Pre-Budget 2022-23 Expectations: What Fintech Industry Is Expecting

The Union Budget 2022-23 will be introduced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during the budget session of Parliament on February 1, 2022. The budget plan is highly anticipated, particularly this year with the Omicron variation of COVID-19 causing the third wave of the pandemic in the country.

The fintech sector has asked FM Nirmala Sitharaman to also liberalise the tax system for financial sector startups in the upcoming Budget, arguing that it has enormous potential to promote financial inclusion and create massive job opportunities.

Here's what the fintech sector is expecting from the budget:

Anand Kumar Bajaj, Founder, MD & CEO, PayNearby 

“The digital payments space has proved its mettle as a stable growth avenue during the pandemic. A positive impact was seen on digital payments due to benign taxation for self-service digital customers. To ensure the same benefits reach the less-savvy citizens, our government could waive GST and TDS for financial inclusion services at Business Correspondent (BC) outlets across India. A GST and TDS waiver will help reduce the cost of offering seamless financial services and help high-end tech reach the technology-oblivious segment. We stand with the government's intent of taking digitization to the last mile and passing the GST waiver benefit to ‌end-users as this will push for greater financial inclusion and a digital economy in the country.

Moreover,  low-income citizens are mostly catered to by low-earning retailers who barely cross the value of taxable income, and hence, do not file IT returns to claim a refund of TDS. Thus, TDS is only a cost to them and not a refundable deduction because they do not know how to take a refund by filing returns. We sincerely hope that TDS for income below ₹ 50,000 a year can be waived off. We are positive that this Budget will consider the grim working condition of the BC network and make the needful regulatory changes to ensure the viability of a community that has been vital in driving the cause of financial inclusion and democratization of digital payments in the country.”

Bhavin Patel, Co-founder & CEO, LenDenClub 

“The economy is projected to gradually return to its previous trajectory, with fiscal priorities in the upcoming budget invigorating it. A regulatory body to oversee payment recovery is the need of the hour. An enhanced procedural aid to the legal recovery of repayments from digital borrowers to further protect the rights of those who lend money. Such a specialized government vehicle to oversee fintech could not only help startups run more effectively, following compliance requirements, but it would eliminate possible fraudsters.

Returns from investments in Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Lending could be exempted from tax under Section 80C of Income Tax law, or a different provision could be carved out to reduce tax rates such as tax exemption for gains below Rs 20,000. This will encourage people across geographies to invest in P2P lending, making funds accessible on multiple platforms. P2P lending plays a significant role in empowering small businesses in India. Tax benefits in P2P lending will magnify the growth of businesses when capital from P2P platforms is diverted to the sector.

The pandemic has resulted in significant job losses, primarily due to people's inability to keep up with evolving technology. The way the government is spreading awareness is remarkable. Further to that, setting up avenues for advanced technical education, for instance, could help it drive so much further. Presently, India requires professionals with technical and financial competence to conduct the Fintech revolution. More institutions that provide formal education and certifications are needed to create a skilled group of individuals required to grow P2P lending platforms and the Fintech industry.”

Anurag Sinha, Cofounder & CEO, OneScore & OneCard

“The Fintech space has not only accelerated the ‘Digital India’ initiative by years, but introduced an array of new-age platforms powered by super apps offering multiple services through few swipes on a mobile - significantly influencing digital adoption across the spectrum including payments and credit. While the pandemic triggered a steep rise in demand for consumer credit, it also highlighted the lack of credit penetration in the country. However, given the rise of smartphone usage, shift to digital avenues and the increasing number of digitally-savvy consumers, licensed digital banks can effectively enhance reach and bridge this gap. A digital bank license regime will therefore enable fintechs to leverage their tech-stack optimally to create credit products and user experience which will redefine the investment and consumption landscape in the country.”  

