July 5 2-019: Here is our first set of industry reactions to the Indian Budget 2019
Industry associations
Kamal Nandi, President, CEAMA and Business Head & EVP, Godrej Appliances.
CEAMA is committed to promote indigenous manufacturing of appliances and consumer electronics in the country and the announcements in this budget shall provide the necessary boost to the Government’s initiative of ‘Make in India’. That said, we were hopeful of concrete measures that would accelerate demand. CEAMA will continue to work closely with government to formulate more policies to develop the appliance and consumer electronics industry in India.
Corporates
Tarun Bhalla, Founder & CEO, Avishkaar 
When I started Avishkaar, there were quite a few hurdles that I had to navigate through. This initiative of the Government to have a dedicated channel for startups for information dissemination could prove to be immense for budding entrepreneurs.” He further adds, “Focus on job creation in MSMEs and a dedicated payment platform will help give a much needed boost to the industry. Also, teaching skills such as AI, Big Data, IoT and Robotics would help create a skilled workforce in the near future. 
Ashish Bhatia, Founder, India Accelerator 
In the Budget 2019-20, Hon'ble Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman has duly tried to address some of concerns of Startup ecosystem. Easing of Angle tax issue  is a step in right direction. Providing a platform like Shark Tank via a Doordarshan umbrella will also help many of the start ups, particularly in the early stages to raise funds and let the whole nation know about them. 
Sriram S, Co-Founder, iValue InfoSolutions
India joining the big league with $3Trillion economy during the year is heart-warming. With the potential for the next couple of decades in front of us, it is going to be exciting times for all based out of and focused on Bharat. Good to see focus and thrust on basic needs like water, electricity, clean cooking medium in rural areas. 25% corporate tax for business up to INR 400 Cr is a great relief to all growing entities providing employment.  INR 70,000 Cr capital infusion into government owned banks this year to boost credit along with boosting capex on Digital initiatives Pension benefits to INR 3 Cr retail traders and shopkeepers whose annual turnover is upto Rs. 1.5 Cr is a good move.
Heena Arora, Marketing & Finance Head, All India ITR   
The salaried class cannot afford to buy a house due to the high-interest rate on housing loans. By lowering this interest rate, the government will encourage more people to purchase their own houses. Deduction in the rate of house loan interest will make the government’s plan of ‘Housing for All by 2022’a great success.It extremely difficult to file ITR without quoting PAN since PAN is the unique identification number in which the TDS is reflected and there are still cases wherein PAN and Aadhar have not yet been linked. Therefore, this implementation may take time and would not be successful in the current Financial Year.
|Sourav Jandial, Founder, Voyzapp.com
We are thrilled with the government boost for the new-age start-ups. A specially dedicated TV program for Start-ups is something all start-ups shall look forward to.  The program may serve as a one-point information house for topics such as start-up funding, issues affecting growth, tax planning etc. Also, the Stand-up India scheme has successfully produced many entrepreneurs in the last 3 years and moving forward we are expecting the numbers to go much higher.  
Chef Niklesh Sharma, Founder, Academy of Pastry Arts
We welcome the Indian Government proposal on setting up a National Education Policy to transform and take India's higher education system to global standards. Also, we appreciate the idea behind Study in India policy which will encourage the foreign students to intake their higher education in India.  This will not only boost the economy but will also open new channels of education in the country. 
Gurcharan Singh, Co-Founder &Director, LogixGRID
This budget was for the new India. The reforms and schemes will specially benefit the new age entrepreneurs and start-ups. Initiatives like Stand-up India scheme and an especially dedicated program for Start-ups on DD will provide the much-needed thrust to the start-up sector. The start-up program will solve a lot of issues related to the sector like funding, research, and development. Also, the Stand-up India scheme has successfully produced 300 entrepreneurs in the last 3 years and moving forward we are expecting the rate to go much higher.
Manjunath Gowda, Co-Founder & Director, WildTrails
To reach the proposed 8% growth, Startups have a huge role to play and this [Startup Channel] is one small step for startups, one giant leap for the growth of our economy.
