VC-funded startups want a government handout

The Morning Context

Ashish K. Mishra

Mumbai

09 April 2020

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I am usually not surprised by the various shenanigans startups get up to, but two events in the last month have caught me by surprise. First, was a recommendation document circulated by 30-odd venture capital folks and startup founders sent to the government of India advocating for a lockdown of the country to fight against COVID-19. And second, a collective of 75 startup founders, venture capital investors and industry associations sent a list of demands in a bailout proposal sent to the government. Interestingly enough, there’s absolutely no overlap between the two groups.

Let’s deal with the bailout first. I’ll quote the big-ticket demands from the long list, directly from the document called “Relief for startups/ MSME/ women entrepreneurs from COVID 19 crisis”:

Given the unprecedented circumstances, we request the turnover limit for startups to qualify for COVID-19 stimulus be extended to Rs 500 crores so as to provide coverage to a large base of impacted

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