#Budget2019: 5 Things Indian Start-up Ecosystem Wants to Hear on July 5 With July 5 not far, here is what the expectations of the Indian start-up ecosystem are from the government which has made an earth-shattering comeback

One of the most awaited times in the life of a citizen in a developing economy is that of the budget day. The day will further determine whether life from thereon will become financially more burdensome for the person or not.

The Indian start-up ecosystem has been grappling with several highs and lows. With 541 start-ups exempted from angel tax, there were definitely moments that saw a transition from "deploring to rejoicing." However, India is a country that is breeding more than 100 start-ups on an everyday basis. With more than 7000 start-ups in its kitty, the day is not far when this country will be called the "start-up nation" of the world. The budget, however, may have a role in deciding the destiny of this ever-growing, ever-falling but ever-progressing community of the Indian business ecosystem. With July 5, not far, here is what the expectations from the government (which has made an earth-shattering comeback) are: With July 5 not far, here is what the expectations of the Indian start-up ecosystem are from the government which has made an earth-shattering comeback

Ease of Doing Business

Time and again, the aspect of ease of doing business has been raised by the Indian start-up ecosystem. Rachitta Juneja, CMO, Letstrack, says, " Considering the current scenario we expect that there should be a fast implementation of the procedures." This, in turn, will ease the process of starting a business for start-up entrepreneurs and will also help in raising funds.

Parimal Shah, President, M.K. Jokai, says, "We want the government to provide higher tax exemptions for small businesses, ease the regulatory norms and come up with a single window clearance to ease the compliance process which will encourage entrepreneurship and promote India as a start-up hub in alignment with the Startup India initiative by the Government of India."

Rahul Singh, CEO & Co-Founder of Ithaka, further adds, "The government should also encourage VCs by reducing the paperwork for funding."

Technology

Technology has taken over the world. With technologies like artificial intelligence, IoT, data analytics, machine learning etc becoming the obsession of the world, there is no reason why the Indian start-up ecosystem should not include them or leverage them for their own growth and success.

According to Juneja, Modi government in Budget 2019 should focus more on Smart cities and Digital India initiative in order to shape the IT infrastructure and increase adoption of technology. she says, " We also expect a strategic plan to promote AI in various sectors, as this would need close coordination of different ministries with Information Technology ministry and tech startups."

Digital transformation can definitely change the face of the Indian start-up ecosystem.

Taxes

541 exemptions have not made the Indian start-up ecosystem happy. The general consensus is to remove angel tax absolutely and completely. Singh says, " I also have high hopes from this budget vis-a-vis the startup ecosystem and wish for immediate removal of angel tax, which has been haunting both entrepreneurs and investors for a long time.

Ravi Vishvanathan, Director, PayMate, too has a strong point when it comes to angel tax. He says, "Tweaking the Angel Tax has not helped in resolving the matter. The tax just needs to go, and the entire section needs to be deleted altogether."

Shah explains that an "angel tax holiday" is essential considering that a lot of the disruptive innovations and job creation comes from the startup ecosystem, which is the need of the hour since unemployment is at a four decade high of 6.1%.

Incubators

Incubators help start-ups grow and prosper. This remains an unignorable fact that start-up entrepreneurs want the government to address, embody and implement. Tanul Mishra, CEO, Afthonia Lab says, "While the government has started work on strengthening and promoting the incubator ecosystem in India, there is still a wide chasm to cover." He further adds that it is encouraging to see the rapid strides being taken to close the gap with a number of incubators being launched in the country over the last few months, "I hope that the government will focus on a better outreach plan for the incubators as they help start-ups with resources to sustain through their seed years."

Infrastructure

Infrastructure has been the cry of the nation as long as one can remember. With the government endeavouring to attract foreign investment and technological advancements, all eyes are on how much difference will be made in the realm of infrastructure, an almost eternal challenge of India.

Shankar Prasad, Founder, Pureplay skin sciences(India), says, "Infrastructural bottlenecks (e.g., power, water, urban transport) are still the norm, rather than the exception. Besides fund allocation, taking steps to improve the speed of execution of infrastructure projects would greatly improve the speed and efficiency of doing business, and would also make us export-competitive."