The Budget 2021 has been
received extremely positively by the startup industry as Finance Minister
Nirmala Sitharaman extended several benefits to the new business owners,
especially after the pandemic-hit 2020 that was full of challenges for them.

The Centre has extended
the tax holidays for the small businesses by one year till March 31, 2022.
Also, the Finance Minister said that the “definition of small companies
under Companies Act 2013 is to be revised. Companies with paid-up capital up to
Rs 2 crore and turnover up to Rs 20 crore will fall under small companies,
benefiting more than 2 lakh companies in compliance required.”

The representatives of
several start-up
companies are overjoyed with the announcement.

Aditya Goel, Co-Founder
of Love In Store (tech-people-payments services startup):
  It seems like the government has taken heed
of various suggestions by the industry bodies. The tax holiday for another year
for startups, decriminalizing of the LLP Act, the amendment to the definition
of small companies, the faceless tax dispute settlements, removal of
restrictions on one-person companies are all steps in the positive direction
and will boost ease of doing business and encourage entrepreneurship.

Shailesh K. Nevatia,
Founder of Delhi based PR company Grandeavour Communication:
The union budget
2021 has laid a strong framework for a quick economic revival. The core areas
of development have been given significant consideration. The massive increase
in the healthcare budget shows the government’s intent towards preparing the
nation for future risks. Greater allocation on Infrastructure development is
going to have a multiplier effect on the economy. For MSMEs, startups, and
other small-scale businesses the budget has been positive. The Aatma Nirbhar
Bharat initiative is surely going to gain momentum from the series of measures
that have been announced.

Krupesh Bhat, Founder,
and CEO of SignDesk (a trusted provider of workflow automation and
documentation solutions for businesses):
Compliance requirements have been
eased, by decriminalizing certain offenses in the Companies Act, and MSMEs now
have a much more lenient definition, which will definitely lower compliance
burdens.

A notable development is
that One-Person Companies (OPCs) will be incentivized by removing restrictions
& allowing re-incorporation into any type of company, this will boost job
creation & encourage entrepreneurship. 
However, the most welcome part of the budget for start-ups is probably
that tax holiday can be claimed for one more year, and that exemption for
capital gains due to start-up investment can also be claimed for another year.
The government has also stated its interest in using AI & ML technology for
compliance management, which opens up the doors for RegTech startups like us at
SignDesk to jump in with innovations to expedite the compliance process.

Siddhant Wangdi, Founder
of  FnB Start-up organization
Meatigo.com:
The government has made some important changes for the start-up
industry like extending tax holiday for another fiscal year and reducing margin
money requirement from 25% to 15%. The industry was in apprehensions with their
future and delayed plans. However, getting clarity from the budget, we will be
able to revisit our plans and execute them. With the boost for the digital mode
of payment, we are looking at a much faster adoption of digital platforms and
expand our business to more cities. The budget also allocates a good amount to
promote local animal husbandry business. This should help with the up gradation
of quality of produce in the country.

Nitin Chavan, CEO of
Aquapay( an enterprise payment platform):
 
We welcome the budget presented by the Finance Minister as we believe it
offers much for the FinTech space. The proposal to set up Global FinTech Hubs at
GIFT and the allocation of Rs. 1,500 crore for promoting digital modes of
payment are both measures that will give the sector a boost.

Lastly, the setting up of
a separate Asset Reconstruction syndicate for dealing with NPAs is a
much-needed measure. Together with recapitalisation of PSBs, it should set the
stage for a much-needed clean up of bank balance sheets