Conducted by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci), along with the Indian Angel Network (IAN), the survey showed that more than 60% of Indian startups were operating with disruptions to their usual business flow.
"The startup sector is stressed for survival at the moment," Ficci secretary-general Dilip Chenoy said. "The investment sentiment is also subdued and is expected to remain so in the coming months." He added that a lack of working capital and cash flows among startups might lead to major layoffs in the next three-six months. The survey found that 68% of startups are cutting operational costs. Just 22% of them had cash reserves to meet their fixed costs for three-six months. The crunch on working capital will lead to layoffs, with close to 30% startups reporting that they would lay off employees.