Reaction to the Union Budget 2023-24 (Fintech/Blockchain)

Mr Vineet Patawari- Cofounder CEO StockEdge, a Fintech platform said:

The Indian Union Budget 2023 has made significant announcements that will impact the agritech and fintech sectors. The government is taking steps to build a digital public infrastructure for agriculture, which will provide inclusive farmer-centric services for crop protection. This move will be a major boost for agritech startups. The expansion of the Government digital certificate depository Digilocker services for the fintech sector will also be beneficial for fintech startups. The budget also focused on continuing to strengthen the digital payment infrastructure in India through UPI and India Stack. The finance minister extended the carry forward of losses for startups on a change of shareholding to 10 years of incorporation, up from 7 years previously. Other measures in the budget were aimed at easing the process of doing business and reducing the compliance burden on startups.

The budget was true to the slogan “Sabka Sath Sabka Biswas”. The FM has laid out a blueprint for strong momentum in the growth of our economy. Capex outlay has increased by 33% which will lead to a multiplier effect on GDP growth. Current Deficit estimation is kept within expected level at 5.9%.  Personal taxes are reduced by increasing rebates from 5 lakhs to 7 lakhs, restructuring the tax slabs. There is continuity of reforms, fiscal prudence, digitalization of economy, infrastructure development, rural & tribal upliftment, ease of doing business and ease of living for urban citizens.

This budget is laying down the framework for a new India in the next twenty five years which is being celebrated as Azaadi ka Amrut Mahotsav.

Mahin Gupta, Founder of Liminal, a digital wallet infrastructure platform said:

The budget announcements by the honourable Finance Minister have infused new energy into the start-up ecosystem across the country. The tax holiday for start-ups has been extended to 10 years, which will provide much-needed liquidity to the start-ups in their growing phase; this is a master stroke by the government because as the economy opens up, we will see more start-ups coming up in the field of technology, digital payments, digital infrastructure and agri-tech which will create a strong foundation for the next decade of economic growth, innovation, and job creation.

This is an amazing time to be a start-up founder in India as the government is committed to fostering the growth of existing start-ups and simultaneously encouraging youngsters to join the start-up revolution, which will not only add to the economic growth of the country but will make India a global hub for innovation in fin-tech space.

We also appreciate the government’s move towards enhancing the ease of doing business. Compliances culminate in a major part in setting up businesses, especially in the fin-tech sector. We at Liminal lay a huge emphasis on creating a regulated and compliant ecosystem to ensure transparency, and the government’s announcement of reducing more than 39,000 compliances to provide is a welcoming move.

Increasing the capital expenditure by 33 per cent to Rs 10 lakh crore for infrastructure development for 2023-24, which is 3.3 per cent of the GDP, is highly encouraging as it is expected to boost digital infrastructure across the country for providing digital services to the remotest part of India. However, no changes in taxation were something expected w.r.t digital assets as the government is still testing the waters with the CBDC pilot project underway.

In addition, Public digital infrastructure for the Agri sector under an open-source standard will revolutionize the industry, propelling it to unprecedented levels of growth. By harnessing the power of 5G, Web 3.0, and Metaverse technologies, GDP growth can be accelerated by a significant percentage. This digital infrastructure, ranging from supply chain optimization to analytics, will bolster the agri value chain and make it even stronger and more productive.

Shivam Thakral, CEO of BuyUcoin, India’s second longest-running crypto exchange:

The union budget 2023-24 is aimed at making India a start-up capital of the world. The agriculture accelerator fund announced by the honorable finance minister will encourage a lot of bright entrepreneurs to jump on the agriculture technology start-up bandwagon. We are delighted to see that the tax holiday for start-ups has been extended to 10 years as it will provide immediate comfort to the start-ups that are engrossed in innovation and need liquidity for product development.

The relaxation of the tax exemption limit to 7 lacs will increase the surplus funds for the common man which will spark activity in various sectors like investments in digital assets, consumer goods, and tourism.

The focus on infrastructure development in the current budget will boost physical and digital infrastructure for catalysing India’s economic growth and make achieve the target of a $5 trillion digital economy. Overall, this budget accommodates the aspirations of ambitious India which is poised to make its mark at a global level.

Tarusha Mittal COO and Co-founder, Dapps and UniFarm, said:

We are excited to see a special focus on start-ups in the Union Budget 2023-24. The creation of an agriculture accelerator fund is a bold move towards driving innovation and creating more jobs for the youth of our country. The start-up space will get a big boost from the extension of the tax holiday as it is expected to increase the cash flow which is critical for the growth of any start-up.

The fintech sector is expected to become a $200 billion behemoth by 2030 and the current budget has extended the Digi locker services to start-ups to foster innovation in fintech services. India’s robust digital infrastructure will enable larger penetration of web3-related products and services.

The simplification of KYC procedures by making PAN a common identifier for all digital systems will support the vision of digital India. The PAN-based KYC will enable fintech businesses to make customer onboarding highly convenient and at the same, simplify the KYC reporting to the relevant government authorities.

Mr. V. Srinivasan, Chairman, eMudhra, said:

 “The emphasis on digitizing India in the Union Budget is commendable. The vision for Amrit Kaal includes a technology-driven and knowledge-based India. The proposed National Data Governance Policy will help in boosting data led development and encourage technological growth. The push to create Centers of Excellence for AI will help create a digital ‘Aatmanirbhar’ India and promote AI based solutions across sectors. The introduction of Entity Digi Locker for business enterprises will facilitate online storing of documents which will accelerate the digital transformation of the country.”