Union Budget 2020 Reactions From Young Tech Startups

#Edtech

Mr. Zishaan Hayath, CEO & Co-Founder, Toppr

"This year’s budget focuses largely on skill development for young professionals. While the focus on scaling up youth’s skill set is necessary, the budget had a glaring lack of initiatives for primary and secondary education which is the foundation of one's life and career.

The budget also announced that certain examinations will be moved online. This is a welcome development, especially as JEE and NEET are now online as well. While this makes examination and evaluation process more efficient, it also encourages students to prepare online for exams. Technology is the future of education and the more we can do to get our students to study online, the stronger our education system will be.

However, we need more clear and concrete steps that could upgrade our education system significantly. A lot more thinking and fast execution is needed to make education advanced and personalised."

Mr. Shobhit Bhatnagar, CEO & Co-Founder, Gradeup

"As an EdTech entrepreneur, I am pleased that the government has announced a degree-level full-fledged online education programme, which will be offered by institutes ranked in the top 100 by the National Institutional Ranking Framework. Online education is the way forward if we have to provide affordable, accessible and quality education in the country. Apart from that, the proposed Common Eligibility Test for recruitment to non-gazetted govt posts will result in saving a lot of time and effort of aspirants. And of exam conducting bodies because students prepare for a multitude of exams every year; with each government body having a different selection procedure and requiring separate preparations. However, it remains to be seen what steps the government will take to ensure this."

#Fintech

Mr. Siddharth Mahanot , Co-Founder and COO, Indifi Technologies

"In a welcome move, the Central Bank has been asked to extend the Debt Restructuring window for MSMEs by a year to March 31, 2021. This move will help MSME players to tide over the current economic downturn. An app-based invoice financing loans product  is another positive move, alleviating the issues faced by Indian MSME players related to delayed payments and mismatched cashflow.

Further, the NBFC Eligibility for SARFAESI Act has been reduced to INR 100 crore from INR 500 crore AUM. This change will put NBFCs on par with banks and housing finance companies from a recovery standpoint and serve to encourage the emergence of more new-age players in this space. Inclusion of NBFCs in Treds is also a welcome step in providing depth to invoice financing market."

#IT Tech

Pavan Kushwaha, CEO & Co-Founder, Kratikal

"Digital India does not seem like a far-fetched dream with honorable finance minister Ms Nirmala Sitharaman allocating Rs. 6000 crores for BharatNet.

Currently, the Indian population registers at 1.38 billion. Out of 1.38 billion Indians, there are 560 million internet users in the country and this number is growing by 18% every year. It has been estimated that by the year 2021, the digital population in India will cross the mark of 800 million.

This will lead to a boost in the usage of digital products and we are aiming to provide security solutions that will help in securing these applications and products."

#Event tech

Mr. Atul Todi, CEO & Co-Founder, 10Times

"The Union Budget has taken the right move by deferring tax liability for employees on ESOPS by five years. This will help start-ups attract talent that they may not be able to afford by offering upfront high salaries. The decision to extend the turnover threshold for qualifying for 100% tax exemption from Rs 25 crore to Rs 100 crore is also going to help start-ups grow fast. I appreciate the government’s decision to allocate Rs 99, 300 crore for the education sector and Rs 3,000 crore for skill development. At this juncture, India needs to meet the demand of the skilled workforce, and the government’s intention and direction seem to be correct.

On the infrastructure front, especially the target of building 100 airports by 2024 under UDAN scheme is ambitious and needs to be seen getting implemented on time before betting high on it. The announcement of allocating Rs 6000 crore under the Bharat Net programme with a focus on digital connectivity across India will unleash the true potential of the country by promoting entrepreneurship and newer markets for innovative products and services."