Arun Nayyar, Chief Executive Officer, NeoGrowth Credit Pvt Ltd

“In the upcoming Union Budget 2022-23, we expect to see initiatives that would further strengthen the financial inclusion of MSMEs in India and encourage digitisation. With the third wave upon us, we expect to see an extension on priority sector lending to NBFCs by banks extending credit to underserved and unserved MSME segments. To boost the adoption of digital payments by the MSME sector, we would like to see the introduction of incentives such as tax breaks for merchants who adopt digital payments. For instance: A scheme under which a retailer with digital sales above 75% of all the sales, cash and digital, should incur a lower rate of income tax to accelerate/encourage digital payment adoption. This scheme would help in financial inclusion of small businesses under the formal tax system and help formalize the business transactions.”

Archit Gupta, Founder and CEO – Clear

"The Finance Ministry may revise the personal income tax slab in this year’s Budget. Many experts believe that the two tax regimes still confuse the common man. The government may consider increasing the highest tax slab to Rs.20 lakh from Rs.15 lakh or allow certain deductions to make the new regime more enticing. Budget 2021 did not provide any major relief to the salaried class."

Mitesh L Thakker, Founder & CEO, MissCallPay 

"UPI as a revolution from India, has reached only 20 Crore users of 118 Crore mobile subscribers in India, Government should incentivize new users, primarily the Low Middle Income and Jan Dhan Account holders who on-board on UPI for the First time, also provide incentives to Fintech's into Feature Phone, Voice & USSD based payments space to help absorb operational cost of technology so that UPI revolution reach into nook and corners of Bharat."

Zafar Imam, CEO, FinShell. 

"Technological and Digital disruption has impacted and led to the growth of all industries - the financial sector is at the top of that list. With the growing smartphone users and internet penetration, FinTech has become an invaluable part of each user's life. The increasing users of digital financial platforms have brought in strong competition in the financial services industry. It goes without saying that with the access and usage of financial platforms online, the benefit has reached users irrespective of geographies, time and socio-economic boundaries. The consistent growth in the number of UPI users showcases and establishes the digital penetration in the payments business. There is also a significant growth in the investments and insurance sectors that has been led by this enhancing digital footprint."

At this time, with this growth, it is important for us as part of the larger industry to support and enable digital finances and its infrastructure to make each user's life easier and smoother.

Sanjay Sharma, MD - Aye Finance 

"The repeated wave of the covid pandemic has caused commerce to get into a stop-start stop uncertainty. Micro and small enterprises are struggling as their buyers are fearful of spending their meagre savings. Over 95% of businesses in India are micro-scale businesses and these have been an important driver of the growth of our economy. These can also become a big drag on the recovery if the situation does not change.

The situation, fortunately, can be reversed speedily. The consumer sentiment at the bottom of the pyramid population is sombre and the government cannot leave it to normal market dynamics to pull up the animal spirits. The government is doing some and has to do even more to break this inertia.

Firstly, we need to ensure that micro-enterprises stay funded to survive. The Government should consider extending and expanding the ECLGS program for the better part of the new FY. It is important that rates of interest in these schemes should not be capped so that lenders are encouraged to make these funds flow to the micro-scale businesses where their operating costs are high. Capping the rate of interest diverts most of these funds to the bigger enterprises and thus starves the neediest micro businesses. Loan restructure program has been the life support for so many micro-businesses that have been established by years of toil by the business owner. We are not yet out of the woods and the lenders should hence be allowed to extend the restructuring window by 6-12 more months, to enable these businesses to pull through this trough.

Secondly, we need to jump-start the demand. Improving the opportunities for employment especially in tier2 and tier3 towns has become vital after the huge migration of workers from the cities. Government should place fiscal discipline as a lower priority and open its purse strings to employment generation schemes. Expansion and speedy transfer of wages through MNREGA and increase of infrastructure building projects is something the Government is already doing. Some economists have suggested the direct transfer of money in the hands of the families at the bottom of the pyramid. This is surely something that the Government should consider seriously. This can oil our commerce engine, lift the sentiments and get the demand back to normal times."

