KOCHI: The budget proposal to resolve the ‘angel tax’ issue will be a big boost to Kerala’s startup ecosystem. Robin Alex Panicker, co-founder of Basil Gregory Software Labs Pvt and a close observer of startups, said the announcement by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman would help ‘Kerala Startup Fund of Fund’ under the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), which is raising funds for investing in startups. Angel tax, which was introduced in 2012 Budget, was widely criticised by startups after some of them started receiving notices from the income tax department for non-payment of dues, triggering fear among Angel/Venture Capital investors.Under the relaxed norms, startups and investors filing returns will not be subject to scrutiny for angel tax.
Genrobotics the biggest beneficiary
Kochi: Perhaps, the biggest beneficiary of the budget in Kerala is Thiruvananthapuram-based startup Genrobotics. In the budget, the Finance Minister said banks would provide financial assistance for acquisition of scavenging robots. The entire benefit, at least for the time being, will come to Genrobotics, which is currently the sole manufacturer of manhole-cleaning robots in the country. Rashid K, co-founder of Genrobotics, thanked the Centre for its vision to remove manual scavenging using robotics.