India Budget 2024: What startups expect from Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman holds up a folder with the Government of India’s logo
The world's fifth-largest economy is waiting for the interim budget scheduled to be presented on February 1, 2024, by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. This will be her sixth budget in a row as finance minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet, ahead of crucial national elections in the spring in which Modi is seeking a third consecutive term in power.
According to tech startups cited in the media, they are hopingthat Sitharaman will announce measures to strengthen the focus on supporting them develop more intellectual property within the country.
Furthermore, there appears to be unanimity on the need to boost Research and Development within the country.
"In my opinion, startups in the current ecosystem require streamlined regulations and government support for initial R&D funding to compete globally," Milan Sharma, founder and MD, 35North Ventures told Zee Business.
"For investors, better alignment of taxation on unlisted equities would allow better capital inflow," Sharma added.
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Call for tax benefits for startup investors
According to Ravi Gupta, founder of Guptaji Invests, tax benefits must be given to the startup investors.
Gupta told Zee Business that startup investors take "the highest risk by investing in an asset class that has the lowest success ratio".
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"The more strategic investments happen in fundable startups, the more India as a nation will become a better place to live, as what a proper startup does is solve a burning problem. But precautionary measures should be taken so that India will not become a 'tax haven' and investors don't do money laundering," Gupta added.
"Due to the Angel tax levy, investments are not happening much in the highest-risk asset class startups. Tax benefits to startups should be increased from 3 years to 5 years or more. The government should not consider it a revenue loss but rather an investment from the government side for a brighter future, a better India, and the best-case scenario to make India the best nation of all," he said.
From just 350 in 2014, India had over 90,000 start-ups in 2023. At least 111 of them are unicorns, start-ups that are valued at over $1 billion. India now has the third-largest start-up ecosystem in the world.