IAMAI announces committee to study issues faced by VC firms in India

The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) on Tuesday announced setting up a committee to hold public policy consultations for building an industry network of venture capital (VC) firms.

Vikas Agnihotri, operating partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers, will chair the committee and Shweta Rajpal Kohli, chief public policy officer, Sequoia India & Southeast Asia, will be the co-chair.

“We will work with all the stakeholders in building a robust and transparent framework for investors who are betting on India’s accelerating digital GDP. Venture capital and private equity are backing the high-velocity companies in job creation and capex spending, revving up the overall market buoyancy,” said Agnihotri in a press statement.

Sequoia India, SoftBank, Multiples Alternate Asset Management, Indian Angel Network, 3one4 Capital, Eximius and other domestic and international venture funds are on the committee, which has nearly half its members from the Indian VC community. The committee will work for direct foreign listing of Indian start-ups, clarification on Gift tax, taxation on ESOPs, angel fund structure, GIFT City regulations etc.

“The increasing support of venture capital firms to Indian start-ups makes it imperative to highlight the collective issues faced by these firms at appropriate forums,” said IAMAI.

“The formation of this committee is a crucial step towards furthering the government’s vision of turning India into an attractive investment destination for VC & PE firms and building a world-class start-up ecosystem. We look forward to working with key stakeholders for making good corporate governance a key priority for the sector,” said Kohli. Business Standard