BENGALURU: STARTUPS
Calling data as the new oil, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during her Budget speech announced the launch of a new policy to set up data centre parks for enabling digitisation of all public institutions in the country. While announcing the allocation of Rs 6,000 crore to the BharatNet programme, Sitharaman also said that advanced technology such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine learning, cloud computing, drones are disrupting the existent business models and rewriting the world economic order.
“Data now is clearly the new oil. I propose a policy to set up data centre farms throughout the country. The idea is to skilfully incorporate data in every step of the value chain,” she said. The push to enable various sectors embrace digital, aggregator platforms, the allocation of Rs 8,000 crore to the development and application of quantum technology and the tax benefit measures to start-ups have elated the industry.
“In Budget 2020, technology has been clearly recognised as both a disruptor and enabler of new models of business and lifestyles. The government is looking to the future and the next generation of quantum technologies with the announcement of Rs 8,000 crore for further R&D in this field. Start-ups are receiving due attention with measures announced to not just provide early life funding from the government to support ideation and development, but also to ensure that innovation and associated IP can be protected,” said Satya Easwaran, Partner and Leader, Technology, Media and Telecom, KPMG.
Sitharaman acknowledged the potential of start-ups in creating wealth and driving growth, and said that the government decided to defer taxes on the Employees Stock Ownership Plan (ESOPs) for first five years, or till employees leave the company, or sell their shares, whichever is the earliest.
Start-ups with a turnover of less than Rs 100 crore were given exemption from tax on their profit in the first three years of their inception. Further, the government proposed to extend the period of eligibility for claim of tax deduction from the existing 7 years to 10 years. Sitharaman suggested the creation of a seed fund to support early stage start-ups along with setting up of an investment clearance cell for funding and mentoring innovators.
“We are pleased to see that the Government has paid heed to our concerns and rolled out reforms that will help to spur start-ups. More importantly, this budget has informed the industry of the government’s empathy towards Indian enterprises. This positive sentiment is evident in the government’s drive to roll out ‘no tax harassment’ policies along with establishment of an investment clearance cell for assisting entrepreneurs,”said Padmaja Ruparel, Founding Partner, Indian Angel Network.
Single digital platform to help IPR registration
The FM also announced launch of a single digital platform to facilitate the registration of
Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) by innovators.