 5 years. This vision brings out an opportunity to open enormous roadmaps for our country, hoping to generate employability, especially engineers pertaining to the Civil sector in order for project executions and constructions, proving to be positive in our line of business activity. Taking India forward through technology in both urban and rural areas, the government also spoke about Big Data and AI which will improve the aspects of decision making, speed and accuracy resulting in the ability to benchmark and track the progress of developmental projects. Thus, recognizing to be very promising for years to come. Overall, this is a positive move by the government as it also acknowledges to look at the labour rules and ease them with times to come.”
Vivek Tiwari, MD & CEO, Satya MicroCapital: “We believe that this year’s Union Budget has been perfectly balanced by our new Finance Minister. The Government has promised hassle-free experience to foreign portfolio investors and is planning to streamline KYC to make it more investor-friendly. Innovative Aadhaar-based solutions can prove to be a game changer in this development and can introduce robust security while also ensuring seamless processes. The Government is also considering to grant Aadhaar Cards to NRIs via their Indian passports, preventing them from needlessly waiting for 180 days as is the case at present. Another positive takeaway from this year’s Union Budget is the interchangeability of PAN and Aadhaar for the filing of ITR, which directly augments the usability of Aadhaar system and its wide-ranging solutions.” Siddharth Kukatlapalli,Co-founder and CBO, Syntizen.
“Today, as India is leaving no stone unturned in terms of digital adoption, the Government is taking all the right measures to further catalyze this development. It is enhancing the rural infrastructure while also making it easier for Indian MSMEs to increase their digital footprint. The creation of single-window platform for end-to-end bill payments of MSMEs is one of these steps and will augment digital adoption of Indian MSMEs. The Government has also promised to extend loans of up to Rs. 1 crore to MSMEs, perfectly in line with the vision of financial inclusion. Both of these developments, i.e. digital enablement and financial inclusion, will make it considerably easier to lend to the segment and unlock the true potential of this growth engine.”
Anuj Golecha,Co-Founder Venture Catalysts: “There have been several key takeaways from this year’s Union Budget vis-a-vis the startup community. Primarily, the Government has resolved the raging issue of Angel Tax by eliminating scrutiny around valuation of share premium. It will also put in place a mechanism for e-verification to eliminate tax scrutiny around funds raised by startups as well. This will act as a catalyst in driving investment towards our startup segment and promote cutting-edge technological solutions. It has also proposed measures to carry forward and set off losses for startups while increasing the period of exemption for capital gains through sale of residential houe for startup-centric investment up to March 2021. Moreover, the Indian startup community will soon be witnessing another wave of startup boom from rural geographies as the Government will be launching a dedicated startup programme on DD National, 80 Liveliood Business Incubators and 20 Technology Business Incubators for rural artisans. As a cherry on the top, a slew of reforms have also been introduced for Indian NBFCs including foreign investment, government guarantee for PSB loans, one-time six month partial credit guarantee to buy pooled assets, and quick loans of up to Rs. 1 crore for Indian MSMEs. This is being done while also promoting research and development around avant-garde technologies including Artificial Intelligence and Big Data. Perhaps, all of these measures were the need of the hour for our startup community and will create conducive environment for futuristic and globally scalable businesses in India.”
Kartik Agarwal, CEO, Staunch: “Budget 2019 opens new windows for the Start-up ecosystem. We welcome the government’s initiative of setting up a new channel of Start-ups to disseminate information in the industry. This will serve as a platform for companies like us to better understand the opportunities and gaps, match-making with venture capitalists and for funding and tax planning. Also, the ease in Angel Taxes will help boost investment in Start-ups”
Yogesh Bhatia, Founder, PreLoved Device: “We welcome the initiatives announced by the honorable Finance Minister to boost the start-up ecosystem. The measures made by government will encourage fresh investment in the sector because of the set off of losses and increase in the period of exemptions of capital gains. The proposed TV Channel will be useful to prospective startups and rationalization of requisite declaration filling will make it easier for startups to operate and focus on their core activities.”
