Taxing Innovation, Drivers Set To Strike, and SAMRIDH Scheme’s Disbursal

Budget 2026 has created a clean tax regime for India’s biggest technology operators, and an uncomfortable split for everyone else. By lifting the safe harbour threshold for IT services and Global Capability Centres (GCCs) from ₹300 crore to ₹2,000 crore and fixing a uniform 15.5% margin, the government has chosen certainty over experimentation. It is a rational move for revenue and administration. It is also a message about what kind of tech economy India is currently backing.

For large IT firms and multinational GCCs, the change is liberating. Transfer-pricing anxiety vanishes. CFOs can plan multi-year tax roadmaps without fearing audits or Permanent Establishment disputes. Automated approvals replace discretionary scrutiny. This is textbook “ease of doing business” for the top tier of the ecosystem. Combined with the 20-year tax holiday for foreign data-centre operators, India is positioning itself as the world’s most predictable base for cloud infrastructure and offshore operations. In a global race with Singapore and Ireland for captive centres, this matters.

But the same clarity creates a sharp competitive divide. A mid-market SaaS or AI startup below ₹2,000 crore remains exposed to complex transfer-pricing rules, valuation disputes and litigation risk. A GCC of Google or Meta gets tax peace; a product startup building proprietary IP gets paperwork. The policy rewards operational volume, not innovation intensity. A commodity BPO firm and an R&D-heavy software company face identical margins. The signal is subtle but powerful: execution is safer than invention.

India has seen this movie before. SEZ tax holidays in the 2000s favoured services over products because services generated immediate jobs. Angel tax in the 2010s created “recognised” and “unrecognised” startups. Safe harbour is the same pattern in a new sector - protection for scale, friction for ambition. The near-term response will be consolidation. Smaller IT services and SaaS firms will seek shelter under larger parents simply to access the ₹2,000-crore umbrella. M&A becomes a tax strategy, not just a strategic one.

There is also a talent effect. GCCs already offer global pay bands, mobility and stability. Now they offer tax certainty too. For an engineer, the choice between a Series-B SaaS startup and a multinational centre becomes even more skewed. For founders, the choice between building an IP company and reclassifying as “IT services” becomes tactical. Expect narrative pivots from “disruption” to “infrastructure” as startups try to fit inside the safe harbour definition.

Globally, India’s approach is inverted. Ireland and Singapore tie incentives to R&D spend and IP creation. The US lets firms expense R&D immediately. India ties benefits to revenue scale and infrastructure commitment. That makes India superb at attracting operations and data centres - but weaker at anchoring foundational innovation. With R&D stuck around 0.64% of GDP, the risk is becoming “Back Office 2.0”: a world-class execution hub without corresponding ownership of models, chips or breakthrough IP.

None of this makes the policy irrational. The Finance Ministry wants predictable revenue, fewer disputes and stable employment. Transfer pricing cases clog courts for years. Large IT firms are visible taxpayers and visible employers. Deep-tech startups are diffuse, risky and politically harder to defend. The trade-off is fiscal safety versus innovation optionality.

The schism is not irreversible. A sliding-scale safe harbour for R&D-intensive firms, faster translational research funding, and IP-linked tax treatment could rebalance incentives without blowing a hole in revenue. Until then, India is telling its tech sector exactly what it values most: scale before originality. The danger is not that India becomes efficient. It is that efficiency crowds out the patience required to build the next generation of Indian technology giants.

Let’s go through what else is happening in Indian startup world - Grab your simmering cup of StartupChai.in and unwind with our hand-brewed memes.

“Sadda Haq, Aithe Rakh”: Drivers Of Ola, Uber, Other Aggregators To Go On Strike On Saturday

Drivers affiliated with Ola, Uber, and other ride-hailing platforms have announced an All India Breakdown on February 7, with a six-hour nationwide strike expected to disrupt cabs, autos, and bike taxis.

