BackHomegrown startups should list in India and not move to tax havens: Goyal
India’s consumer digital economy is worth approximately US$100 billion and is expected to become a $800 billion market by 2030, Goyal said
PremiumBengaluru: Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday urged start-ups in the country to list in India and not move to tax havens. Speaking at an industry event, the minister also called for strengthening of ethics and corporate governance norms in startups.
“Startups must incorporate in India and list in India and not move to tax havens…. If they face any issues…the government will strive to resolve those," said Goyal at the CII-Global Unicorn Summit-Shaping 1000 Unicorns by 2030.
The statement comes in the backdrop of homegrown startups urging the government on several occasions to allow direct overseas listing of Indian companies, arguing that the current inability of unlisted companies to tap international markets for raising capital was an impediment to their growth ambitions as their access to wider global pools of capital is blocked.
He further said that instances of funding of revenues, data fraud, tax evasions, and other malpractices need to be curbed at an early stage as else, “it would kill the entrepreneurial spirit of young startups and have a very damaging effect on the startup ecosystem." “The kind of reports that we are reading about revenues, data fraud, tax evasion...these kinds of malpractices need to be clipped at an early stage, else they bring a bad name for out start-up world," said Goyal.
The minister also called for more transparency and setting up of better standards and benchmarks and more self-regulation in the startup ecosystem.
The minister was addressing the Goyal also pressed for more focus on cyber security and data privacy amid the digitalization drive in the country.
“India’s consumer digital economy is worth approximately US$100 billion and is expected to become a $800 billion market by 2030. There was a persistent need to ensure that the enormous data collected by digital technology platforms is safeguarded," said the minister.
Amid India’s bid to become self reliant in energy and defense, Goyal pointed out that there was a lot of white space that could be filled by startups, “thus reducing our dependence on imports." “Space is another avenue where the government is encouraging private players to explore collaboration with ISRO," he said.
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