Debajit Roy, Country Director, QAD India: “The government’s move to lower the GST on Electric Vehicles has opened new avenues for the industry. Reducing the GST on EVs from 12 per cent to 5 per cent can be seen as a big step in favor of sales of EV cars in India. The deduction of Rs 1.5 lakh on the loan interest to purchase an electric vehicle in India will not just benefit the industry but also for consumers who are looking to switch to electric vehicles
There is pool of the companies emerging in this space to evolve the entire ecosystem and the opportunities created by government will enable these companies to penetrate fast. Moreover with the liquidity gap being addressed in this budget, the industry will even move forward towards economy’s growth”
Ankur Choudhary, Co-Founder and CIO of Goalwise: “The new budget by the Modi Govt was mainly focused on boosting infrastructure and foreign investments. To that effect, government has made plans to spend 100 lakh crores for infrastructure over the next 5 years. 100% FDI has been allowed in insurance intermediaries and several sectors like aviation and media will be further opened for FDI investment. This will boost Financial inclusion in the economy.However there was no change in personal income tax slabs or in 80C exemption limit against popular expectations. The government however has increased the tax surcharge on individuals earning between 2 Crores to 5 Crores by 3% and by 7% for those earning 5 crores and above.
The new budget does have some good news for home buyers – tax deduction has been enhanced by an additional 1.5 lakhs on the interest on home loans coming under affordable housing (under 45 lakhs). So now interest up to a total of Rs 3.5 lakhs will be tax exempt, here the goal of saving more will be accomplished for early home buyers.Also, buyer of electric cars will get an additional exemption of up to Rs 2.5 lakhs on the interest on the car loan, which will help them plan for other immediate financial requirements.
In order to promote digital payments, there will be a TDS of 2% on cash withdrawal exceeding Rs 1 Cr in a year from a bank account, this will definitely boost online payments. Also custom duty has been increased from 10% to 12.5% on gold and a cess of Re 1 have been levied on petrol and diesel prices. Hence Investors should look at other saving instruments such as MFs”
Overall this budget focuses more on the macro than on the micro and sets the road map ahead for stimulating investments and growth in the economy.”
Pratik Marwah, Chief Operating Officer (COO), iAugmentor: “It was good to have our Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presents her maiden Budget that will put India on the road to a $5 trillion economy by 2025. was a neutral budget on the India’s growing startup ecosystem, reflecting government’s intention to increase the support to our entrepreneurial journey. The Finance Minister has laid out the plan during her speech mentioning the goal of establishing 50,000 startups by 2024 set by President Ram Nath Kovind.
Indian startups are growing continuously, and the government of India has encouraged them by resolving ‘Angel Tax’ issue, startups and their investors filing requisite declarations and provide information in their returns will not be subjected to any kind of scrutiny in respect of valuations of share premiums.
Also, it a great relief from the issue of establishing the identity of the investor and source of funds by introduction of e-verification mechanism. FM has also proposed an exclusive TV channel, which will be operated under the Doordarshan umbrella, and will also help in matching startups with venture funds and investors, these kind of initiatives by GOI is a positive approach to make the start-up ecosystem more stronger.
With this kind of budget, I am sure the start-up ecosystem will hold a strong part in the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to turn India into a great nation.”
Amit Kumar Singh, Chief Digital Officer, Head of Products, eCommerce & Digital Marketing, Mantis Technology Pvt Ltd: “There are many positive takeaways from this year’s budget. Especially, for startups and SMEs that operate in the road transportation industry. Apart from initiatives like the Bharatmala project, fresh fund allocations towards the construction of 1.25 lakh kilometres of roads under phase III of PM Gram Sadak Yojana, as well as the development of 17 iconic tourism sites, will benefit the entire industry. We are also happy with the government’s decision to launch the National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) as it will come as an added advantage for both travel operators and commuters. Other initiatives such as the push for EV adoption, removal of angel tax, rationalization of GST and support for retail traders will further help us to scale our business.”
