India, June 17 -- Indian-American entrepreneur Chinmay Singh has criticised India's employee stock option (ESOP) taxation rules, arguing that they prevent startups from creating wealth for talented team members.

In a post on X, Singh, who is based in San Francisco and founded the startup iWish, said he employed software engineers from small towns and villages across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Assam while running his US-based company. However, he is unable to give them equity.

"I ran a US based startup. My engineering team was in India. Not in Bangalore or Delhi, but scattered across small towns and villages around UP/Bihar/Assam," he explained.

While cities like Bengaluru and Gurgaon are acknowledged tech hubs in India, Singh wanted his ...