Anil Pinapala, CEO & Co-Founder of Vivifi India Finance 

"In the upcoming union budget, I hope to see a strong mandate for financial inclusion and assistance from the GoI for start-ups attempting to bring in credit for all transcending language, literacy, location, livelihood like FlexPay. Relaxation in norms and assistance with liquidity to lending NBFC fintechs who are attempting to offer credit to the under-served and unserved would be a welcome move. I also hope that non-prime lending could be brought under priority sector so that NBFCs can truly work to bring credit to all"

Anuj Khosla, Chief Executive Officer – Digital Business, Hitachi Payment Services 

“The Budget 2022 should incentivise the MSME sector to adopt digital payments progressively. The digital payment ecosystem can unlock value for MSMEs by helping them expand their customer base, improving cash flows through the faster realization of funds, providing upsell opportunities, reducing costs and creating a digital footprint that would enable easy access to credit at cheaper rates. With the impact of the pandemic and the shift towards online purchases and adoption of digital payment modes by consumers, MSMEs need to be adequately equipped to cater to changing customer needs and behaviour while enabling them to thrive in an evolving digital landscape”

Rajat Gandhi, Founder & CEO, Faircent.com

"We have enabled individuals and MSMEs across the country by disbursing over Rs. 3,000 crore loans till date. Even during complete lockdown we were disbursing loans to credit worthy borrowers. Online P2P lending has emerged as a powerful source to bridge the existing credit gap.

While we endeavour to meet the credit needs of Indians, we need the government's support to unlock supply side. In the upcoming budget, the government can encourage P2P lenders by offering tax exemptions, bad debt write-off, allowing defaults to be considered as capital loss while filing returns and provide special rebates to lenders who finance the loan requirements of MSMEs. Allowing asset-based lending through P2P lending will add to the confidence of the lenders, thereby reinforcing credit supply, easing pressure on liquidity.

Peer to peer lending is a successful model globally for alternate financing. RBI has recognized this innovation and has issued guidelines for the same. Now we need government's support to strengthen our contribution towards it's vision of financial inclusion."

Anshuman Narain, Vice-President, CashBean 

The main impetus that FinTech needs today is the further dignification of India through state investment in e-infrastructure. A lot of the country is still behind in terms of high-speed internet access and while private players have proliferated the internet, a state-focused effort in this direction will provide manifold growth to the tech industry (and subsequent tax accruals for the government).

Sanket Shendure, Co-Founder and CEO, Minko 

"About $400 -500 billion or 30 to 40 lakh crores of B2B payments from retailers to distributors in India's retail market happen through cash. If the government provided some incentives to small shop owners to make supplier payments digitally, in the budget, it could potentially save costs and bring about increased financial inclusion"  

Vineet Tyagi, Global CTO, Biz2X

“The pandemic that shook the entire world has brought immense innovation by startups and new-age technology companies and it is quite evident that the trend will only pick up in the year 2022 as well. In the spirit of tech innovation and digital transformation, we hope, through the union budget 2022-23, the government will bring game-changing reforms, new policies, and regulations that will offer relief and tax sops to MSMEs and the overall startup ecosystem. With the pandemic providing the boost to digital payments, there is an increased need for revolutionary advancements of end-to-end infrastructural as fragmentary solutions may not sustain in the long run. In 2022, we expect that the government to focus more on the development of digital infrastructure to enhance customer experiences, credit quality, and streamline the growth of financial entities in FY22-23.”

Amit Nigam, COO & Executive Director at BANKIT 

“Nowadays, people are looking for more convenient banking services. As intriguing as it is, Start-ups and FinTech industry is quite handy to the public. Those who have comprehended the accelerated needs of not only the unbanked population but also of the underbanked population hold the brightest of future in the FinTech industry. The expected outcome of the efforts of FinTech industries is to make people rely on uncomplicated, safe, and one-stop-solution services. FinTech industry is based on technology and innovation. With a huge investment on IT infrastructure and manpower, we are expecting tax relaxations on these investments.” 