Dinesh Kumar Kotha, Co founder & CEO of Confirmtkt: “Train booking & discovery app: Budget 2019 is here, and it sure brings in new hopes and opportunities for us. The Honourable Finance Minister has proposed that the Indian railways will use a PPP (Public-Private Partnership) model for faster development and delivery of passenger freight services. At present, there is a massive demand for train tickets. Hopefully, the PPP will enable the railways to add more trains and coaches so there is enough supply of seats to meet this demand. This, in turn, will contribute to industry growth. Currently, only 4% of India is directly connected through railways which comprises of 4 lakh routes. If new trains are added or railway lines are extended, the railway connectivity will increase manifold. For startups, the government finally addressed the Angel Tax issue – startups and investors who file requisite declarations won’t be subjected to any kind of scrutiny in respect of valuation of share premium. This will prevent many startups from closing down due to fund shortage. However, there were no announcements made on providing greater access to finances (working capital loans, credit lines, funding etc) to startups. Nevertheless, the Budget 2019 seemed to be well thought out.”
Nikhil Dosi – Co-Founder, Grexter living: “Rental housing has been on an exponential growth curve over the last couple of years in India and the trend is set to continue. Tenancy Reforms will act as the backbone of the rental housing sector and will help in promoting this segment. This will enable active participation of private sector which in effect will improve the quality of living.”
Piyush Jain, Co-Founder and CEO, ImpactGuru.com: “In India, social enterprises are playing a very significant role in solving real problems in education, healthcare and financial inclusion – in terms of providing services at an affordable price to the Indian population, especially the rural poor. The Electronic Fundraising Platform announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman acknowledges the problem of investment fundraising for such organizations.
Such an initiative especially housed by SEBI is going to ensure that these organizations will get a lot more attention from the Indian Government and various investors. Therefore, VC funds, impact investing funds and HNIs are going to take greater interest in the entire social enterprise ecosystem.
I really applaud the Government and the current Finance Minister for thinking about this. I hope this gets executed soon and social enterprises can thus get greater amount of funding from a wide variety of investors through this Social Stock Exchange.”
Sanjay Sharma- MD & CEO, Aye Finance: “There are alot of interesting areas that are in focus in the current budget. The primary focus of the budget has been on cranking up growth, job creation and improving the rural infrastructure. This is critical to the broader national growth, especially as the ongoing digitization is making India an ever-connected market. The Government has also pledged to create a payment platform for MSMEs for single-window filing of bills and payments. While making the process seamless for MSMEs and extending the purview of our formal economy, this will increase the digital footprint of MSMEs and thereby, ease MSME lending by creating superior visibility in the sector. We believe that India is making all the right moves in the right direction.”
Anuj Golecha,Co-Founder Venture Catalysts: “There have been several key takeaways from this year’s Union Budget vis-a-vis the startup community. Primarily, the Government has resolved the raging issue of Angel Tax by eliminating scrutiny around valuation of share premium. It will also put in place a mechanism for e-verification to eliminate tax scrutiny around funds raised by startups as well. This will act as a catalyst in driving investment towards our startup segment and promote cutting-edge technological solutions. It has also proposed measures to carry forward and set off losses for startups while increasing the period of exemption for capital gains through sale of residential houe for startup-centric investment up to March 2021. Moreover, the Indian startup community will soon be witnessing another wave of startup boom from rural geographies as the Government will be launching a dedicated startup programme on DD National, 80 Liveliood Business Incubators and 20 Technology Business Incubators for rural artisans. As a cherry on the top, a slew of reforms have also been introduced for Indian NBFCs including foreign investment, government guarantee for PSB loans, one-time six month partial credit guarantee to buy pooled assets, and quick loans of up to Rs. 1 crore for Indian MSMEs. This is being done while also promoting research and development around avant-garde technologies including Artificial Intelligence and Big Data. Perhaps, all of these measures were the need of the hour for our startup community and will create conducive environment for futuristic and globally scalable businesses in India.”
