Startup Founders React As Piyush Goyal’s ‘Dukaandari’ Remark Sparks Debate: ‘It’s A Challenge…Roll Up Our Sleeves’ – News18

Last Updated:April 04, 2025, 12:33 IST

Piyush Goyal Startup Mahakumbh: Piyush Goyal’s “dukaandari” comment on the Indian startup ecosystem has sparked an online debate in which the top startup founders have now weighed in.

Piyush Goyal At Startup Mahakumbh: Union Minister Piyush Goyal’s “startup reality check” remarks at the ‘Startup Maha Kumbh’ have sparked a debate among the founders of various companies on the internet – with some contradicting the minister while others backing his statements.

Top startup founders weighed in on the debate after Goyal’s “dukaandari ka hi kaam karna hai humein?” video went viral on social media.

What Did Piyush Goyal Say About Startups In India?

In a sharp critique of India’s startup ecosystem, the Union Minister highlighted the current focus on food delivery, betting, and fantasy sports app and went on to draw a contrasting picture with China’s advancements in electric vehicles, artificial intelligence (AI), and semiconductors.

“Are we going to be satisfied being delivery boys and girls? Is this India’s destiny? This isn’t startup culture—this is just entrepreneurship,” he said at the event on Thursday.

“What are Indian startups doing today? We are prioritizing food delivery apps, turning unemployed youth into low-wage gig workers so that the wealthy can get meals delivered without stepping out… Startups should be preparing the nation for the future, not just chasing short-term gains,” the BJP leader added.

With these remarks, the Minister has called for a shift towards deep tech that can significantly contribute to the country’s progress and economy.

Piyush Goyal’s Remarks Spark Online Debate

Various startup founders, including those of Zepto, Zoho, joined the debate and expressed their opinions on the Minister’s suggestion for developing a deep tech startup culture in the country.

Zepto co-founder and CEO Aadit Palicha took to LinkedIn and defended the Indian startup ecosystem, stating that it is easy to criticise consumer internet startups, especially when it is compared to the deep technical excellence being built in the US and China.

He cited the example of his company and said that nearly 1.5 lakh people are earning a livelihood on Zepto – “a company that did not exist 3.5 years ago”.

“₹1,000+ crores of tax contribution to the government per year, over a billion dollars of FDI brought into the country, and hundreds of crores invested in organising India’s backend supply chains (especially for fresh fruits and vegetables). If that isn’t a miracle in Indian innovation, I honestly don’t know what is,” Palicha wrote.

On the contrary, Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu expressed optimism that India will excel in the deep tech startup ecosystem, like how China is today.

He also said that he sees Goyal’s remarks as a “challenge to our engineers and technologists and not as pointing fingers”.

“The government cannot invent a better operating system or a smarter robot. The government should not even fund such things – it is not usually good at picking winners and losers. The government can at best conduct competitions where companies participate and then buy the best Indian products. In that sense, I see Minister Piyush-ji Goyal’s call as a challenge to our engineers and technologists and not as pointing fingers. What we need are smart engineers who roll up our sleaves and get it done. Keep in mind the vitamins and cancer cure argument – sequencing how we pay for our big tech ambition is very much part of the “engineering problem” that smart engineers must solve! We can do this,” he posted on X.

“I got this image forwarded – on India vs China startup ecosystems. China does all the things India does (Fintech, edtech ..) but China also invests in deep tech. We have to deepen our tech. That awareness is spreading so I am optimistic it will happen,” he said in a separate post on X.

However, he also laid down the challenges before the startups in the deep tech sector and said, “When you start work on deep tech, the most pressing problem you face is the long and uncertain timelines. When can the effort bear fruit in terms of a product that customers want to buy? When can the business become self-sustaining? These are very hard questions for any new startup but they are even harder for a deep tech startup and that is true even when we are ‘only’ figuring out what startups in other countries have already figured out.”

Former BharatPe founder Ashneer Grover also joined the debate and said that it is time to “change public discourse from history to science”.

“The only people in India who need a ‘reality check’ are its politicians. Everyone else is living in the absolute reality of India. China also had food delivery first and then evolved to deep tech. It’s great to aspire for what they’ve done – maybe time for politicians to aspire for 10%+ economic growth rate for 20 years flat before chiding today’s job creators. Maybe time to change ‘public discourse’ from history to science ! Thanks Minister sir for starting this healthy debate,” he said.

Former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai took on the minister for his remarks and said that he should not “belittle our startups”. He also questioned what Goyal has done as minister to boost deep-tech startups in the country.

“Minister @PiyushGoyal should not belittle our startups but ask himself what has he done as our Minister to help deep tech start ups grow in India? It is easy to point fingers at them. We have a hostile @nsitharaman who harassed start ups on Angel tax for many years, do not allow endowments to invest, insurance cos still do not invest whereas they do globally, @RBI regularly harasses overseas investors on remittances and AIF’s, treat them badly, cos FE rules. China invested 845b$ from 2014/24 India only 160b$! Why is Minister @PiyushGoyal @AshwiniVaishnaw not helping solve these issues?” Pai said.

‘Let’s Build Ecosystem Where Innovation Is Backed By Support’: Startup Founder

However, Founder of Proxygyan, Vironika, said that the Minister’s remarks sparked deep introspection. She also noted that the deep tech ecosystem takes time to evolve and needs a shift in mindset.

“I had the opportunity to attend Startup Mahakumbh recently, and this statement by Piyush Goyal certainly sparked some deep introspection across the ecosystem… Deep-tech doesn’t flourish overnight. It needs nurturing, guidance, and a shift in mindset — from both entrepreneurs and investors. Let’s build an ecosystem where innovation is backed not just by ambition, but also by bold support,” she said on X.

Pranshi Chaturvedi, a user said, “What Piyush Goyal said is something all startup bros should know! Fast delivery app for basic things literally not at all healthy plus the logistics cost and everything seems baseless! Deep tech sustainability solution and core business advancements should be the priority.”

Ravi Karkara, Co-Founder, AI For Food, said, “Mic Drop. Union Minister Piyush Goyal flays Indian startups at the Startup Mahakumbh. He used the India vs China startups slide to launch a sharp critique.”