Raman Khanduja, Co founder and CEO, Mintoak 

"Our expectations from the forthcoming budget is to request streamlining MDR (merchant discount rate). The past interventions on MDR (including removal of MDR on UPI and Rupay) did provide a significant impetus in accelerating Digital Payments. However we need to understand that the India Payments ecosystem needs significant and consistent investments to take the penetration closer to developed markets. Currently the players (banks, fintechs etc.) have been investing without any returns and this is not sustainable. MDR is a time/market tested mechanism to ensure players get compensated and stay motivated to keep investing. Merchants over the past 2 years have realized/experienced  the benefits of digital payments and hence would be willing to pay for it. It is time MDR is brought back to make the ecosystem more robust."

Kundan Shahi, Founder & CEO of LegalPay 

"Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code has been one of the key revolutionary m8oment during the last decade akin to the UPI moment for the fintech industry. However, given the pandemic and distress in the insolvency domain, the code needs further refinements and amendments for quicker and effective resolution to re-start the economic machinery. The Insolvency Law Committee has also proposed certain critical changes to the Code such as timelines for approval of resolution plans, closure of the voluntary liquidation process, continuation of avoidance transaction proceedings, etc. However, the authorities must also focus on additional challenges that affect majority of the CIRPs such as CIRPs being cash starved leading to inordinate delays. There is also lack of clarity on the position of the Interim Financier as to what information the financier is privy to and clear cut guidelines for institutions lending in this space. In addition, a framework for fast-track disposal of litigations for timely completion of the CIRP process is also the need of the hour. Furthermore, India’s remarkable step towards setting up bad-banks and detailed guidelines for the quicker resolution and cleanup of balance sheet of financial institutions is also something we expect out of the Budget."

Vivek Banka– Founding Team @GoalTeller  

"As the old adage goes “ No News is Good News” . As a startup founder, I think there are a lot of tailwinds that are existent in terms of ample liquidity, regulatory changes and broad based digital adoption. Other benefits have also been passed in over last many years for startups and small businesses and hence my expectations towards this years budget is status quo which in itself would bode well for everyone in the ecosystem. Whether it be personal taxes, corporate taxes or capital gain taxes the regime should be made easier and progressively lower as the government has themselves stated earlier. Focus we believe should continue to remain on more transparency, greater compliance and finally easier rules of doing business ( whether it be relaxed norms or  government portals working smoothly every single thing that helps empower startups with easier processes eventually helps us save time and money."

Anurag Garg, Founder and CEO, Nivesh.com 

There has always been a high buzz around budget season which comes with a lot of expectations. This year's Union Budget could see the Finance Minister announce plans to boost India's investment cycle  while, at the same time, laying out the roadmap for fiscal consolidation. The pre-budget recovery seen in some sectors may spread to other segments in the following days. Here are our expectations from the budget this year:

• The government’s prime focus while preparing Budget 2022 would be planning a robust growth map to revive the economy impacted by COVID-19. Towards this the focus is likely to be a higher outlay on capital expenditure including infrastructure. Government would likely continue asset monetisation to fund the capital expenditure. 

• Focus will be on ease of doing business. Government may announce reduction in various approvals and more single window schemes to boost manufacturing towards Atma Nirbhar Bharat. Further steps could be announced to ease tax litigation and boost compliance by greater oversight of transactions.

• Effort will be on further boosting exports which are already doing well. Exports are a big opportunity for the country in the current scenario of global anti-China sentiment and the government would like to take all steps to ensure global competitiveness for export oriented sectors.

• Inflation is a big worry in the current scenario and we could see efforts to curtail further rise in prices. It could be possible that excise duty on petroleum products is reduced to help industries manage their costs. 

• Sectors specifically impacted due to Covid like hospitality and travel may also see some special support measures as good health of these sectors is important for continued economic growth. 

