Caught in a whirlwind of capital drought, mass layoffs and shutdowns in 2022 and 2023, the Indian startup ecosystem emerged somewhat stronger in 2024. Funding numbers improved last year as investors, albeit cautiously, began reposing their faith once again in the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem.

The valuation bubble of 2021 was effectively non-existent as new-age tech founders focussed more on growing their ventures sustainably and profitably. Under the shadow of this waning funding winter came the once-in-a-lifetime disruptor – generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) – and, unsurprisingly, the homegrown new-age tech ecosystem has latched on to this opportunity like never before.

Now, as finance minister (FM) Nirmala Sitharaman is all set to present her eighth consecutive Union Budget on Saturday (February 1), the Indian startup ecosystem is looking intently towards her to announce measures to give it a further boost.

But before we dive into what India’s new-age tech ecosystem wants from the government on the D-Day, let’s take a little detour and see what the Economic Survey 2024-25, tabled in the Parliament a day before the budget, had to say about the state of India’s digital economy.

In line with the trend, AI featured in the Survey, too, with it highlighting the need for rapid adoption of the technology in sectors such as banking, finance, healthcare, telecom, retail and transport.

The Survey also called on the government to increase spending on R&D in advanced battery technologies (such as sodium-ion and solid-state batteries) to spur India’s transition to electric vehicles (EVs).

Besides, it also noted that the country has reduced its dependence on smartphone imports, with 99% of these phones being manufactured in India now. It added that more than 4.6 Lakh 5G Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs) have been installed across the country.

Making note of the government’s regulatory and financial push for women entrepreneurship, the Survey said more than INR 3,000 Cr have been invested across 149 women-led startups through alternative investment funds (AIFs).

That said, the Indian startups are hoping that the FM would provide sops and cut tax rates to rejuvenate the ecosystem and spur consumption.

To understand what the startup ecosystem wants from the budget, Inc42 spoke to founders across sectors and segments. A key demand across the board is streamlining regulatory compliances and fostering innovation.

That said, just like every year, we, at Inc42. will bring you live updates and startup perspectives on this year’s budget. This will be Inc42’s 10th edition of #Budget4Startups.

So, without further ado, let’s........

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