Budget 2019: Finance Minister reveals plan for TV programme dedicated to startups

MUMBAI: While presenting the first Union budget under Prime Minster Narendra Modi's second term, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a plan to come up with television programme dedicated to startups.

"We propose to start a television programme within the DD bouquet of channels exclusively for start-ups. This shall serve as a platform for promoting start-ups, discussing issues affecting their growth, matchmaking with venture capitalists and for funding and tax planning. This channel shall be designed and executed by start-ups themselves. Later in this speech, I shall deal with taxation matters of the start-ups." Sitharaman said. 

It was highlighted in the latest Economic Survey of India that nearly 85 per cent of companies in India were small-scale firms that employed fewer people. With the emerging importance of media and entertainment industry, nine pages have been devoted the sector in Economic Survey this year from zero space in previous editions.