Arijit Basu, Regional Director, Clean Cooking Alliance 
Our Finance Minister, has just announced that the government aims to provide electricity, clean cooking and water to every Indian family by 2022.On behalf of CCA, we are happy with the efforts put in by the government to provide such basic amenities to all the Indians. Since we are closely working in association with the government of India, we expect this partnership to go a long way in achieving the targets set and help create a change.
Monish Anand, CEO and Founder, Shubh Loans
Budget 2019 looks like a step in the right direction. From resolving the angel tax issue to pre-filling of ITR filing, the government has made an effort to encourage transparency and remove friction in the process. By making PAN and Aadhaar interchangeable, the government has contributed towards simplifying the KYC process. This step will definitely help in driving inclusion while availing services, especially finance. The Finance Minister's proposal to raise the annual turnover limit from Rs 250 crore to Rs 400 crore for availing a lower corporate tax rate of 25% will also leave scope for investment in R&D and innovation.It is also heartening to see the push on financial access for women SHGs. This will further strengthen the well-being of families in India.
Kausshal Dugarr, founder and CEO of Teabox
The government this Budget has kept "Gaon, Garib and Kisan" at the center of everything. Since we deal with agriculturally produced tea, which is a labor-intensive industry and one of the biggest employment generators in our country, such an approach will go a long way in helping the huge labor force working in the tea plantations based in remote locations across the country. Multiple initiatives have been proposed in this budget to double the farmers' income through various initiatives such as the creation of 10,000 new Farmer Producer organizations to ensure economies of scale for farmers over the next 5 years. Innovative pilots of “Zero Budget Farming” are to be replicated across the country for doubling farmers income and dairying through co-operatives are to be encouraged by creating infrastructure for milk procurement, processing and marketing. Such initiatives, if implemented will lead to the strengthening of the rural economy which in turn will result in the overall growth of the country.
The new budget also was focused on encouraging ease of business for startups as the finance minister proposed easing the angel tax for startups. This coupled with a vibrant “Stand Up India” scheme will provide a boost to the start-up ecosystem in the country. Further, start-ups won’t be required to undergo scrutiny from the Income Tax department with a 2% interest subvention for a GST-registered MSME on fresh or incremental loans. There is a proposal also for a dedicated television channel for start-ups. A new payment platform for MSMEs is to be created with a plan to extend pension benefits to retail traders with an annual turnover less than Rs 1.5 crore. 
Multiple initiatives have been proposed in this budget to double the farmers income through various initiatives such as creation of 10,000 new Farmer Producer organizations to ensure economies of scale for farmers over the next 5 years, innovative pilots of “Zero Budget Farming” to be replicated across the country for doubling farmers income, dairying through co-operatives to be encouraged by creating infrastructure for milk procurement, processing and marketing. Such initiatives, if implemented will lead to a strengthening of the rural economy which in turn, will result in the overall growth of the country.
Vikram Kumar,  CEO - Letstrack
Union budget has created a supportive ecosystem for startups as they are planning to make a channel where startups will be promoted, they can discuss their problems and also the Venture Capital Investor will get a platform for investment. We are really encouraged that the digital track taken by the govt. is surely matching the 3 trillion view. Also other measures announced such as ease of angel tax will make it easy for investors to invest in startups
Vishal Gondal, Founder & CEO, GOQii  
The idea to have a separate channel for start-ups under the aegis of Doordarshan will help  disseminate critical information on a real-time basis to budding entrepreneurs in the tier II and III markets particularly thus enabling them to help realise the Government of India’s vision of becoming a USD $3 trillion economy this year. Also, since GOQii’s inception in 2014, the company has supported the ‘Make in India’ movement and has been striving hard towards making India a healthier nation through our continuously evolving and innovative preventive healthcare offerings and initiatives. The Government of India’s commitment to expand Khelo India scheme for the development of sports and sportsperson is a very welcome move; it will encourage more Indians to take up sports and be the torchbearers of health and fitness. 
Jitendra Chaturvedi, Director & Co-Founder, Batooni Mobile
 If the budget proposals are followed up this should mean, for small businesses, relief in compliance and opening up of new sources of funding courtesy the proposed changes in venture funding scrutiny and taxation. If the money does find its way in infrastructure the way the FM has laid out, the economy should see some pick up that is absolutely necessary for the survival of small businesses. This will help the economy turn a corner soon.
