In a major boost to thousands of startups in India, India’s first woman finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman announced a host of incentives to “release the entrepreneurial spirit” in the Union Budget 2019. In her two and a half hour presentation, she made a host of announcement for India’s entrepreneurs and start-ups.
Budget 2019 For Startups & Entrepreneurship
Sitharaman announced that a new TV programme exclusively for startups under Doordarshan bouquet of channels. This program would provide a matchmaking platform between venture capitalists and emerging startups. Sitharaman added that the TV programs will be designed and executed by startups themselves.
In a boost to entrepreneurship among women and marginalised segment of the society, the ‘Stand up India’ scheme which was launched in 2016, will now be extended during the entire between 2020-2025, said the Finance Minister.
In her speech, Nirmala Sitharaman said, “To further encourage women entrepreneurship, Women Self Help Group Interest Subvention Programme to be expanded to all districts in India.”
The government will assist in setting-up of around 80 ‘livelihood business incubators’ and 20 tech business incubators in FY19-20. This, in turn, would help the creation of 75,000 skilled entrepreneurs in the agricultural industry sectors, said Sitharaman.
One of the major announcements was that multiple labour laws will now be streamlined to a set of four labour codes. This is being done to standardise the registration, filing returns and reducing disputes, said Sitharaman.
Sitharaman also proposed a reduction of GST and Income Tax rates applicable for electric vehicle makers and owners respectively. The announcement will directly affect the start-up ecosystem.
The Finance Minister in her speech said that a mechanism is being put into place for e-verification. She also said that startups will not be subjected to any kind of scrutiny with respect to sharing value premium.
