T-Hub CEO hails initiatives to promote startups
Hyderabad, Feb 1: Mahankali Srinivas Rao, CEO of T-Hub, India's leading innovation and startup catalyst, on Wednesday hailed various initiatives announced in the Union Budget 2023-24 to promote startups.
He said that the Union Budget's elaborate focus on building a digital economy and technology-enabled development is extremely encouraging.
"As mentioned during the budget, star-ups have emerged as growth drivers for our economy showcasing the immense potential of India's startup ecosystem. It's evident from the government's decision to extend the date of incorporation for income tax benefits from March 31, 2023 to March 31, 2024, which will empower the startup sector, foster entrepreneurship significantly, and give rise to a new generation of founders," he said.
MSR, as the CEO is popularly known, thanked the government for extending the benefit of carrying forward losses on change of shareholding to 10 years of incorporation from 7 years. He said this would help startups adjust initial losses.
He believed that initiatives like National Data Governance Policy, Skill India Digital Platform, and upskilling policies announced will address the industry-academia widening gap and nurture entrepreneurship at the grassroots level.
"We are also happy to note that the government had allocated Rs 283.5 crore for the Startup India Seed Fund Scheme and the budgetary allocations for the Fund of Funds for Startups stood at Rs 1,000 crore, this will help in nurturing innovation and encouraging private investments in the startup ecosystem," he said.
"The government has taken a series of steps to promote startups in the country, the budget highlights special incentives Under the Startup India initiative, Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) scheme, Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS), and Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS) encouraging capital at various stages of the business cycle of start-ups," he added.
The T-Hub CEO feels that these initiatives will serve as a successful catalyst for the country's economic growth. "We are excited for India's economic growth this year and looking forward to start-ups playing a pivotal role."