• MSME sector is also likely to get more financial support and reforms surrounding import substitutes to promote self-reliance and domestic manufacturing. 

• We expect a big focus on promoting alternative energy sources including solar energy to reduce carbon footprint as well as to tackle pollution related issues. 

• The Budget is directed towards growth and hence the fiscal deficit is likely to remain high for next year. It is expected that a fiscal deficit for next year may be around 6.3% to 6.5%. Revenues are likely to remain buoyant, thus the high fiscal deficit number highlights the fact that there will be higher expenditure. 

The government's judicious and timely stimulus in the first wave was a smart decision, however, to continue upward trajectory a suitable support might be needed to the economy through this budget. 

Kumar Abhishek, Founder and CEO, ToneTag 

"The government has consistently driven programs like Digital India, which hascatalyzeddigital penetration and financial inclusion. With the groundwork prepared, information and education about digital payments, both online and offline, must be encouraged proactively across all geographies of the country. 

We are hopeful that the upcoming budget will focus on bolstering the digital infrastructure of cooperative banks across the country and initiate reforms that drive digital financial inclusion. 

It is also crucial to capitalize on the success of homegrown technologies such as the UPI and encourage tech startups to invest in R&D and explore avenues to leverage existing tech and create new products. We are hopeful that the upcoming budget will consider offering tax benefits and incentives; thus encouraging innovation."

Siddharth Kukatlapalli, Co-Founder and CBO, Syntizen

India, together, has moved towards the ‘e’ world. Whether it is commerce, finance, agriculture, education and learning, corporate, or any other industry you pick, technology and the Internet have reached all households in the country, in some way or the other. With the pandemic hitting the economy, the Internet and technology infrastructure held the country and its people up and functioning. Keeping all this in mind, we must acknowledge that the ‘Digital Way’ is the way for the present and the future. As we move closer to the budget announcements, we are eagerly waiting to know what is new and upcoming for this year for all digital businesses – big, medium and small. With the adequate infrastructure, right audience (which already exists in the country), and ample support, Digital Businesses can flourish and support the people and the economy in all ways possible.

While we talk about our expectations from the budget, as the founder of a digital startup, we are always looking forward to the support that the government brings for us every year. Today, India stands third globally, after China and the USA, with the most number of unicorn startups. We are the future and we are making a better future. The startup ecosystem together has always been supported by the government and looks forward to the same in the year that is waiting ahead of us.

Madhusudan Ekambaram, Co-Founder & CEO, KreditBee and Co-Founder, FACE (Fintech Association for Consumer Empowerment)

The Union Budget 2022-23 is a crucial one, considering economy’s efforts to fully recover and set on a growth path. In this imperative, focus on financial inclusion is very significant. The Government’s recognition of the enhanced operations and effectiveness of fintechs to reach out to the unserved and underserved population, as evident from multiple initiatives in recent times, is encouraging. We expect this emphasis to become more prominent in the upcoming budget. It is essential that the Government announce measures to ease the liquidity flow to NBFCs and fintechs. Further, while ensuring the right degree of regulation, relaxation of norms and tax liberalization to some extent will allow the fintech sector to boost their reach and operate effectively to offer innovative credit solutions to the borrowers. Focus should also be on enhancing the country’s digitization bid, to empower the consumers to avail various credit products.  

Jitin Bhasin, Founder & CEO- SaveIN  

“Startups have a significant role to play in strengthening the healthcare ecosystem across the country. 70% of expense towards healthcare is borne out of pocket and penetration of health insurance is less than 1%. The government should consider additional sops for individuals allowing them to spend on preventive healthcare, insurance, personal fitness and also consider special tax concessions for startups focused on the healthcare sector. A healthy India will have a direct impact on overall productivity of the workforce and hence a boost for country’s GDP”

Shams Tabrej, Financial Expert and Founder Ezeepay 

"With the growing demand for digitalization and platforms, it becomes important to take care of the funding in this area too. Last year, the government of India allocated Rs 1,500 crore to our sector to boost online payments and take fintech to another level. We hope even this year the government shows us the support and helps us do better. With the right funding and investment, we would be able to make the process easy for users and also generate employment in the country too.", Said Mr. Shams Tabrej, Financial Expert and Founder Ezeepay."