Abhishek Goenka, CEO & CFO at CoWrks
This was a budget with many differences. On the positive side, there was more focus on strategic initiatives, such as no charges on fund transfers, tax deduction on loans for EVs, interchangeability of Aadhar and PAN and the various measures on easier KYC. Added to this, the proposed 4 codes to cover all labour laws is extremely positive. These initiatives will have a catalytic effect in not just achieving the specific objectives but also, a larger spiral of increased compliance and economic extension. On the flip side, there hasn’t been adequate emphasis on fiscal discipline, and the approach of a sharp increase in tax rates for the rich as the only revenue enhancement measure is unimaginative to say the least. I am also disappointed that the corporate tax rate has not been reduced across the board.
Rajnish Kumar, Co-founder & CTO, ixigo
While so much of emphasis is being placed on new age technologies like Big Data, ML and AI, there is still a big gap in finding the required skill set for it, in the market. As one of the early movers in the AI space we still train a majority of our hires in-house on new age technologies like big data and AI. We are glad that the government has recognized this skill crisis and is making efforts towards boosting the supply of AI talent to match up with the demand.
Harshil Mathur, CEO and Co-Founder, Razorpay:This budget brought in some good news for Startups and FinTech. It solved one of the industry's major concerns that going forward, the startups do not have the trouble of angel taxes. Next, the announcement about launching an e-verification portal for investors will help startups worry less about the verification of their investors. On the digital payments front, the government has demonstrated their interest in promoting digital payments in a great way - a) any business will be charged a TDS of 2% on cash withdrawal of above 1 crore in a year, b) any business which has an annual turnover of Rs 50 crore and above must opt for certain modes of payments, with no charges or merchant discount rates. I believe this will discourage businesses from from making cash transactions and encourage them to make payments through digital channels.
Anand Ramachandran, CFO, Ingenico ePayments
This budget is a good synthesis of continuing the Digital India mission with improving efficiency. The proposal to set up a payment platform for MSMEs for online presentation and payment of invoices will not only help cash flow but also give a huge boost to Digital Payments, as the entire supply chain will now be incentivized to go Digital. Also the platform opens up possibilities for accessing lower cost funding. The other two moves for no MDR for businesses above 50 crores turnover and 2% TDS on cash withdrawals more than 1 crore per annum are a further nudge to industry to lower the entry barrier to Digital Payments and disincentivize use of cash. Overall, a positive budget for the payments industry
Bhavin Turakhia, co-founder & CEO, Zeta.
The Budget 2019 has witnessed giant leaps towards building a cashless economy. One of the biggest steps is developing the country’s first payment system (One Nation-One Card)for transport which will be a holistic card for citizens for digital payments across travel, shopping etc. The decision of not charging customers for digital payments and waiving off the MDR charges is also a push in the right direction to encourage every citizen to carry out digital transactions and make India a less cash economy. Additionally, the Government of India has made a much-needed move for working professionals by bringing in ease and convenience by proposing to make PAN and Aadhaar interchangeable along with making them available with pre-filled tax returns which aims to reduce the time taken to file a tax return as well as enable accurate reporting of income and taxes. The digital push also reflects in the tax filing process as with the launch of a scheme of faceless assessment in electronic mode involving no human interface. The government has introduced several measure that are in line with the ‘Digital India’ vision and we welcome the same.
 Rakesh Soni, CEO & Co-founder, LoginRadius
  Budget 2019 captures the Government’s vision of New India accurately, promoting ease of business & living. As a startup ourselves, we welcome the move to organise a Global Investors’ Meet in India to ensure equal opportunities for startups with growth potential. It will put India on the global map as a land of business opportunities. The initiatives to train the Indian youth in technologies of the future - AI, IoT and Big Data is another welcome move by the Government. With more than 50% of population below 25, India has a significant advantage compared to the developed nations and these skills will serve as doorways to help contribute to the global workforce's of the future. 
Vineet Chaturvedi, Co-Founder, Edureka
This union budget has given due importance to skilling and education which is a welcome move in today's skill-driven industry. The expansion of Skill India to include AI, IoT and other futuristic technologies hits the nail on the head and the establishment of National Research Foundation is a major boost towards building India's technical competence. Additional allocation of budget to Bharatnet will also have a deep impact on skilling rural India as it has the potential to open up online learning to students and professionals from remote villages. All in all, I am happy that Education has received 10% higher allocation in this budget which will help schools and higher education institutions in the country invest in catching up with industry requirements.
