Bold Startup-Led Measures & Tax Relief: Startup Policy Forum Members Applaud Union Budget 2025 for Fueling India's 'Viksit Bharat' Vision

BusinessWire India
New Delhi [India], February 3: Startup Policy Forum (SPF) members - leading startup founders and CEOs across sectors - have unanimously lauded the budget as a "game-changing catalyst" for the Indian economy and ecosystem, calling it a transformative moment that spurs innovation, fuels consumption-led growth and promotes inclusion. Startup industry leaders emphasized that the budget's bold measures--from tax relief for the middle class to enhanced credit access for MSMEs and fund of funds for startups--will unlock spur consumption, entrepreneurship, and global competitiveness, positioning India as a 21st-century economic powerhouse.

SPF founding members shared their perspectives on the Union Budget 2025, highlighting its impact on startups, MSMEs, and economic growth. "This budget strikes a thoughtful balance between fiscal prudence and aggressive growth," said Harshil Mathur, CEO of Razorpay while OYO's Ritesh Agarwal hailed the shift from "celebrating valuations to creating value," emphasizing India's dual focus on empowering AI researchers and small-town entrepreneurs.

Find below the reactions from the Startup Policy Forum (SPF) founding members:
Harshil Mathur, CEO & Co-Founder, Razorpay: "The Union Budget 2025 strikes a thoughtful balance between stimulating consumption, maintaining fiscal prudence, and fostering long-term economic growth. The significant tax cuts are a timely move to drive greater consumption, putting more money in the hands of the middle class, which will ultimately boost demand across sectors. The budget reinforces the government's commitment to building a business-friendly regulatory environment--one that empowers startups and MSMEs to scale with confidence. The push towards MSMEs with enhanced credit guarantees, the introduction of special cards for micro-enterprises, and the Rs. 30,000 UPI limit on credit cards for street vendors is a game-changer, promoting financial inclusion, driving digital transactions, and creating employment. Furthermore, the establishment of a mechanism under the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) to assess financial regulations is a proactive step toward ensuring regulatory adaptability."
Kunal Shah, Founder, CRED: "New income tax limits could cause big jump in Gen Z consumption spends."
Amrish Rau, CEO, Pine Labs: "Middle class India is earning between 6-12 Lakhs. Returning 60-70K back will help them invest in children education, housing and family care. These tax cuts will provide a boost to consumption and economic activity in non-metro city. The move will have long term positive implications."
Lalit Keshre, Co-Founder & CEO, Groww: "The revised tax structure leaves more money in hand for the middle class, empowering retail investors to allocate more towards wealth creation. This will further boost financialisation of savings, as retail investors look to build long-term financial security."
Ritesh Agarwal, Founder & Group CEO, OYO: "We need to look beyond the Rs 10,000 crore headline - what's exciting isn't just the capital, it's the confidence. After almost a decade of Startup India, we're moving from celebrating valuations to creating value. This Budget shows we understand that building for India means empowering both the AI researcher and the small-town entrepreneur. That's how you create an innovation economy, not just a startup economy."
Varun Dua, CEO, Acko: "The move to 100% FDI in insurance is a bold step toward India's vision of 'Insurance for All by 2047,' unlocking global capital, innovation, and deeper market penetration."
Aloke Bajpai, Group CEO, ixigo: "We are pleased that the government will continue to prioritize the UDAN scheme to enhance regional air connectivity, benefiting travelers from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. Great to see focus on developing greenfield and brownfield airports in Bihar and expansion of Patna airport. For a population of 120+ million, we had only 3 operational airports there. The development of new airports is essential to meet the rising demand for air travel, support first-time flyers, and accommodate the region's growing air traffic. The government's continued focus on developing 50 new tourist destinations, with a special emphasis on spiritual sites, will further drive growth of domestic and inbound travel. Spiritual tourism has been witnessing strong growth in the last two years. Bookings to destinations like Varanasi, Gaya, Shirdi, Puri, Haridwar, and Vaishno Devi increased by 100-150% YoY on ixigo last quarter. Initiatives like visa fee waivers and e-visa options for select tourist groups will further enhance India's appeal as a global destination, making travel more accessible and boosting inbound tourism."
