Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted seven priorities in the last full budget of the Modi 2.0 government. A nation’s economic growth depends on entrepreneurship, and India currently has the third-largest start-up ecosystem in the world.
The centre will encourage the growth of start-ups and create employment opportunities, said Nirmala Sitharaman.
These were some of the key points from the Union Budget 2023 that could impact the MSME and Start-up Sector:
- The government will set up an agriculture accelerator fund to encourage start-ups in rural areas.
- The finance minister also proposed to extend the benefit of loss on change of shareholding of start-ups from the current seven years to 10 years.
- DigiLocker will be set up for MSMEs and other business entities including start-ups to enable more innovation in fintech services.
- Additional credit of Rs 2 trillion for Micro and Small Enterprises to be facilitated under Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE)
- The government has also launched the National Monetization Pipeline with an investment potential of Rs 9 lakh crore.
- Extension of the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) till March 31st, 2023.
All products will be guaranteed to use green technologies. The market for goods produced in this manner will expand. Additionally, the programme will guarantee brand promotion for cutting-edge goods.
In addition to these, 20 skill development centers will be opened in different states. Vocational training for youth will be started next year through the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana. Budget allocations for upcoming ventures in the handicrafts sector have not been spared either.
By including MSMEs in the handicraft industry as part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat scheme, the quality of the items would increase. In response to this, PM Vishwakarma Kushal Samman was made public.
The Union budget 2023 ensures Redesigned MSMEs Credit Guarantee to $9 billion. With the revised credit guarantee programme, MSMEs will be able to access an additional Rs 2 trillion in collateral-free credit guarantees, lowering loan costs by 1%.
The agriculture credit target has been raised to 20 lakhs in 2024. Next generation common IT form to be handed out to MSMEs and professionals, if their cash receipts are no more than 5% presumptive tax limits increased to 3 crore (turnover) and 75 lakh (income) per year, respectively. Rollout of a Raising and Accelerating MSM Performance (RAMP) programme with an outlay of Rs 6,000 crore. The budget aims to increase the participation of youth and women in all forms of business. The minister claimed that initiatives aimed at empowering women had been chosen.
