Mr. V. P. Nandakumar, MD & CEO at Manappuram Finance Limited.
“With inflation showing no signs of abating within the Reserve Bank of India’s target range in the near future, I believe the finance minister will implement necessary policy measures to curb price increases. This could involve reducing taxes on consumer goods such as packaged food and edible oils. This would boost household disposable income and positively impact private consumption. Furthermore, I believe the Budget should include measures to encourage savings through tax rationalisation and stimulate loan growth. A separate announcement on developing future-proof digital infrastructure for the financial sector in the era of artificial intelligence is also anticipated,”
CoinSwitch and Lemonn
Ashish Singhal, Co-founder, CoinSwitch
“The Virtual Digital Asset (VDA) industry in India has immense potential to contribute to the nation’s digital economy. To fully harness this opportunity, the upcoming Budget provides a crucial moment to refine taxation policies, fostering both growth and compliance within the sector.
We propose a reduction in the Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) on VDA transactions from the current 1% to 0.01%. This adjustment would significantly ease compliance challenges and promote market transparency while ensuring the tracking and tracing of transactions and boosting tax revenues. Additionally, we recommend raising the TDS applicability threshold from INR 10,000/50,000 to INR 5,00,000. This would protect small investors and traders from undue tax burdens, ensuring fair treatment across the board.
To further support the industry’s growth, we advocate for aligning the taxation of VDA income with other asset classes and removing the current discriminatory treatment. Allowing taxpayers to set off or carry forward losses, as permitted under capital gains provisions, would establish parity and create an environment for innovation.
We are hopeful that the government will recognize the VDA industry’s potential and take steps toward balanced and progressive policies that enable its growth.”
Devam Sardana, Business Head, Lemonn.
From Industry Perspective:
In the last budget, there was a dual impact of STT increase and LTCG increase (on listed shares) on the users with an increase in trading costs as well as impact on profitability of the users. Given that the revenue generation would have significantly increased with STT, this can potentially be used to revert the LTCG to 10% in order to ensure even higher market participation and incentivise long-term investment which is critical for the users and the capital market stability. This can also address reduction in the flight of capital from India towards global markets and potentially contribute to rupee appreciation as well.
Mr. Saurav Ghosh, Co-founder, Jiraaf-
“This budget is critical, with weak urban consumption. Reviving private capex and restoring government spending would be key to supporting the economy. In terms of Government Capex, the continued focus on long-term infrastructure and development projects is expected to carve out an optimistic path for the long run.
We hope the budget would have taxation cuts to enable spending. Tax reduction on debt securities could enable capital markets to help lower finance cost for companies providing a trigger for private capex.”
Manish Goel, Founder and MD, Equentis Wealth Advisory Services-
“As we anticipate the Union Budget 2025-26, it’s crucial for policymakers to continue fostering India’s dynamic startup ecosystem and help boost the capital markets.
Encouraging Innovation and Research: The previous year witnessed a remarkable surge in IPOs and QIPs, with Indian companies raising a record ₹1.57 trillion through initial public offerings and ₹1.37 trillion via qualified institutional placements. This surge was complimented by a revival in startup funding, effectively ending a two-year funding winter. Key policy measures, including the abolition of the Angel Tax in the last budget, played a pivotal role in revitalizing investment flows into the startup ecosystem. Notably, the IT/ITeS sector led the way, attracting $10.8 billion of the total $31.1 billion in funding during CY24.
To maintain this trajectory, establishing dedicated funds for innovation in sectors like AI, deep tech, space technology, and green energy is essential. Such initiatives would alleviate funding challenges for startups, spur job creation, and boost consumption, aligning with the government’s vision of a ‘Viksit Bharat.’
Expanding Incubation Infrastructure: With approximately 1,100 active incubators as of October 2024, India has about 0.8 incubators per million people, lagging behind countries like the U.S. and China, which have 8–10 per million. Government support for educational institutions can bridge academic expertise with entrepreneurial endeavours, promoting innovation in deep tech sectors like AI and ML, and positioning India as a global technology and entrepreneurial hub.
Relaxing Capital Gains Tax Norms: The increase in capital gains tax introduced in the last budget has contributed to narrowing the credit-to-deposit (CD) ratio. With the CD ratio under control and a growing case for interest rate cuts, we believe it is time for the government to reconsider capital gain tax thresholds. This strategy will encourage continued financialization of savings, fostering a more stable financial environment.
By addressing these areas, the upcoming budget can play a pivotal role in sustaining the growth trajectory of India’s startup landscape and overall economy.”
Sameer Bansal, MD & CEO, PNB MetLife-
“While India is a fast-growing economy fueled by its rising middle-class population of [25-45] year olds, the proportion of people above the age of 60 is equally increasing at a rapid pace. Financial stability is a cornerstone of a secure future. One of our hopes for the upcoming budget is to see support for pension and annuity plans which are key financial instruments for the retirement planning needed to create that stability.
Tax support for pension plans offered by life insurers, on par with the National Pension Scheme, will provide both greater choice and allow diversification of assets into multiple pension plans. At the same time, while we recognize and applaud the ongoing deliberations on removing GST on term life and health policies, we urge the government to also consider removing GST on premiums for annuity plans to support pensioners and make annuities more affordable and accessible.
These actions would give people greater flexibility to create and protect financial stability, which in turn is an important building block for the continuing economic growth of our country.”
