India’s economy isn’t struggling for lack of ambition — it’s burdened by policy hurdles, high taxes, and bureaucratic red tape.
In a recent post on X, Wisdom Hatch founder Akshat Shrivastava laid out a no-nonsense approach to fixing the system.
“Give some buying power to people (lower indirect/and/or direct taxes). This is common sense,” he wrote, stressing that increasing disposable income should be a priority. But tax cuts alone aren’t enough. “Give incentives for businesses to set up shops in India: what incentives? You decide.”
Another critical issue, according to Shrivastava, is compliance fatigue. “Reduce compliance burden on small businesses. Rather than doing GST filing every month, make the process easier. So that small businesses can focus time, effort, energy to grow business. And hire more folks, eventually.”
He also pointed to global trends, citing how other countries are leveraging tax residency programs to attract digital nomads. “Many countries are offering incentives to digital nomads to come and become tax residents. This increases the tax base, if nothing else. Issue long-term visas for such folks.”
However, his biggest recommendation was for the government itself to take responsibility for economic recovery. “Take a revenue hit. If the economy is bad, even the government should become less greedy. And take hits on their tax revenues. Cut your own budget.”
His final demand? A real action plan. “Give a concrete action plan on how we will become a $5T, $10T, $50T economy. Doing ‘fluff talks’ gets us nowhere.” He questioned India’s tech ambitions, asking, “With no AI/ML/Robotics/Semiconductor/Crypto etc., how exactly?”
India’s middle class, too, has its own expectations from the upcoming Budget 2025. With rising inflation and stagnant wages, taxpayers are hoping for relief through higher deductions, revised tax slabs, and more incentives under the new tax regime.
Former Infosys CFO T.V. Mohandas Pai summed up the frustration in an interview to HT: “The middle class is very angry and upset over high taxes and poor quality of life.”
For Shrivastava, the path forward is clear: “Give people some spending power. And a stable environment to grow their businesses through tax certainty—things will improve.”