Starting a business in india has never been easy, but today, it's become a financial hurdle that many aspiring entrepreneurs are finding hard to overcome. Let's break it down: Rs 1 crore — a sum that once seemed like a significant investment to kickstart any venture — is no longer enough. In fact, it's become a mere drop in the ocean of costs involved in launching a business in this country.
To understand the gravity of the situation, consider this: Rs 1 crore is 50 times India's per capita income. That means the amount that seems like a good starting point for business is 50 times the average annual earnings of a common citizen. In a nation where most people are grappling with daily expenses, this is a massive sum, and one that many simply don't have access to.
But it gets worse. In india, the highest tax slab for individuals starts at Rs 10 lakh (Rs 1 million), which is already 10 times the per capita income. This means that if you want to be in the high tax bracket, you need to be 10 times wealthier than the average citizen — just to pay taxes! If the system itself demands you to be ‘super-rich’ to start a business or even stay afloat in the formal economy, the barriers to entry become insurmountable for the common man.
Now, let's talk about the education costs. For a child’s tuition fees in a metro city, parents often pay amounts that are twice the per capita income. This isn't an isolated case — it’s the reality faced by most middle-class families. parents are increasingly having to choose between their children’s future and their financial survival. The education system has become so expensive that for many, it's akin to an investment in their child's future, but one that further drains their pockets.
This soaring cost of living, combined with the growing financial pressure on individuals, paints a grim picture. If you want to start a business, you need to invest in technology, comply with regulations, and ensure market reach — all of which demand large sums of money upfront. It’s no surprise then that leading industrialists, such as Kumar Mangalam Birla, have echoed the sentiment that Rs 1 crore is no longer enough to begin a venture in today’s economy.
The cost of starting up has skyrocketed. From securing office space to investing in skilled employees, from paying for software and tech infrastructure to adhering to regulatory standards — every step now requires a large chunk of capital. In this landscape, the common man, who may have had a dream of starting a small business or side hustle, finds himself stuck.
The real issue here is accessibility. When starting a business requires such high upfront investment, it limits opportunities to the wealthy few, pushing the dream of entrepreneurship out of reach for the majority. This creates an environment where innovation and new business ideas are stifled, and the economy suffers as a result.
India's middle class, once the backbone of the nation’s growth, is now being squeezed from all sides. The costs of living, of education, and of starting a business, are escalating at an unsustainable rate. What used to be the land of opportunity is quickly becoming the land of impossibility — a place where only the rich can thrive, while the rest are left to watch from the sidelines.
It's time for change. It's time to reconsider how the system is designed. We need policies that support small businesses, give the common man a fighting chance, and make entrepreneurship more accessible. Until then, the dream of building something from the ground up will remain just that — a dream.
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