India Minister’s Comments on Start-Ups Spark Fierce Debate

Comments by India’s Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal about the country's start-up ecosystem have drawn sharp responses from entrepreneurs and ignited widespread debate on social media, Cherylann Mollan reported for BBC News.

Some interpreted the minister's remarks as a necessary reality check, while others criticized the comments as dismissive of a thriving start-up culture that has significantly contributed to the economy. I Photo: Piyush Goyal X

Speaking at the Startup Mahakumbh conclave, Goyal urged entrepreneurs to focus more on technological innovation to support India’s global ambitions. However, his remarks ridiculing the growth of food delivery, artisanal, and betting apps in India—compared to deep-tech developments in countries like China—struck a nerve.

“They’re making leaps in machine learning and robotics,” Goyal said. “And we’re still focused on lifestyle products like gluten-free ice creams.”

He continued: “Do we want to make ice creams, or [semiconductor] chips?” adding that India needed to “evolve, learn, and be bolder.”

The minister’s remarks sparked a flood of reactions. Some interpreted them as a necessary reality check, while others criticized the comments as dismissive of a thriving start-up culture that has significantly contributed to the economy.

Observers noted that while Goyal did praise India’s rapid start-up growth—India is now the third-largest start-up ecosystem globally—he also called for more ambition and faster innovation in deep tech.

Aadit Palicha, co-founder of quick-commerce app Zepto, responded on X (formerly Twitter), arguing that consumer tech companies have historically been the drivers of innovation—citing Amazon, Facebook, and Google as examples that began as consumer platforms but went on to transform industries.

Mohandas Pai, a veteran investor, noted that deep-tech ventures in India face a lack of capital and long development cycles. Investors prefer quicker returns from lifestyle start-ups, he said, adding that more government and private backing is needed to support high-impact technologies.

Social media users echoed these challenges, citing difficulty in obtaining loans, high import taxes, and bureaucratic red tape as barriers to launching high-tech ventures.

Others, like Vironika S, founder of edtech app Proxy Gyan, defended the minister’s message, saying his vision was correct but achieving it required systemic support from the government.

Investor Kushal Bhagia agreed, posting on X: “We just don’t meet enough founders who are doing something truly deep tech or going after big ambitious problem statements.”