Alok Mittal, Co-Founder & CEO, Indifi Technologies 

"In response to the economic hardship created by COVID-19, several liquidity measures to support the MSMEs were announced. However while the headline schemes were attractive the fine print made it very difficult for the new age fintech NBFCs to take advantage of the schemes. Due to such constraints the expected benefits of these support schemes did not reach/ transmit to the bottom of the pyramid MSMEs mostly catered to by fintechs/ small NBFCs.  This budget must be in pursuit of better implementation of the schemes already in place. Further, the fiscal budget should announce measures to incentivize and strengthen support from SIDBI-like institutions and PSB’s towards lending to smaller NBFCs to ensure credit to SMEs at lower cost of capital."

Aditya Damani, Founder, Credit Fair

"The government needs to play a fine balancing act between spurring economic growth while consolidating its finances. We expect Credit Fair’s focus sectors of Healthcare, Housing and Education to get policy support from the government as they’re key toimproveour social infrastructure as well as for job creation. The LIC IPO and other measures to raise revenues will be crucial for the government. We hope it’s a fiscally responsible budget since inflation has been rising and that could lead to higher interest rates which would be a headwind for fintechs.  Subdued interest rates especially in Government bonds and Fixed deposits will be needed to spur capex, SMEs and fintech lending. As a creator of Alternative Assets we hope the Budget will nudge individuals to diversify their portfolio and enable pension funds to invest in a wider range of fixed income or equity assets that have been created by fintechs."

Tarun Nazare, Co-founder and CEO, Neokred

- Financial wellness as a syllabus and program in the education sector.
- Private-sector lending: Banks and Merchants working together to facilitate 100% loan coverage to farmers in helping them get fertilizers and seeds as per their crop grown on their land.
- Importance is given to solar energy, creating Gigafactories PAN India which will decrease electricity cost by 70% in a year and in the 2nd year it'll make it 100%. Hence, there will not be any electricity cost incurred by any citizen.
- Mandatory life and medical insurance facilitated to all bank account holders.

Shashank Udupa- Financial Expert, Co-founder and CFO, Scenes by Avalon 

"We have seen a massive adoption of technology disrupting the fintech space, especially in the Banking sector. The budget should focus on using this technology and try to penetrate unbanked rural India. There should also be a focus on Personal finance education in the country and any efforts to boost financial literacy in India will be great for the new generation"

Neha Nagar- CEO & Founder of TaxationHelp.in and Finfluencer 

- As we know, the Indian government is not opposed to cryptocurrencies, therefore there will be tight restrictions and we may see some regulations on the regulatory front.
- On the tax front, there should be a change in the transaction fees.
- Another cutting-edge technology that might serve as the foundation for future fintech business concepts is blockchain technology.
- I assume that Budget 2022 will deliver much-anticipated tax relief for middle-income people through improvements in personal income tax to boost consumption.
- I also expect that Budget 2022 would include changes such as GST reduction, simplifying KYC rules to increase financial inclusion, specific SOPs for agricultural and affiliated businesses, land reforms, micro-housing development, and rural town development.

Chandresh Sharma - CEO, Techpanion

"2021 has been a challenging year for both businesses and tech-based innovations! The procurement software industry is relatively consolidated due to the presence of numerous large, medium, and small firms working in both the local and foreign markets. Market participants are implementing essential strategies such as product innovation, strategic partnerships, and mergers and acquisitions. The market in India is changing; we have just begun to dig over the surface. Some of the recent advancements include e-invoicing, MSME empowerment, and GST compliance.

