Also in this letter:
■ Budget wish lists: EV, edtech and ecommerce
■ ETtech Opinion: Crypto isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme
■ Even Warren Buffett is losing money on Paytm
Economic Survey: At least 14,000 new startups recognised in FY22
India now has more than 61,400 startups that are recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), with at least 14,000 recognised during fiscal 2022, according to the Economic Survey 2021-22.
Bengaluru dethroned: The survey also showed that Delhi has replaced Bengaluru as the startup capital of India in recent years. Over 5,000 recognised startups were added in Delhi while 4,514 startups were added in Bengaluru between April 2019 and December 2021. Maharashtra has the highest number of recognised startups with 11,308, the survey said.
What’s the Economic Survey? It’s the Finance Ministry’s annual report card of the economy, which examines the performance of several sectors and suggests future moves. It also puts forward a GDP growth projection.
Click here for our full explainer on the Economic Survey and why it matters.
What else? The survey said 555 districts in India saw at least one new startup in FY22, showing that startups in India have grown remarkably over the past six years.
- India is home to the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem after the US and China, the survey said. A record 44 Indian startups achieved unicorn status in 2021, taking the overall tally of startup unicorns in India to 83, with most in the services sector, it added.
- The survey also mentioned the string of IPOs by new-age companies such as Paytm, Zomato, Nykaa and Policybazaar. “In April-November 2021, Rs 89,066 crore was raised through 75 IPO issues, much higher than in any year in the last decade,” it said.
Indian startups snagged record investments of up to $3.5 billion across 130 deals through January, marking a decadal high amid a downturn in global markets and signalling sustained investor interest, we reported earlier.
Budget 2022-23: EV firms seek inclusive PLI scheme, edtech firms want a tax cut
India’s startups have been petitioning and lobbying the government with their wish lists for Budget 2022, which is now just a day away. Here’s what the EV and mobility, edtech, and ecommerce sectors are seeking from Union Budget 2022-23.
EV startups want a more inclusive PLI scheme: EV and mobility startups want the government to make its production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme more inclusive and reduce the GST on electric two-wheelers. Under the PLI scheme, the government encourages companies to set up or expand manufacturing units to increase domestic production by providing incentives on incremental sales.
Companies also want the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and EV (FAME) II subsidy programme to be extended beyond 2023. They are also seeking lower taxes.
Edtech firms want lower taxes: While edtech firms continue to meet with the education ministry on regulations for the sector, they are also asking for a tax cut, apart from sops towards tuition fees for students and national training initiatives for teachers.
They are also asking the government to increase its allocation for the sector.
Ecomm firms want simpler GST rules for sellers: Ecommerce firms endured a difficult 2021 after the government proposed controversial and vaguely worded amendments to the rules that govern them. Separately, the Competition Commission of India has been probing both Amazon and Flipkart over allegations of deep discounting and favouring certain sellers.
While the industry looks for clarity on the draft amendments and the long-awaited ecommerce policy, ecommerce companies are asking the government to reduce the compliance burden on sellers to help small businesses leverage the potential of ecommerce and contribute to India’s growing digital economy.
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ETtech Opinion: Crypto is not a get-rich-quick scheme
Making money requires taking risks, Morgan Housel, the author of ‘Psychology of Money’ argues in his book. “But keeping money requires the opposite of it. It requires humility, and fear that what you’ve made can be taken away from you just as fast,” he writes.
In the past 18 months or so, many people have made money in the crypto markets. Many original investors in crypto have been booking profits and many are in the red. The markets are choppy now. The tipsters and pundits will slowly disappear or – worse yet – change their narrative. As the saying goes, it’s only when the tide goes out that we find out who’s got no pants on. It takes a very different mindset to stick to your investment strategy through turbulence.
The market optimism was fuelled by quantitative easing in the United States to stimulate the economy. That is, the Federal Reserve buys assets, which results in greater liquidity and lower interest rates. This in turn means investors could seek out assets that gave higher returns than fixed-income assets. A large portion of this allocation went into stocks. A big chunk also came into the crypto market.
Click here for the full column by Ashish Singhal, founder and CEO of CoinSwitch Kuber.
Not just IPO investors, even Warren Buffett is losing money on Paytm
The collapse in the shares of Paytm following India’s largest initial public offering is proving an expensive lesson even for the firm’s early backers.
Taking stock: Paytm shares have tumbled 58% since the stock listed on November 18. That has cut the valuation of its parent One 97 Communications Ltd. to $7.8 billion from $20 billion.
Paytm’s backers: SoftBank Group Corp.’s 2017 investment valued the Indian company at about $7 billion.
- Berkshire Hathaway Inc. invested in One 97 when the company was valued at more than $10 billion in 2018.
- T. Rowe Price Group invested at a $16 billion valuation the following year.
A representative for Paytm said by email that the effective cost of SoftBank’s 17.47% stake in the company is Rs 800 per share and for Ant Group it’s Rs 330 per share, declining to comment further on valuations. The stock closed at Rs 903.05 on Friday. Jack Ma’s Ant is the biggest shareholder with a 25% stake.
Also Read:Behind Paytm’s dismal IPO and its constant valuation catchup
Tweet of the day
Spotify to add content advisory to podcasts that discuss Covid
Spotify CEO Daniel Ek
Spotify Technology will add a “content advisory” to any podcast episode that includes discussion about Covid-19, chief executive officer Daniel Ek said, after coming under fire from rock and folk legends for giving voice to misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines.
Quote: “This new effort to combat misinformation will roll out to countries around the world in the coming days,” Ek wrote in a blog post published on Sunday.
Tell me more: The advisory will direct listeners to a Covid-19 hub that contains facts and information from medical and health experts, as well as links to trusted sources.
The move comes after singer-songwriters Neil Young and Joni Mitchell announced they were removing their music from Spotify in protest, saying the streaming service was allowing the airing of misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines.
Young objected to his music being played on the same platform as Joe Rogan’s top-rated podcast ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’. A prominent vaccine sceptic, Rogan has stirred controversy with his views on the pandemic, government mandates and vaccines to control the spread of the coronavirus.
Also read: The Spotify-Neil Young controversy explained
Earlier this month, 270 scientists and medical professionals signed a letter urging Spotify to take action against Rogan, accusing him of spreading falsehoods on the podcast.
Today’s ETtech Top 5 newsletter was curated by Arun Padmanabhan in New Delhi and Zaheer Merchant in Mumbai. Graphics and illustrations by Rahul Awasthi.
