US venture capital firms invest in India expect the 2023 Union budget to support the growth and development of the country’s startup ecosystem, according to a top investor. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is scheduled to present the Union budget for the 2023-24 financial year to Parliament on February 1. The venture capital community in the US is very excited by the large number of unicorns that have emerged from India in recent years.

According to Arun Kumar, managing partner of Celesta Capital, venture capitalists want to capitalize on and invest in Indian talent.

“As a US-based venture capital firm investing in India, we are very interested in policies and initiatives that support the growth and development of the startup ecosystem in the country,” Kumar told PTI.

“Budget signals and allocations that encourage the growth of new businesses based on innovation and entrepreneurship would be particularly welcome,” Kumar said.

Kumar was Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Global Markets and Director General of the US and Foreign Commercial Service (USFCS) during the Obama administration.

“We look forward to the government’s continued commitment in the budget to fostering a business-friendly environment that encourages foreign investment and supports the growth of new and emerging companies, including in deep tech,” said Kumar.

The geopolitical scenario and the pandemic led to the need to diversify supply chain sources and offer India the opportunity to strengthen its participation as a trusted hub in global value chains, he said.

“Such an endeavor would require policies that make both importing and exporting easy and inexpensive enough to improve supply chain efficiencies and increase the competitiveness of Indian manufacturing,” said Kumar, who also served as chairman and CEO from KPMG in India for a five-year term that ended last February.

According to Kumar, the growth of the manufacturing sector is already opening up attractive new opportunities to manufacture products for both domestic and global use and to develop technologies and solutions that improve manufacturing capabilities.

“We believe that with the right policies, India has the potential to become a global leader in many technology sectors and we are excited to be a part of this journey,” he responded to a question.

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(This article was not edited by News18 staff and is published by a syndicated news outlet feed.)