Budget 2022: Quotes from Capital A, Chargeup, HealthCube, TravClan, Plix, and More

The Budget touches upon various important areas related to ease of doing business, and the investment arena.

Ankit Kedia, Founder and Lead Investor, Capital A

Capital A, is a venture fund for seed to early-stage meaningful startups (Investment Startup). The Budget touches upon various important areas related to ease of doing business, and the investment arena. The 35.4% increase in the public sector investments budget suggests that the government will be investing heavily in infrastructure development as well as the industries that need financial support.

This alongside the announcement about investments in energy storing such as dense charging infrastructure and grid scale battery infrastructure will promote clean energy usage across the board, and that's one area Capital A has also been focusing on. We are also launching a special cleantech focused fund for the development of Clean Energy and charging infrastructure, and this announcement augurs well in that direction. The government has extended startup tax holiday and concessional tax for manufacturing startups by a year. While that was on the cards, it doesn't address the core need of startups to be given a longer tax holiday of 5 years as required.

There hasn't been any announcement to cover all startups registered with DPIIT for the tax holiday either, and that was a much- needed measure for companies hit by the pandemic. FDI in the sustainability sector is also announced to be facilitated, and we look forward to follow-up action on that account. One of the most encouraging aspects of the budget has been the announcement to setup an AVGC (animation, visual effects, gaming, and comics) promotion task force to plan and build domestic capacity for serving domestic as well as global markets. Overall, this budget seems to be reasonable with some areas of improvement that will hopefully get attention in the coming months.

Varun Goenka, CEO and Co-Founder, Chargeup

Chargeup is Bharat's largest battery swapping network (Auto Startup). "One of the most pressing needs of the day is to establish a network of battery charging and swapping stations across India that can eliminate the range anxiety and encourage people to adopt EVs with greater confidence. The government's announcement to encourage private sector players to develop sustainable and innovative business models in this arena, is a welcome move. Further, the support for interoperability would lead to battery standardization.

The push towards public transit usage by establishing more EV exclusive zones wherein private or non-electric vehicles will be barred is something we had been anticipating. Holistically, the various measures announced are highly encouraging for the EV sector as well as the overall environmental sustainability, and this seems to be a budget that focuses on the right areas."

Chirag Agarwal, Co-Founder, TravClan TravClan is a disruptive B2B startup travel tech start-up (B2B Startup). Being a B2B travel tech Startup, we are happy to see that the ministry has prioritised our needs and has extended the tax incentive until March 2023. This is a much needed relief for new businesses such as ours to sustain and it'll also help a lot of new startups to take off.

From a travel perspective, since travel agents are considered our primary partners, we welcome the much deserved loans that are being introduced to give this sector some relief. The pandemic has been tough on the industry and this decision will not only aid our business but will also impact the entire industry on the whole.

Rishubh Satiya, Co-Founder, Plix Plix is a fast-growing clean plant-based nutrition brand for daily wellness and strength (D2C lifestyle startup). Being a startup we are pleased to see that the budget has once again prioritised our needs. The decision to extend tax incentives to March 2023 is a welcomed move. The pandemic has been difficult for a lot of businesses. Many startups had to pivot overnight and this extension is a great way to support the fraternity.

Plix being a plant based wellness brand, welcomes the attention being given to the sustainability movement. The budget also focuses on the need to prioritise mental health. However, we were hoping to see some decisions to support overall health and well-being. We also hope that in the future the ministry prioritises the need for sustainable and clean living.

Jerin Venad, Co-Founder, Cityflo Cityflo is an app-based bus service that provides a comfortable, luxurious and stress-free commute experience for office-going professionals.

We appreciate the government's decision on aiding the Mobility sector in its recovery. As a startup brand, we are also happy with the government's decision to extend the current incentives being provided to Startups until March 2023. The pandemic has been a difficult period for new ventures, especially in the mobility sector, and as the national economy returns to its pre-pandemic trajectory, these will help further the mission to aid the growth of Startups in India.

Dr. Shyam Bhat, Chairperson, LiveLoveLaugh

LiveLoveLaugh is an idea, a movement, and a metaphor for hope. Arising from her personal journey with anxiety and depression. The pandemic and its aftermath have aggravated mental health issues, and this situation requires renewed focus. Therefore, it is encouraging to see plans in this year's annual budget to bolster mental health care infrastructure in the country. The setting of new mental health institutions and a national tele mental health program provide a robust platform for more research, better treatment and follow-up, and an overall improvement in health outcomes. We look forward to the implementation of the policies announced in this year's budget.

Dr Veena Aggarwal, Trustee Dr KK's Heart Care Foundation of India

The budget for the year 2022-23 has been presented by the Government today. We had great expectations from the budget with respect to an increase in healthcare expenditure particularly because of the Covid pandemic, which has exposed the inadequacies in the public health infrastructure as well as the disparities in the healthcare system. But again, health appears not to be a priority directly, though the government announced launch of a national tele mental health programme comprising of a network of 23 tele mental health centres of excellence with NIMHANS as the nodal centre in an acknowledgement of the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of the people.

The government also announced the roll out of an open platform for the National Digital Health Ecosystem consisting of digital registries of health providers and health facilities, unique health identity and universal access to health facilities. Two lakh anganwadis will be upgraded with better facilities; 80 lakh affordable houses by 2023. Personal IT slabs remain the same. Though now taxpayers can file an updated return within 2 years from the end of the relevant assessment year.