India has seen a burgeoning rise of start-up culture under the 2nd term of the Modi administration at the Center.
Seems the boost is likely to continue even in the new financial year 2020-21 too, as evident in the announcement of the Union Budget FY 2020-21 on February 01, 2020.
The Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made at least 15 mentions about ‘start-up’ and entrepreneurship culture in her budget speech, sharing about long-term vision of the industry.
From infrastructure to development across all sectors, the new budget has some due impetus and benefits for to start-ups.
“Start-ups have emerged as engines of growth for our economy,” Sitharaman said in her budget speech.
“We recognize the knowledge, skills and risk-taking capabilities of our youth. He is no longer the job seeker. He is (a) creator of jobs. Now we wish to create more opportunities and remove road-blocks from his path,” reads her statements adding energy to the country’s start-up ecosystem.
Industry Response To ‘Start-up Push’
India’s leading IT industry body NASSCOM lauded Finance Minister’s vision for development and growth.
“Budget 2020 and the Finance Minister’s speech has well-articulated India’s vision on not just being a leading provider of digital solutions, but one where technology is the bedrock of development and growth,” Debjani Ghosh, president of NASSCOM, said in a statement.
Senior industry experts and top executives lauded the government’s announcement of setting up data centers, stating that would encourage innovation and create jobs.
“The setting up of data centric parks in our own jurisdiction will encourage innovation, the ease of accessibility, creation of jobs and in gaining competitive advantage in the era of globalization,” says Maninder Bharadwaj, partner at Deloitte India.
However, he adds that cybersecurity needs a special attention in this process of rapid technology transformation.
Another major push was the national mission on quantum technologies and applications, which is all likely to boost innovation and entrepreneurship.
Earlier in 2019, the government had also extended its support to AI start-ups by setting up a national portal for AI research and development.
“We appreciate the government’s emphasis on promoting cutting-edge technologies in India,” says a Gurgaon-based AI start-up.
The government also proposed about setting up a portal and investment cell to facilitate investment advisory, land banks and facilitate clearances at the state level.
“This way entrepreneurs can focus on solving complex problems and business fundamentals, rather than getting embroiled in (a) complex business set up processes,” says the CEO of a premium brand.
Improving digital connectivity (#DigitalIndia) through BharatNet program is another technology push that the government announced in the new budget.
“The government’s focus on enhanced digital connectivity and focus on emerging technologies such as machine learning and artificial intelligence, along with the allocation towards quantum computing are sure to provide a fillip to India’s economy,” says Vikas Garg, Deputy CFO at Paytm.
With other proposals like ‘seed fund to encourage ideation and progress of early-stage start-ups, the government is driving India’s start-up ecosystem on the path of innovation.
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