Piyush Goyal, India’s Commerce Minister, sparked a heated debate with his comments at the Startup Mahakumbh 2025. He criticized Indian startups for focusing too much on consumer products like food delivery apps and vegan ice cream instead of deep tech innovations. Goyal compared Indian startups to those in China.
He said Chinese startups are progressing in electric vehicles, semiconductors, AI, and robotics. Meanwhile, Indian startups are still primarily focused on consumer-facing applications. His remarks drew mixed reactions from entrepreneurs.
Some praised Goyal’s call for higher ambitions, like Bhavish Aggarwal of Ola and Aman Gupta of boAt. Others, like Aadit Palicha of Zepto, defended their companies’ contributions to creating jobs and paying taxes. The minister’s critique highlighted broader challenges facing India’s innovation landscape.
Murtaza Amin of BizProspex pointed out bureaucratic obstacles that hinder business operations, such as bribe demands and inefficient processes.
Goyal’s vision for tech innovation
A semiconductor startup founder on Reddit shared how red tape delayed their application for years.
Goyal’s concerns about India’s startup ecosystem have merit. Only around 5% of total funding in India’s startups goes to deep tech, compared to 35% in China. However, simply criticizing startup founders overlooks the structural barriers that have historically stifled innovation in India.
China’s government implemented a 20-year plan to nurture an ecosystem for deep tech to thrive. In contrast, India’s R&D spending is only about 0.6-0.7% of GDP. India’s education system also plays a role by rewarding memorization over creative thinking and discouraging risk-taking from a young age.
The controversy around the government-backed “Ping Browser” further illustrated the superficial approaches sometimes taken to promote local tech innovation. The browser, which won a Rs 75 lakh prize, was a minimally modified version of the open-source Brave Browser. In essence, India can’t expect the rewards of innovation while maintaining an ecosystem that works against it.
The government should focus on creating the structural conditions needed for deep tech innovation to flourish rather than just demanding results from entrepreneurs.