Bangalore, Karnataka, India | 16th February 2021: In the wake of the recent Budget announcement for 2021 – NSRCEL – the hub of Entrepreneurial Activity at IIMB organized a panel discussion on ‘Budget and Beyond‘ for the startup ecosystem.
NSRCEL brought together ecosystem players like Mohandas Pai – Chairman Aarin Capital and Manipal Global Education, Siddarth Pai – Founding Partner and CFO – 3one4 Capital and Karan Bajaj – Founder and CEO – Whitehat Jr. The session was articulately moderated by Prof. K.Kumar – Dean – Alumni Relations & Development and Professor of Entrepreneurship at IIM Bangalore.
This Panel discussion was based on the implications of the recent budget on the startup ecosystem and the road ahead to facilitate growth in the ecosystem.
Prof. Kumar spoke about how the significance of Budget has changed and there is still a lot of work to be done for regulations. He was of the opinion that only if one creates wealth can we distribute wealth.
Mohandas Pai felt that the budget has not made funding easier for startups! Extending the tax Holliday scheme for startups by one year will not have much impact because of onerous conditions, the capital gains exemption too is too restrictive to be of any use! The PLI scheme will finally give wings to Make in India schemes., sadly start-up founders continue to redomicile overseas because of lack of adequate local funding and restrictive RBI policies! India is at risk of becoming a Digital Colony by 2025 because of inadequate policy responses to incentivize local funding! The budget has been a disappointment for startups!
Siddarth Pai says that it is tough to be credited for being innovative. One Person Company is fantastic for sole proprietorships but a significant drawback, is the very fact that it has a single shareholder. Angel Tax, Section – 68 are essentially, attacks on the startup ecosystem. Cost of capital is also at an all-time high. He feels that India might become a land of subsidiaries unless these issues are addressed & domestic capital is unshackled.
Karan Bajaj said that the government has made start-ups accessible to set-up and that is why they are growing across the country. The recent budget continues to be a positive development. The start-up ecosystem needs to be nurtured as they will go a long way in helping to achieve Make in India.