The transport workers are demanding government-mandated minimum base fares and a stop to private vehicles being used for commercial rides, arguing that current policies make earnings unsustainable.

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“Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas”: SAMRIDH Scheme Disbursed INR 94 Cr Startup Funding In 5 Years, Says MoS IT

The SAMRIDH scheme has disbursed ₹94 Cr in startup funding over the last five years, with MoS IT Prasada noting that MeitY has onboarded 43 accelerators and incubated 373 startups under the programme.

He added that the scheme helped facilitate investments worth ₹4,271.6 Cr in 2025, signaling growing private capital participation.

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“Hum Saath Saath Hai”: Marico set to acquire 60% stake in D2C nutrition startup Cosmix

Marico is set to acquire a 60% stake in D2C nutrition startup Cosmix at an equity valuation of ₹375 Cr, strengthening its play in the direct-to-consumer space.

The deal adds a plant-based protein brand to Marico’s D2C portfolio, signaling a sharper push into functional nutrition.

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1. D2C nutrition brand Good Monk has raised ₹33 Cr at a valuation of ₹175 Cr in a funding round led by RPSG Capital Ventures, with participation from Sharrp Ventures, Hyperscale Ventures, and the cofounders’ families. The fresh capital will be used to expand its product portfolio.

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2. Dr. Doodley has raised $3.3 Mn in a mix of debt and equity led by V3 Ventures, with backing from family offices and angel investors, to scale its pet healthcare footprint in Bengaluru. The startup plans to add four more 24/7 veterinary hospitals and roll out 30-minute vet-at-home services.

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3. Fashion quick commerce startup ZILO has raised $15.3 Mn, roughly ₹127 Cr, in a funding round led by Peak XV Partners with participation from InfoEdge Ventures, Chiratae Ventures, Alteria Capital, and Stride Ventures.

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4. Material Depot has raised $10 Mn in a funding round co-led by Accel and Stellaris Venture Partners to scale its omnichannel home interiors business. The startup plans to use the capital to expand its offline footprint through experiential stores in Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

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5. Fibr AI has raised $5.7 Mn, around ₹52 Cr, in a seed funding round led by existing investor Accel, with participation from WillowTree Ventures, MVP Ventures, and angel investors. The startup will use the capital to strengthen its agentic AI powered martech.

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6. Unicorn India Ventures has closed its third fund at ₹1,200 Cr, doubling down on deeptech, spacetech, and defensetech investments. The VC firm has already backed 17–18 startups from the fund, plans a few more initial bets, and will allocate roughly 25% toward new portfolio creation.

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7. Dhruva Space is set to raise ₹38.7 Cr in its ongoing Pre-Series B round, extending the fundraise it initiated in November last year. The spacetech startup had earlier secured ₹51.76 Cr from investors including AVCF1, Hyderabad Angel Fund, AR Enterprises, Ativira Technologies, and a group of angel backers.

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8. Deeptech focussed VC firm Golden Sparrow has announced the first close of its $20 Mn Fund II, with over half the corpus already committed and more than 60% of its Fund I LPs returning for the new vehicle. The fund aims to back 22 pre-seed and seed stage startups.

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9. Marine robotics startup EyeROV has raised ₹13 Cr in a pre-Series A round led by AWE Funds and Unicorn India Ventures. The fresh capital will be deployed to accelerate R&D, drive new product innovation, and expand the company’s footprint across India and global markets.

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10. Alternative dairy startup 1.5 Degree has raised $1 Mn in a pre-Series A round led by 35North Ventures’ India Discovery Fund II. The funding signals growing investor confidence in the company’s push to decarbonize India’s institutional food service ecosystem.

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11. AI enabled NDT robotics startup Octobotics has raised ₹10 Cr in a seed round led by Navam Capital, with participation from BYT Capital. The funds will be used to speed up product development, deepen field validation, and support certifications and expansion.

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