Neel Juriasingani, CEO & Co-founder, Datacultr: “Startups in the technology industry can take clues out of the various topics touched upon in this budget, to understand the direction and focus. The vision of the government to train 10 million industry-relevant skills such as Artifical Intelligence, Big Data, and IoT opens up great avenues for companies & start-ups like us in the space, as well as for those working on building digital infrastructure of a connected India.
Besides, other measures announced such as ease of angel tax will make it smoother for investors to put in their money in startups.”
Ashutosh Harbola, CEO & Co-founder, Buzzoka: “The budget looks to be a Truly Digital one in nature and strong steps are seen for the upcoming fiscal year. From new channels to be started under the Doordarshan bouquet to provide a platform for startups to disseminate information in the industry to Bharat Net which is targeting internet connectivity in local bodies in every panchayat in the country are all welcome steps.
Also, training of 10 million in industry-relevant skills like AI, IoT, and Big Data will help address the severe skill-shortage of technology and IT. We are really optimistic that the digital path taken by the government is surely matching the $3 Trillion vision.”
Rashi Gupta, Chief Data Scientist & Co-founder, Rezo.AI: “Training support for supporting advanced technical jobs in the space of AI, IoT is a welcome move. We welcome the government’s vision to train 10 million in industry-relevant skills like AI, IoT, and Big Data because these industries will be a much larger industry for India in the next 3-5 years as compared to what we have seen in IT over last 2 decades. Startups will have an integral role to play towards this growth, so trained resources availability shall help India gain the next leap in the future.”
Kartik Walia, Head of Operations (India) at Amplify.ai: “We see multiple positive takeaways from this year’s budget. The government, while adding greater impetus on digital adoption and infrastructure enhancement, has a positive outlook towards promising technologies including Artificial Intelligence and Big Data. It has recently announced the launch of National Artificial Intelligence Center and National AI Portal and now, in the Union Budget, has promised to build skillsets in ultramodern technologies such as AI, Big Data, and Robotics. The Government’s technology-centric strategy is highly appreciable and we believe that favourable results will be visible in the near future.”
Prithvi Singh; Founder and CTO at Gameskraft: “We at Gameskraft appreciate the Union Budget announcement by the Hon. FM. The announcement in connection to address issues faced by entrepreneur and startup community is a relief. With the implementations of the policy discussed startups, especially who are dependent on angel investors, will be able to operate business without much of a hassle. The no-scrutiny by IT dept encourages small angel investors to boost the ecosystem. The initiative of kick-starting TV channel program will help to reach out to more people and also investor community thereby becoming an encouraging platform to boost startup culture in India.”
Mohit Poddar, CEO & Co-founder, Shoes on Loose: “Budget 2019 has created an enabling environment for travel start-ups. We are glad that the Finance Minister has spoken about the importance of India’s tourism sector. With government developing 17 iconic tourism sites to improve the flow of domestic and foreign tourists and allocating Rs. 1.05 lakh crore budget for the same, the Indian Tourism Industry is bound to grow exponentially.
Also, a new channel proposed for start-ups to disseminate information in the industry will provide platform to companies like us to better understand the opportunities and gaps in the industry.”
Samarth Setia, CEO & Co-Founder, Mr Milkman: “A great move by the government on the Angel Tax. Startups can now focus on growth and innovation without having to worry about being dragged into such complications. For a very long period, there has been a huge gap between the skill set required by the Industry and what was being provided through the colleges of our country. It was a much-needed push which the government is now taking, to improve skills of youth in technology areas like AI and Big Data”.
Kushal Nahata, CEO & Co-founder of logistics-tech startup FarEye: “The government’s focus on building a digital India is again highlighted with its willingness to train people on AI, IoT and Big Data. These are key technologies that will transform the supply chain and logistics industry. The initiative to invest 100 lakh crore in infrastructure will definitely have a positive impact on the nation’s logistics and transportation industry both from a business and connectivity perspective. Also, the directive to eliminate tax scrutiny on funds raised by startups will make business operations a bit easier.”
