Budget 2016 Yay or Nay? See How Startup Founders Reacted The annual budget proposals set the policy direction for the country and Budget 2016 does articulate the emphasis on accountability, transparency and governance.

On February 29, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced the most awaited union budget which can be termed as a mixed bag for the sector. The budget reiterates the 7.6 per cent GDP growth rate for the country and provides a slew of incentives for the rural, agricultural sector to enable inclusive growth.

The annual budget proposals set the policy direction for the country and Budget 2016 does articulate the emphasis on accountability, transparency and governance. However, in the backdrop of global economic volatility, there are unmet expectations on policy announcements that enable ease of doing business for various sectors.

The startup sector in India had high expectations from the Union Budget 2016-17. Entrepreneur India interacted with entrepreneurs, bankers and investors to know whether FM budget was upto their expectation or not...

Here are some of the excerpt from the interview:

Welcoming Polices with Open Arms: Padmaja Ruparel, President, Indian Angel Network

"Capital gains Tax exemption in regulated / notified fund of funds & lowering the period from 3 years to 2 years for definition of Long term Capital Gains in unlisted companies are both welcome. We had hoped that treating investments by AIFs and angel groups in unlisted companies would be aligned with the public market equity tax regime. We also welcome the SETU fund of Rs. 1000 crores to boost innovation and incubation and the one day registration process for startups will all help the eco system to grow."

This what Banker has to say: Rana Kapoor, and MD&CEO, YES BANK

"FY17 Budget has provided a strong growth direction to the Indian economy. The Finance Minister has managed to balance the need to prioritize social sector requirements with economic and business imperatives. The segmented 9-Pillar Approach with well carved out deliverables will ensure execution clarity and focus. By adhering to fiscal deficit aim of 3.5 per cent the Budget creates room for complimentary monetary policy rate cut of 50 bps in the near term and 75-100 bps in 2016, conditioned on favourably evolving macros. Key measure to increase the allocation to infrastructure with an impressive outlay of INR 2.2 lakh crore will help to re-energize the growth multiplier, while the specific measures to improve ease of doing business and favourable tax treatment for startups and MSMEs will go a long way in boosting job creation".

Parthasarathi Mukherjee, MD & CEO, Lakshmi Vilas Bank

"View the budget as quite practical and shorn of fancy bells and whistles. The challenge for the government will lie in keeping to the fiscal targets."

Overall a mature and well balanced budget: Pankaj Munjal, Chairman and Managing Director, Hero Cycles.

"The Finance Minister has chosen to deliver a budget that charts a new direction to the economy with renewed reforms and resurgence. The government's commitment to keep fiscal deficit in check is a very assuring move so is the focus on improving ease of doing business. The emphasis on road infrastructure in particular would pave the way to a robust economy as well."

Urging government to move forward at a swift pace: R. Chandrashekhar, President, NASSCOM

"The finance minister's speech had a strong emphasis on leveraging technology to transform India. The initiatives announced today combined with swift implementation of Digital India will help to digitize India and provide effective citizen services. We would urge the government to move forward at a swift pace and build an effective PPP model."

Encouraging technology innovation: Samay Kohli, CEO, GreyOrange

"We wholeheartedly welcome the Government of India's reiterated focus on initiatives like "Digital India', "Make in India', and "Skill India' through the union budget 2016. We welcome the finance minister's proposal of the special patent regime with 10 per cent tax on income from worldwide utilization of patents developed and registered in India. This step will encourage technology innovation and development in the country. We urge the government to simplify the process further. This will help in nurturing the culture of innovation in the country, and unleash a lot of latent talent."

A hard working budget: Alok Mittal, Co-founder, Indifi Technologies

"This is a hard working budget. We welcome the move to start rationalizing capital gains for investments in private companies, which will help create a level playing field relative to listed companies. However, the silence on removal of angel tax has been deafening."

An excellent move: Vishwas Shringi, Founder of Voylla.com

"The government has made an excellent move by introducing one-day speedy registration of the companies. This will boost the number of start ups immensely. Rigid conformity to formal rules prevents action and decision-making, thereby draining energy. With Budget 2016, current red-tapism comes to an end; the energy will now go on building and growing businesses in initial inception phase."

A huge boost to Make in India initiative: Swapnil Kamat, CEO, Work Better Training

"The move to make entrepreneurship training available across schools, colleges and with massive online courses, coupled with the plan to skill 1 crore youth over the next 3 years under the PM Kaushal Vikas Yojna will serve as a huge boost to the Make in India initiative. We have some really bright young minds in the country, which when given the opportunity to develop, can help the country grow and boost its economy."

Stepping in right direction: Ambarish Gupta, CEO and Founder, Knowlarity Communications

"It is encouraging to see that the finance minister has given focus to startups and MSMes. The 100 per cent tax exemption for 3 years, Rs. 500 crore allocation for Standup India as well as easy and quick registration of startups are all steps in the right direction. We also welcome the government's initiative in ensuring that at least one crore youth would be skilled, which would be vital in securing quality talent for startups."