Startups, VCs in India Request 'Relief Package' From the Government To Fight Coronavirus Disruption (techcrunch.com) 25
More than six dozen startup founders, venture capitalists and lobby groups in India have requested the government to grant them a "robust relief package" to help combat severe disruptions their businesses face due to the coronavirus outbreak. From a report: In a joint letter to India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, startups requested the government to bankroll 50% of their workforce's salaries for six months, provide interest-free loans from banks, waive rent for three months and offer tax benefits among other things. "Unfortunately, our startup companies across the nation are inherently young, less resilient and most vulnerable. Many of them face likely devastation during this extraordinary economic downturn. At this dire moment, Indian startups need a robust relief package from the government, lest all our collective efforts of the past few years are in vain," they wrote.
As India, where the economy growth has been slowing for several quarters, scrambles to provide for its 1.3 billion citizens, the letter has drawn some criticism from industry figures. "I can't fathom how such a list gets made in a country of more than a billion people who are facing a crisis unlike any they've seen before. A significant majority of them daily wage earners who have no financial cushion or any idea where their next meal is going to come from. Let's not even stray into health and the need for medical emergencies; just putting three square meals on the table a day is proving to be impossible for so many," wrote Ashish K. Mishra in a column on The Morning Context.
As India, where the economy growth has been slowing for several quarters, scrambles to provide for its 1.3 billion citizens, the letter has drawn some criticism from industry figures. "I can't fathom how such a list gets made in a country of more than a billion people who are facing a crisis unlike any they've seen before. A significant majority of them daily wage earners who have no financial cushion or any idea where their next meal is going to come from. Let's not even stray into health and the need for medical emergencies; just putting three square meals on the table a day is proving to be impossible for so many," wrote Ashish K. Mishra in a column on The Morning Context.
Re: (Score:1, Insightful)
Mod me down if you want...you know it is true. The future of America is not some 85 year old multimillionaire lifetime politician hippie who never grew up.
Re: (Score:1, Insightful)
If you don't like capitalism, go live in a non-capitalist country. Good luck, shithead!
Re: (Score:1, Funny)
GO FOR IT, BRO! There are plenty to choose from. I can suggest the UK, or Italy, except they are capitalist too. So maybe Venezuela? Cuba? Perfect for Bernie Bros.
Re: (Score:1, Insightful)
Stay in the UK, you "wanker". This has nothing to do with you. Go read the BBC.
Re: (Score:1, Funny)
Thanks! I'm the biggest wanker here! Also, for you all you Bernie Bros: you can still vote for Bernie in the next election! Just write it in! You don't have to vote for who the Big Political machine wants you to. You are edgy, and different.
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OK, I choose Norway. It qualifies as "socialist" under the current sense of the word in the US.
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Can we than drop the politics and go back to, ya know, stuff that matters?
It really doesn't matter for most people whose cronies get to fleece them the next 4 years. I do admit, it would matter to me if I was one of the cronies, so I understand why you are so adamant about it, but to most of us, that's not really important.
What? (Score:4, Funny)
"provide interest-free loans from banks, waive rent for three months and offer tax benefits"
No free beer?
Was the economic shutdown a mistake? (Score:2)
I realise India was never planning to have the protracted shutdown we can afford in the west, but even this much seems to have been a catastrophe beyond what Corona would likely inflict for India. People who went on a couple 100 mile journey by foot to their rural heartland aren't going to be back in the city the moment the shutdown ends.
They wanted breathing room ... they got a clusterfuck.
Re: (Score:1)
India - 0.2 COVID deaths per million people (Score:1)
India have only had 0.2 COVID deaths per million people.
Compared to 53 dpm for the US or 342 dpm for Spain, they really haven't been hit that hard so far.
https://www.worldometers.info/... [worldometers.info]
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You got that wrong, this is not about deaths, this is about investor money. Who gives a fuck about some Indians dying?
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A hospital has wuflu
Other nations collect health data and note the results daily as results with wuflu. Less numbers per day than a nation reporting wulfu a lot over 24 hours..
The nation still considers other reasons beyond wuflu every 24 hours.
Such data sets per nation then get collected and get taken as "international" news results.
Why should they help startups? (Score:3)
These are companies that are speculative and probably worth nothing.
Telemarketing Relief Act? (Score:2)
Are they going to pass a Telemarketing Relief Act once Congress finally forces the phone companies to implement anti-spam measures?