APRIL 20238ndia is currently at a critical moment in its efforts to develop itself as a technologically advanced centre for economic and social solutions. A thriving startup environment generates a wealth of opportunities and supports economic growth. The International Finance Corporation began analysing the investment returns in a few local markets, notably India, at the beginning of the 1980s. Amazingly, the outcomes were better than expected, and they provided a solid justification for luring foreign direct investments into these economies. Over the years, India's digital and technological development has given rise to a variety of opportunities for investors, business owners, and skilled labour. Contrarily, the COVID-19 pandemic was a development engine for the whole Indian startup ecosystem since India experienced the largest growth while dealing with the global epidemic. India currently has the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world, behind China and the United States of America, and is the economy with the quickest rate of growth.Where it all Started?In 2016, the government introduced the Startup India programme to boost India's startup culture. The objective was to build a strong ecosystem around them that would support innovation across the board and promote long-term economic growth and job growth. In 2021, India was ranked as the 19th-best startup cluster in the world, just six years after the program's launch. According to official statistics, startups have created 7.68 lakh employment in India during the last six years, with the number of individuals employed rising by 14 percent over the time. Despite a downturn in funding, PE/VC funds closed 1,130 startup deals in 2022, according to Venture Intelligence. The succession of funding deals supporting startups and the emergence of new-age enterprises can be considered as substantial factors to the competitiveness of the Indian market if we were to add the 1,215 deals completed in 2021. The Indian startup environment, as well as possible buyout agreements and IPOs in 2023, can be supported by a sizable amount of granules.Tarun Sharma, Founder and CEO, Yodda Elder Care, said, "The budget is inspiring and encouraging for the start-up ecosystem. For the elders and seniors, setting up 157 new nursing colleges is a positive step in increasing the number of caregivers and is in line with the commitment to increasing public health expenditure to reach 2.5 percent of GDP by 2025. Also, the limit enhancement in the senior citizen savings scheme to Rs 30 lakhs is likely to encourage more savings from seniors. While this budget might is very positive for the masses, it misses the intent and lacks inclusiveness for the senior citizens. With the rise of the ageing population, there is an urgent need for professional at-home care services for elders. While businesses like caregiving or home visits from nurses have been freed of tax burdens, at-home elder care continues to be taxed at a rate of 18 percent GST a factor limiting the affordability and reach of such services. We urgently need these services to be tax-exempt or taxed at a lower rate to ease the burden on the senior citizens".Neha Bagaria Founder & CEO of Jobs for Her, said, "We appreciate the emphasis on training the young population, and the decision to decrease the total tax obligation, which encourages domestic spending. However, we were hoping for a gender-inclusive budget that would offer more chances for women's career growth, tax incentives to hasten their skills development, lower the cost of higher education for women, and provide support for female entrepreneurs. Hope these are also included in future drafts".Indian Entrepreneurs & Startups at Forefront During COVID-19 CrisisGlobal nations have been startled and shaken by the speed and severity with which the COVID-19 catastrophe has descended. People from all walks of life are being affected by its contagious spread in more than 140 nations, which has been expedited by the intricately interconnected world we all live in, where human movement is essential to practically every nation's economy. The Government of India is taking numerous precautions in parallel to make sure that this global pandemic does not wreak havoc in a country with as diverse a set of challenges as one could imagine having. The difficult task of keeping more than 1.3 billion people safe from the clutches of the coronavirus. One of them is to take use of its over 250 incubators and HOW STARTUPS ARE STRENGTHENING THE INDIAN ECOSYSTEMIEDITORIAL EXCLUSIVE
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