The Atmanirbhar Bharat activities have forced the development of strong source-to-pay software and applications. We anticipate that the Union Budget would expand its R&D spending, particularly for the local businesses, to capitalise on the benefits that the technology can provide in the longer run. We also foreshadow that some more regulations and framework will be liberalised to promote the startup environment."

Vikas Verma, Co-founder & CEO, Goldsetu

"The pandemic has impacted trades across the country and we are hopeful that the new budget norms would boost investment in gold. To incentivize digital transactions and hence increased formalisation of the industry, the government should reduce the transaction charges on the usage of credit cards, allow the purchase of jewellery via EMIs on credit cards, and allow redemption of digital gold for jewellery without incurring additional GST charges. Additionally, a reduction in import duties would encourage newer entrants to the segment."

Manish Lunia, co-founder of Flexiloans

"Smaller businesses have suffered due to the pandemic, and the fear of Omicron doesn’t look to be subsiding soon. The government should focus on expanding digital footprints for enabling quicker access to financial services.

Enabling systemic financial institutions like FinTech NBFCs to support the small businesses via cheaper funding schemes, the extension of Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises cover, and attractive priority sector lending guidelines will help. For the Fintech ecosystem, dedicated Fintech Hub should enhance the visibility and growth of the sector.  Accepting Niti Aayog’s suggestions to get Digital Business Bank licenses would be a game-changer too. Also, Allowing FinTechs to have seamless customer compliance during lending will increase the viability of the entire ecosystem."

Vikas Singhania, CEO, TradeSmart

“After two years of the pandemic and the economy struggling to stand on its feet, expectations from the finance minister are high from Budget 2022. The previous budget, which was a bumper one, has increased expectations from the government that it will steer the economy on a higher growth path.

Small and Medium enterprises are the most vulnerable and have been badly affected during the pandemic and will need special attention from the government. With the roll-back of the Farm Bill, there can be some announcement in the budget to compensate small farmers who were benefitting from the bill. With the threat on two indo borders, defence allocation can increase.

Some relief for taxpayers is likely ahead of important state elections. Incentives to boost the economy and nudge the private sector to invest more are expected. Infrastructure will continue to be the focus area.
Start-ups and renewable energies have been the focus area for the government and may continue to get benefits in this budget. As for the market, one can expect some benefits, especially since the government wants to divest a big company like LIC.”

Rishabh Goel, Co-founder & CEO, Credgenics 

"While over the years there have been several improvements on this front, but a few changes could further help the Startup. From the taxation point, there are benefits available for startups under 80 IAC , under Section 56 etc of the Income tax act. However, to avail the benefits, the startup has to apply for registration separately. If these can be managed through a single window system, at the time of registration of the startup itself, it will be just   so much easier. In other words, whatever benefits are available to a startup should be available through a single registration."

Arjun Khazanchi, Co-founder and CLO Rooba Finance 

"There are numerous expectations from the 2022 budget. The focus will be around continuing to help India create a strong base towards its journey to become a $ 5 trillion economy. Towards that end the government is expected to roll out support to enable the growth of its National investment pipeline to support the development and financing of large scale public projects which will enable further economic growth and development.

To this end a lot of the development is expected to be towards fulfilling the prime minister's stated goal of making India have a net carbon emission of zero by 2070. As the K shaped recovery has hurt certain industries while inflation is reducing the bottom line for a lot of products, the government is expected to have a dynamic approach to solving issues faced by these sectors.

When it comes to cryptocurrency the expectations are more specific. The industry sees crypto being formally brought into the tax code.

This involves some of the following:
1) both sale and purchase of crypto will be brought under the fold of the TDS/TCS provisions
2) expectations of crypto having a higher tax rate of 30% to bring it in line with winnings from lottery as opposed to capital gains.
3) proposals to not allow losses from the sale of cryptocurrency to be offset or carried forward.
This is to prevent tax loss harvesting."