Rohit Manglik, CEO, EduGorilla:
- For startups: “A series of incentives accorded to startups in the Union Budget is a testimony to the government’s intent of fostering an enabling ecosystem to promote entrepreneurship in India. The move to set-up around 80 “livelihood business incubators” and 20 tech business incubators is commendable as it will boost entrepreneurship besides upskilling the workforce to meet demands of industry 4.0. Furthermore, the easing of Angel Tax on Start-ups and the proposal to revamp the Labour Laws will improve the Ease of Doing Business in the Indian economy. The extension of Women SHG Interest Subvention Programme will boost women entrepreneurship.”
- For the education sector: “The Union Budget has holistically addressed the needs of the education sector and laid out a clear roadmap to boost the education sector. The National Education Policy with a proposed investment of 400 crores can go a long way in revamping the sector bring it at par with the global standards. For long, various stakeholders have stressed the need for a unified regulator in the higher education sector. The proposed move to set up Higher Education Commission would smoothen the regulatory process and remove jurisdictional ambiguity. Moreover, The National Research Foundation can play an instrumental role in strengthening the research ecosystem. Massive online courses through SWAYAM platform will go a long way in bridging the digital divide. Moreover, the due focus in the Union Budget on emerging technologies such as Big Data, Virtual Learning, Artificial Intelligence, and Robotics would aid in creating a skilled workforce to meet the demands of Industry 4.0. While much will hinge on the on-ground, implementation of the proposed policies, the Union Budget is clearly a progressive and visionary document.”
Vivek Goyal is the Co-Founder of PlayShifu, an augmented reality technology startup:
12:04 PM: To start a new TV channel for startups under the Doordarshan umbrella. Channel to be managed by startups themselves, the FM says.
A dedicated TV channel managed by startups themselves is a tremendous way of spreading awareness about the innovation startups bring to Indian, and even global, economy. While startups can garner visibility through this channel, people can stay up-to-date with the latest developments in the Indian startup circle.
It also proves that we are not just mimicking established ecosystems and the government is going out of their way to fuel the Indian startup circle.
11:59 AM: Government to focus on new-age skills including artificial intelligence, 3D printing, which also have a market outside India, to enable people to get jobs outside India.
I think it is a step towards a positive change that can change India’s international stance in terms of innovation. It’s time to change India’s face from a SaaS provider to a tech-savvy product creator! Technology like AI, AR, VR, 3D printing and more are already playing an instrumental role in connecting with the next generation by making products that they understand and were born and brought up with.
12:44 PM: Propose to ease angel tax norms. Funds raised by startups will not require any scrutiny by the income tax department, the FM says.
Angel is the most effective way of taking ideas from 0 to 1. As we have seen there is lot of growth capital available in India but innovative ideas from tier-II cities often don’t see the light of the day because of lack onf angels. Angel network needs to grow out of metros to tier-II cities to make India really a startup economy and such tax reforms will go a long way in doing that.
Ms. Sonica Aron, Founder & Managing Partner, Marching Sheep:
Women self-help group interest subvention programme to be rolled out in all districts of India, the FM says. One woman in every SHG to be made eligible for a loan of Rs 1 lakh.
This is a very welcome move. Not only will this go pan India, it will also enable women to start their own initiatives. This will lead to independence and empowerment. Good thought, will need tight on ground execution.
To start a new TV channel for startups under the Doordarshan umbrella. Channel to be managed by startups themselves, the FM says.
This seems to be an Indian version of Shark Tank (USA) or Gragon’s Den (UK), and both these formats have been successful in setting up and promoting startups. This is indeed a good idea and we can learn much from existing formats and replicate for faster execution.
Government proposes to streamline multiple labour laws into a set of four labour codes. This will indeed simplify things from the regulatory and compliance perspective. However, might prove to be challenging as our entire labour machinery will need to unlearn and relearn. Learning from the recent changes in company’s act and GST implementation, giving clarity of the change, how to execute, milestones and timelines would be critical so that industries find the change smooth.
