Indian democracy witnessed a watershed moment at the Union Budget 2024-25, as policymakers focused on nine key areas to deliver a comprehensive growth roadmap through strategic allocations. Employment & upskilling, Infrastructure, Innovation & Research and development, and taxation reforms among others dominated GOI’s financial blueprint for the rest of the fiscal year. This marked a critical point for India’s holistic growth across sectors, as numerous corporates celebrated the focused push in different directions.
The GOI maintained its support to businesses operating in the startup, infrastructure development and EdTech sectors. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman called for abolishing the Angel Tax, a milestone for the private entities. Apart from streamlining taxation, announcements regarding new infrastructure projects and upskilling youth set the tone for the budget.
A provision of INR 1.48 lakh crore was allocated for education, employment and upskilling, coupled with the announcement of loans up to INR 10 lakh for higher education. The centre also announced up to 5 schemes to strategically push the employment rate with an INR 2 lakh crore package, consisting of initiatives that facilitate employment and upskilling of over 4.1 crore youth in the next 5 years. Additionally, the Indian manufacturing industry received a much-needed boost through the incentivization of job creation in the industry. Also, the announcement of key road connectivity projects, along with bridges and airports offered a bright future outlook for the construction sector. Furthermore, the abolition of the Angel Tax and streamlining corporate taxation for foreign companies to increase FDI inflow and growing emphasis on digitization highlights India’s strategic blueprint for the rest of the FY.
Organisations operating in these sectors — Euro Panel Products Limited, GUVI, QuackQuack and Xyst Care hailed the forward-thinking growth roadmap in the budget, as these entities became direct beneficiaries of the government’s commitment to supplement national growth.
Focus on upskilling in a comprehensive budget
Mr. Arun Prakash, CEO and Founder of GUVI, lauded the centre’s focus on employment and upskilling, along with abolishing Angel Tax in the Union Budget, saying, “The financial blueprint laid out in the Union Budget puts a special emphasis on upskilling programmes targeting Indian youth. Furthermore, the package of five schemes designed to facilitate employment and upskilling with a strategic allocation of INR 2 lakh crore will have long-term favourable impact on the future of countless Indian students and professionals alike. While budgetary initiatives are focusing on upskilling 20 lakh youth directly in the next 5 years in trending and relevant, industry-appropriate courses, the long-term implications of this will be immense. Also, the abolition of Angel Tax will help the overall EdTech sector significantly through a unique opportunity to ensure scalability and growth, and attract investments simultaneously.”
Growth-oriented Infrastructure development push
Mr. Divyam Shah, Director of Euro Panel Products Limited, feels the government’s continued push on developing and revitalising infrastructure projects will assist the overall construction sector to ensure growth, “The centre’s renewed interest in maintaining its focus on infrastructure development in the Union Budget is a gratifying sight. The construction of several key road connectivity projects, including highways and others, along with a new airport in Bihar and across India aligns with Eurobond’s long-term objectives. Furthermore, the incentivization of job creation in the manufacturing sector will help the sector to generate more jobs for skilled professionals, helping to streamline and increase the efficiency of the manufacturing process, leading to future growth.”
Streamlining taxation significant boost for startups
Mr. Ravi Mittal, Founder & CEO of QuackQuack, feels abolishing Angel Tax will have favourable long-term implications for the Indian startup ecosystem, “This 2024-25 Union Budget is highly influential to ensure long-term success in the startup ecosystem. By doing away with the Angel Tax, startups have been enabled to encourage a renewed business approach and enhance valuation. This will enable startups to undertake expansion initiatives without concerns about taxation, while also attracting increased funding from angel investors. Furthermore, the centre’s emphasis on upskilling will provide a viable pipeline of trained professionals for startups, ensuring long-term growth and scalability. “
Ms. Gunjan Agarwal, Co-founder of XYST Care, states , “Abolishing Angel Tax will have a long-term impact on startup founders. This will not only motivate angel investors, but help to encourage entrepreneurial spirit in the Indian business domain. Additionally, the job generation push, coupled with the government’s financial assistance will help startups to acquire more talented professionals, leading to cumulative growth in the long-term. This Union Budget is full of opportunities for Indian startups pushing to become the next Unicorn, and governmental assistance is bolstering it to ensure success and growth.
The latest budget stresses ‘Viksit Bharat’ yet again, promoting a strategic push in key sectors to usher in economic growth and viability to supplement India’s bid to become a developed nation by 2047. Optimization of resources to address key concerns in upskilling, employment, agriculture and technology holds the potential to lead to a promising future and assist the nation to become a $5 trillion by 2027, as projected by the Ministry of Finance. The comprehensive union budget also seeks to provide uniformity in growth across sectors, helping to facilitate a new chapter in India’s progressive trajectory.