Bipin Preet Singh, Co-founder & MD, MobiKwik: "This budget is a game-changer for India's entrepreneurs, especially MSME which drives our economy. By expanding credit guarantees and easing access to capital for startups, it empowers businesses to grow fearlessly. The introduction of a new Fund of Funds scheme (FFS) with an expanded scope and a fresh contribution of another Rs 10,000 crore is a welcome move and will provide a much-needed boost to the startup ecosystem. It is a bold step towards an Atmanirbhar Bharat. Moreover, the exemption of income tax for salaried individuals earning up to Rs.12 lakh brings significant relief to the middle class."
Pallavi Shrivastava, Co-founder, Progcap: "Progcap welcomes the Union Budget 2025, which strengthens the foundation for MSME growth by addressing long-standing challenges in access to credit, scalability, and global competitiveness. With MSMEs contributing 45% to India's exports, the newly announced export promotion mission will help businesses navigate non-tariff barriers and expand globally. As MSMEs scale up to meet global demand, they will need stronger financial, technical, and skilling support. We believe these budgetary measures will catalyse the next wave of MSME growth, fostering a more inclusive and resilient financial ecosystem. Progcap looks forward to working with MSMEs to leverage these opportunities, ensuring they have the credit, flexibility, and support needed to grow, innovate, and thrive."
Ramakant Sharma, Founder, Livspace: "The Union Budget 2025 has introduced host of measures & initiatives aimed at various sectors including the Start-up ecosystem thereby paving the way for transformative & innovative business models. The new tax structure is a welcome move as it provides the middle class, great relief by making income upto 12 LPA tax free- leading to more consumption, which will usher in good growth and therefore re-energise our economy overall."
Jitendra Gupta, Founder & CEO, Jupiter: "Budget is quite focused on increasing growth via consumption of middle class which is a very good step. And focus on SME and startup in budget through higher credit guarantee is another very progressive step from the govt. Overall, a very development focused budget."
Shashank ND, Cofounder & CEO, Practo: "This budget takes important steps to strengthen India's medical tourism sector, especially in light of the expected shortage of 10 million healthcare workers by 2030. It reinforces the vision of 'Heal in India' and 'Heal by India,' positioning India as a global leader in healthcare. With partnerships between the public and private sectors, and the addition of 75,000 new medical seats, we can meet both domestic and global demand, ensuring India becomes a high-quality global hub for healthcare. Together, we can make this vision a reality."
Nalin Negi, CEO, BharatPe: "The changes in tax slabs introduced in this year's Budget are a big relief for the middle class, putting more money in their hands. With higher disposable income, people will feel more confident about investing in wealth-building opportunities while also spending more on everyday needs. This will not only boost demand for investment products but also drive overall economic growth."
Sanket Shah, CEO, InVideo: "It will go down as a historical budget. If the consumption in the country grows exponentially, we will see a big impact on the overall economic growth. This is what India needs."
Anirudh Sharma, Founder & CEO, Digantara: "Slashing customs duties on ground installations for satellites and satellite/rocket components along with a strong budget push for space, is a massive tailwind for India's space sector. This bold, forward-looking move cuts costs, accelerates deployment, and strengthens the foundation of a spacefaring nation. For Digantara, it significantly reduces overheads and fuels local development, enabling us to scale faster and drive innovation in India's growing space ecosystem."
Vikram Chopra, CEO, CARS24: "With the tax exemption raised to Rs.12L, over 7 crore families now have greater financial flexibility. For many, the dream of car ownership is now within reach. At CARS24, we see this shift firsthand--65% of used car buyers upgrade from two-wheelers, seeking safer & better mobility. More income = better drives, better lives. Exciting times ahead for India's auto industry!"
Amit Jain, Co-Founder and CEO, CarDekho: "The Budget's special focus on the electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem is a noteworthy step towards advancing sustainable mobility. The inclusion of 35 additional capital goods for EV battery manufacturing under the exemption list is a game-changer. Additionally, the exemption of scrap materials such as lithium-ion batteries, lead, zinc, and 12 other critical minerals will further accelerate the growth of the e-mobility sector."
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