In about two weeks, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will present his budget for this year. The anticipation is palpable in the startup community, since it comes close on the heels of the Startup India action plan announcement. The budget, hence, should take the process laid out in the action plan forward.If the Startup India action plan laid the path on what the government should and should not do, it is time to ensure it walks the talk this budget. Aspects like the fund-of-funds, which is great on paper, needs to get implanted. I would like the budget to set out clear and measurable timelines for this and not keep it as vague as it is now.Similarly, the support that the government wants to provide in terms of a Credit guarantee mechanism through National Credit Guarantee Trust Company (NCGTC)/ SIDBI for debt funding to Startups is of vital importance. In smaller towns and cities where VCs and angels are absent, banks form the backbone of startup lending and startups are often perceived as a high risk area. The budgetary corpus of Rs. 500 earmarked for credit guarantee should be mobilized and notified at the earliest.Incubators and accelerators can play a pivotal role in the development of startups and there are clear examples from the Silicon Valley and Tel Aviv on what can be achieved. Most startups in the country have very young people at the helm and they need a lot of handholding and guidance to make it work. Incubators and accelerators make it possible for startups to find their feet. The government's aim to set up 35 new incubators in existing institutions and further 35 new private sector incubators with government funding support is welcome. The budget should announce the roll out for this along with the budgetary allocation so that the scheme does not remain on paper.Investor View: Another aspect that needs serious look is the Angle Tax. Everyone knows that this tax has been a major source of annoyance and has not served any purpose, but year after year we fail to eliminate it. We have missed the opportunity in several previous budgets to do away with this and 2016 budget should finally see this absurd law being repealed.The Startup Action plan tried addressing the issue of startups leaving the country and registering in nations like Singapore. However, it left out one of the key issues of Capital Gains Tax that force startups to shift their registered office outside India. The government is earning pittance, if at all, from the capital gains tax and it serves no purpose to carry this on.Tax Breaks for three years for startups is good and welcome, but there are doubts if this will have a meaningful impact. Three years is too short a timeframe and most startups make no profit in these years. What, however, is a matter of concern is that an Inter-ministerial panel will decide if a startup qualifies for tax breaks, which to me seems like a bureaucratic minefield with potential for misuse.Possibility to fail fast fail often - We as investors know and entrepreneurs realize that starting up extremely risky and you are more likely to fail than come up tops. In such a situation a law that allows easy exit in terms of winding up is extremely necessary. Unfortunately, our Winding up laws are dated and not suitable for startups. It is extremely difficult to exit a company and the new Bankruptcy Law is stuck in parliament. Outside the ambit of the Budget, the government should ensure that the Budget session is used effectively to get this bill passed in the Upper House.Beyond the direct measures at helping the startup community, there are also indirect ways to stimulate the ecosystem. The Budget should lay emphasis on the government's other flagship programme, that of Digital India. Digital India is a vital cog in the wheel and it will help the startup ecosystem to become more vibrant. The government is rolling out various government-to-citizen schemes to connect with Indians in a simpler, faster and seamless way.Startups always stand to benefit from such schemes as ancillary services can be built around such efforts. For example, despite the limited rollout of the Aadhar, there are a number of startups doing some very exciting work in this area.The budget can be an engine to propel growth in the startup ecosystem. Most budgets have been populist in nature, however, we stand at an important junction where real and meaningful impact can be made. The opportunity is too great to be missed.(Ashish Mittal in Angel Investor and Chief Mentor at TurningIdeas Solutions, a startup incubation platform based in Noida. Ashish can be followed at @ashishmitt)