Startup ecosystem unenthused as important points remained unaddressed by the budget
The government’s tax reforms have been welcomed by many startups
Lack of disbursal of funding from Startup India FoF remains a chief concern
Over the past few years, the Union Budget for India has become something of a naming and rechristening ceremony. At the Interim Budget in February 2019, the interim Finance Minister Piyush Goyal changed the name of DIPP (Department for Internal policy and promotion) to DPIIT ( Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade) and last week the current FM Nirmala Sitharaman broke from tradition with the Indian bahi-khata (ledger).My tax proposals will aim to stimulate growth, incentivise affordable housing, and encourage startups by releasing entrepreneurial spirits. It will also be geared towards promoting digital economy. I aim to simplify tax administration and bring greater transparency. – SitharamanThe issue of establishing identity of the investor and source of his funds will be resolved by putting in place a mechanism of e-verification. With this, funds raised by startups will not require any kind of scrutiny from the Income Tax Department.“One classic example is GST which I have also quoted. The rate reduction in GST for Manufacturing and Services, a benefit of around 90K-94K Cr has been given back to the market. Isn’t that making them more competitive. There are several factors, which I concede must be looked into; however, if there is some change done regarding one factor, I don’t that alone will affect the competitiveness.
Going back to previous budgets, we can see the tautological NITI (National Institution For Transforming India) Aayog where Aayog (commission) is excess to requirements, considering the prefix. In the latest Union Budget speech, Sitharaman spoke about the government’s vision for the Indian economy and the work done in this regard, which ironically cannot be incorporated into a ledger (or bahi-khata), but is indeed the Budget.