India’s Budget 2025-2026 Promises AI-led Growth but Disappoints Digital Asset Industry

India’s finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, remained silent on regulation as well as reduction of taxation on digital assets as she presented the Union Budget 2025-2026 in Parliament on February 1.

India’s finance minister remained缄默silent on digital assets regulation, taxation in Union Budget

India’s digital asset sector was hoping for a more supportive regulatory environment. The current policy, which includes a 30% tax on profits and a 1% Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) on transactions, has impacted the digital currency sector negatively, driving traders to offshore platforms and decreasing liquidity and market activity.

This Union Budget was particularly crucial, as digital asset exchanges in India may face consolidation in 2025. Smaller exchanges could either shut down or merge with larger ones due to the challenging tax structure.

“The Union Budget swept in with the promise of transformation but left the Web3 industry reeling with a slew of unfulfilled expectations and bureaucratic indifference,” Raj Kapoor, founder of India Blockchain Alliance (IBA), told CoinGeek.

“Industry leaders had anticipated a bold regulatory framework that would unleash innovation and attract investment into the dynamic world of blockchain and cryptocurrencies. Instead, they were met with deafening silence—no guidelines, no clarity, just the same opacity that continue to stifle progress,” Kapoor added.

According to Sumit Gupta, co-founder of CoinDCX, India is pushing digital transformation through central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), artificial intelligence (AI), and Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), but lacks a clear stance on Web3 and virtual digital assets.

“Despite blockchain adoption, crypto remains absent from the policy discussion. Crypto and Web3 are becoming an active part of policy discussions globally, specially in the US, and we need active policy discussions to be included in mainstream economic planning in India,” Gupta said on X.

In July 2024, CoinDCX, India’s first digital currency unicorn, listed the BSV token for trading on its platform, allowing users to have more ways to buy, sell, and trade BSV.

“As digital assets and regulations continue to evolve globally, it is crucial for India to strike the right balance between regulation and growth. As the country works on the discussion paper for crypto policy, the industry is looking towards constructive policy discussions that can position India as a leader in the Web3 economy driving both economic growth and technological progress, rather than an observer,” Edul Patel, co-founder of Mudrex, a fintech startup, said in an emailed statement.

Boosting startups, entrepreneurship

While the government is indifferent to digital assets trading, it is reinforcing its support for startups and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with significant initiatives in Budget 2025-2026. India announced roughly $1.2 billion in funding for startups in this budget.

A new scheme will also be introduced for 500,000 first-time entrepreneurs, including women.

“A DeepTech fund of funds will be explored to catalyze the next generation startups,” Finance Minister Sitharaman said in her Budget speech.

In July 2024, Sitharaman abolished the ‘angel tax’ to bolster entrepreneurial spirit and support innovation. The angel tax treated investments received by startups from external investors as “income from other sources” and levied a 30% taxation on them. Often short of funds, startups tend to lose money as angel tax would require them to share a significant part of the investment towards paying taxes.

“The government’s bold creation of a Central Deep Tech Fund promises to be the wind beneath the wings of blockchain innovators,” Kapoor said.

“This fund will pour financial lifeblood into emerging technologies, including the much-vaunted Web3, providing the resources to turn visionary ideas into market-shaping realities. The budget commits to massive investments in infrastructure, ensuring that the digital backbone of the nation is robust enough to support the growth of Web3 startups,” Kapoor added.

According to Sanjay Budhia, managing director of Patton Group, a government-recognized export house, “The new classification criteria for MSMEs and steps to improve access to credits for MSMEs and startups will boost manufacturing prowess and improve export competitiveness.”

Three Centres of Excellence in artificial intelligence

“I had announced three Centres of Excellence in artificial intelligence for agriculture, health, and sustainable cities in 2023. Now a Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence for education will be set up with a total outlay of Rs 500 crore ($57.6 million),” Sitharaman said in her Budget speech.

According to Avinash Shekhar, co-founder and chief executive of Pi42, a digital currency derivatives platform, the proposals made by the government in the current Union Budget are futuristic, with significant emphasis on innovation and new-age technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI).

“The fact that India’s future lies in disruptive technologies is well acknowledged. Emphasis on integrating technology across multiple levels of curriculum and education system clearly signals that the government wants the future workforce to be better equipped with all the tech know-hows,” Shekhar said in an emailed statement.

Sitharaman also announced that five National