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Speaking in the upcoming Union Budget 2021, Abhishek Gupta, Founder and CEO, Hex N Bit said, To attract foreign or domestic investment for startups, the government must reduce taxes, such as dividend tax and capital gains tax, which can give investors.”
Full transcript:
What are your expectations from the Modi government regarding the startup sector through Budget 2021?
Abhishek Gupta: During the recent speech by PM Modi, “Startups in India today are the MNCs for tomorrow,” this shows the importance of startups because now in India, there are 25+ Unicorns, which have generated millions of jobs. As COVID-19 has affected the growth of Startups & MSMEs, in my point of view, the following steps must be taken to make the startup sector a successful model:
Existing Incubators & accelerator program must expand their footprint to provide real technical support to them by connecting them with Industry, which can address the exact pain point of startups in ramping up development & commercializing the product, including steps to reduce the cost of products or services as well as time to market.
To attract foreign or domestic investment for startups, the government must reduce taxes, such as dividend tax and capital gains tax, which can give investors confidence to invest in India because taxes are very high in India compared to other countries, which makes them think twice before investing.
For electronics manufacturing, as we know, there is no Fab Lab in India, so the cost of manufacturing electronic products is higher (as compared to China & other countries) due to high import duties. The only option is to have a Fab Lab in India or reduce import duty, making Indian products the most preferred ones all over the globe. To have a Fab Lab in India would be the preference, but it requires considerable funds too.
To achieve a $ 5 trillion economy by 2025, our honorable PM’s vision of competitive manufacturing, supply-chain ecosystem & quality product is important to outshine competitors worldwide.
What are your expectations from the Modi government regarding the EdTech sector through Budget 2021?
Abhishek Gupta: In the statement released by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, “100 years of India wouldn’t have seen a Budget being made post-pandemic like this.” Hence, there seems to be a high possibility that the Education budget will cross Rs. 100,000 crore in FY 21-22.
From my perspective, the Government of India must spend at least 6% of its GDP on improving the EdTech sector, resulting in improved workforce quality for New India. With the announcement of the National Education Policy, to make it the best across the globe for research & innovation, a considerable fund is required to form a talented pool in various sectors, including medical, military, agriculture, finance, transportation, construction, etc.
India has the largest percentage of youth who have shown interest in online education to upskill themselves. Still, during COVID-19, we have seen that infrastructure is lagging in delivering online education to aspirants.
Even when we were giving online sessions to candidates, some of them did not have good internet speed or a computer system, especially in Tier 3 districts. Through Budget 2021, there will be an expectation to build up the EdTech ecosystem for citizens to scale up their skills, as online education can be made accessible & scalable for both applicants as well as for EdTech firms.
What advantages will Universities and Colleges get if there is an increase in the education budget of 2021?
Abhishek Gupta: Education institutions require considerable improvement to scale up the employment ratio. There is a considerable demand for a skilled & talented workforce.
With the education budget of 2021, institutions would expect to elevate infrastructure according to the Industry’s demand for new-age technology like Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, digital marketing, Internet of Things, etc.
Considering the latest trends in technology, the government has launched NEP 2020 with the plan like the top universities can plan for the set up in other countries as well.
Apart from infrastructure, the institution must set up a plan to upskill the faculty & candidates with an industry-connect skill development program, which will help the education system bridge the gap between Academia & Industry. In the future, these steps will increase the employability ratio across various Tech & Non-Tech sectors.