Budget 2023: Plan to launch DigiLocker for MSMEs and Startups

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has presented today the Union Budget 2023 in the parliament. This is the first Budget in Amrit Kaal, Sitharaman said. Also, this is last full-fledged Union Budget of the Modi government before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Here are some major announcements made by Finance Minister today.

Following are the confirmations from the Union Budget 2023:

DigiLockers for MSME’s and Startups

Credit Guarantee for MSMEs of Rs. 9000 Crores will aid enhanced credit to MSMEs

Startups incorporated till March 2024 to get income tax benefits

Fintech services in India have been facilitated by our digital public infrastructure

DigiLocker is an initiative of the Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeitY) under Digital India Corporation (DIC)

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced while presenting the Union Budget for 2023-24 in Parliament today, The government will set-up a DigiLocker digital document storage capability to enable storage of documents digitally, and simplify the process of digital application of credit for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and other business entities, including startups, to make more innovation in fintech services.

What is DigiLocker?

DigiLocker is an initiative of the Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeitY) under Digital India Corporation (DIC). DigiLocker ties into Digital India's vision areas of providing citizens a secure document access platform on a public cloud. Targeted at the idea of paperless governance, DigiLocker is a platform for issuance and verification of documents & certificates in a digital way, thus eliminating the use of physical documents. This is a key initiative under Digital India, the Indian Government's flagship program aimed at transforming India into a digitally empowered society and knowledge economy.

She also announced infusion of ₹9,000 crore in the Budget towards the government’s credit guarantee scheme, the revamped scheme will come into effect from April 1. She also added that Digilocker and Aadhar will be used as a one-stop solution for all KYC needs. Now users can make changes to the documents which will be reflected in all your documents that are linked to Digilocker.

Asserting the importance of entrepreneurship for the economic development of the country, Finance Minister proposed to extend the period of incorporation for income tax benefits to eligible start-ups by one more year till March 31, 2024. She further adds, to provide the benefit of carry forward of losses on change of shareholding of startups from seven years of incorporation to ten years.

Government proposes to increase limit for presumptive taxation for MSMEs and certain professionals to ₹ 3 crore and ₹ 75 lakh, respectively.

Fintech services in India have been facilitated by our digital public infrastructure including Aadhaar, PM Jan Dhan Yojana, Video KYC, India Stack and UPI. To enable more fintech innovative services, the scope of documents available in DigiLocker for individuals will be expanded,” said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.