Under the Swachh Bharat scheme, 9.6 crore toilets have been built since october 2014. Propose to expand scheme to undertake solid waste management in villages.
I think waste management is yet not fully implemented in cities and metros. Also, Public toilets need to be maintained. Waste Management awareness, drive, and implementation and compliance to the last household, driving recycling of waste at homes would greatly help.
Government to focus on new-age skills including artificial intelligence, 3D printing, which also have a market outside India, to enable people to get jobs outside India. New skills, upskilling is always welcome. I would request the government to also provide for education and skilling for employment of marginalised people like transgenders, differently abled, children who do not have access to basic education.
Umesh Khatri(Cofounder, COO & CTO), Rgyan – A Socio Spiritual Tech Startup: In the budget presented by our finance minister, it is good to see that they are focusing on the innovative skills of artificial intelligence, 3D printing and others. This will really encourage in the growth of the startups in these sectors and people will get benefits of such technologies. Also giving a dedicated TV channel to the startups will help in creating more awareness among the mass regarding new innovations, upcoming future technologies, products and more.These factors will really help the startup sector to continue with the growth.
Sunny Nandwani, Founder and Managing Partner – Acuver Consulting: “The Union Budget 2019 pointed towards ease of doing business and scale up SMBs through ASPIRE (an initiative to develop skilled entrepreneurs in agro rural industries) and SFURTI (an initiative to enable artisans to join the economic value chain). The government has also given a massive push to infrastructure through all forms of physical connectivity via PMGSY, Industrial corridors, Dedicated freight corridors, etc, which will facilitate last-mile fulfillment of the retail industry.
With FM, Nirmala Sitharaman, aspiring to lead India to a 5 trillion USD economy, looking forward for policies that will increase purchasing powers of the citizen. Retailers, inturn will require to go digital to meet this increasing demand in consumption. IT organization will help the retailers with the digitization process.
This budget also allocates Rs.400 crore towards higher-education institutions, which will help improve skills of our youth in areas such as Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Robotics. This will further result in reduction in Academy-industry fitment.”
Siddarth Bharwani, VP – Brand & Marketing, JETKING: “The Union Budget 2019 has been an education-friendly one with great emphasis laid on the reforming education policies and unlocking India’s potential to become an important educational hub in the world. The details of the new education policy announced by FM Nirmala Sitharaman will be one of the most awaited reforms from the budget announced today. With emphasis on the growth of the research and innovation in India, the government has announced an allocation of INR 400 crores towards strengthening the higher education system in India. This kind of support the government towards the education sector is truly heartening to see and is in line with India’s goal towards the 5 trillion economy. Additionally, focus has been laid on new age skills such as AI, IoT, Big Data and Robotics which are key demands in both national and international job markets. While the stepping stones to the importance of skill development in such fields have been laid, we are still awaiting further clarification on how this advanced skill development is to be achieved.”
Shubika Bilkha, Partner, EdpowerU: “Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharam in her Budget 2019 speech re-emphasized the Government’s focus of driving India to become a 5 trillion economy in 5 years. She believed that the spirit of Asha (hope), Vishwas (trust) and Akansha (aspiration) fills the Country today, served as an encouragement to drive this proposed agenda ahead. Revisiting and sensitizing the youth to Gandhian values was discussed in this Budget, and it will be interesting to see the dissemination of these values to today’s youth in the context of the rapidly changing world that we live in. Massive and much-needed reforms to the education policy for higher education have been suggested to ensure greater autonomy, a focus on new age skill sets and outcome-based learning.
In addition to building world ranked institutes, it is incumbent on the Government to ensure a required shift in the mindset towards education to move away from mere technical skillsets and gaining marks or grades towards more practically oriented workplace and employability focused skills (that constitute ~60% of workplace success). It is equally relevant to align these identified skillsets with the requirements of industry and global future skills research, to position Indian graduates at an advantage.”