Vikram Agarwal, MD, Greendot Health Foods Pvt Ltd
Very encouraging budget for SME/MSE sector. With government’s  initiative ,farm output has increased which leads to promotion of Agri processing industry. We have planned to invest in developing value added healthy agro based products. Another big policy put forth by the  finance minister on 'One nation One grid' for easy power availability at one price across states is also very stimulating for the industry.
Somesh Misra, VP Operations, Deskera
With India having more than 50 million SMEs, the 2019 budget seems incredibly promising for further augmenting their growth and development. Also, with the Government announcing the establishment of an online portal to enable filling of bills for MSMEs, this has the potential to materially impact the SME landscape in India. Additionally, by offering credit of up to Rs. 1  crore within an hour for SMEs, will enable businesses to increase investment in R&D, upskilling and bringing in technological innovations to work. Government’s efforts to improve the skills of our youth in newer areas such as Artificial Intelligence, Big Data and Robotics will definitely help the Indian IT services sector to ride on the digital transformation wave. Lastly, the announcement of easing angel tax on start-ups has also given relief to the startup community. All of these initiatives will truly be a game changer for the Indian economy and ensure the country achieves its target of becoming a $5 trillion economy by 2025.
Kishan Jain, Director, Goldmedal Electricals
As the Indian economy is poised to become a 5 trillion dollar within the next few years, there is an enormous opportunity for Indian companies to grow and flourish. Government’s impetus on provision of electricity connection to every rural Indian family was a much needed reform. Also, as energy efficient products & solutions are seeing increased adoption, we are pleased with the government’s UJALA scheme of distributing approximately 35 crore LED bulbs and promoting the use of LED bulbs across the country. This will provide a tremendous boost to companies such as Goldmedal that have been at the forefront of introducing  energy-efficient solutions such as LED lighting. Additionally, the Government’s proposal to provide INR 100 lakh crore investment in infrastructure over the next 5 years along with an increased focus on Make in India, will provide a further fillip to companies looking to set up manufacturing facilities in the country.
Mudasar Mohamed, Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder, Ezyhaul
The government recently announced an ambitious goal for the India economy to grow to 5 trillion $ by 2024. It’s against this backdrop that I feel the budget announced today has
allowed for incremental improvements rather than a bold big bang approach which would
allow the economy to grow towards the goal. The Indian economy will need to grow at 8%+ over the next several years and the creation, incubation and nurturing of start-ups will play a critical role in achieving this goal. Secondly, a continued focus on transportation and logistics sector will act as a critical launchpad for the India economy and as such, the government will need to continue to focus on clearing bureaucratic obstacles and focus on implementing some key initiatives announced in today’s budget.
Akshay Singhal, Founder,  Log 9 materials
Income tax deduction on loans for EV purchase is an extremely welcome move by the new Finance Ministry. EVs are pricier than usual vehicles as initial cost, hence this will boost adoption. Relief from angel tax is also a big thumbs up and relief for startups. However, better structuring is required for deployment of Fund of Funds to ensure benefit to high technology intensive startups which fall in the category of high risk, high reward. This is important for development indigenous core technologies like battery manufacturing, fuel cell manufacturing, etc.
Sampad Swain, CEO & Co-Founder, Instamojo
With India set to become a $3 trillion economy this year, the first union budget by the Modi 2.0 government has introduced several benefits for the MSME sector. Over the years, MSMEs have been battling to get loans, given their inability to produce relevant assets as evidence. In fact, the current gap between the demand and credit supply within the Indian MSME sector is about $230 billion. The introduction of  the 1 crore – 59 minute MSME loan brings great relief to small business owners, making easier accessibility and processing of loans through a single portal. This in turn will translate into the stability and growth of the sector, with the sustenance of existing business and birth of new ones. Also, the pension programme for 30 million retail traders is an encouraging move, keeping in mind that the Indian retail space is still majorly driven my small business owners and traders. This not only brings a long-term life plan for these traders, but also helps towards the gradual formalizing of this majorly unorganized sector.

More reactions  to follow.....