Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal provoked discussion at Startup Mahakumbh 2025 by criticizing India’s startup ecosystem’s emphasis on logistics and food delivery rather than deep-tech innovation. “What are India’s startups of today? We are focused on food delivery apps, turning unemployed youth into cheap labour so the rich can get their meals without moving out of their house,” Goyal said, suggesting that this trend falls short of the kind of innovation India needs to lead globally. He did, however, acknowledge the progress made so far, but said, “Are we the best in the world as yet? Not yet.”
Goyal also compared India’s startups to China’s, and said, “Should we aspire to be, or are we going to be happy being delivery boys and girls?” Many people in the entrepreneurial community were offended by this comment. One of the first to react was Aadit Palicha, co-founder and CEO of Zepto, who defended the importance of consumer internet firms.
Palicha explained in a thorough article on X how Zepto, which was founded just 3.5 years ago, has already helped around 1.5 lakh individuals find work and generates over Rs 1,000 crore in taxes yearly. He also highlighted Zepto’s significant foreign investment and the infrastructure it has contributed to the development of the backend supply chain, particularly in sectors like fresh food.
“It is easy to criticise consumer internet startups in India, especially when you compare them to the deep technical excellence being built in the US/China,” Palicha wrote. “But the reality is this: there are almost 1.5 lakh real people earning livelihoods on Zepto today… If that isn’t a miracle in Indian innovation, I don’t know what is.”
Palicha added that the reason India lacks extensive fundamental AI models is because it hasn’t yet established international internet businesses. Palicha stated, “Consumer internet companies drive this innovation because they have the best data, talent, and capital to put behind it.”
He called on the ecosystem, including the government and investors, to aggressively support new tech-driven companies instead of discounting their endeavors. Though he admitted Zepto isn’t yet a “great Internet company,” he reaffirmed his commitment to building one and fueling economic dynamism in India. “Talent and capital exist,” he wrote, “what we need now is execution.”
Former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai defended Palicha’s position and reacted negatively to Goyal’s remarks.
He highlighted the quick development of deep tech companies in India in fields like robotics, IoT, chip design, and EV infrastructure in a tweet, but he also posed the urgent query, “Where is the capital?”
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