2 weeks Ago By James Paul
At the Startup Mahakumbh held at Bhubaneswar (Odisha) on Thursday, the Union Commerce Minister took a scathing dig at the current state of the startup ecosystem in India. He highlighted where India was hurting in terms of innovation and execution by giving the example from across the border. In his keynote, the Indian minister slammed the investors and entrepreneurs being stuck in quick commerce and fancy ice creams and not on AI and emerging tech.
Below is a portion of his speech verbatim ( emphasis in all caps ours ). The minister compared Indian entrepreneurship with Chinese innovation, taking a dig at desi founders’ focus on quick commerce and food delivery. He said, We are focused on food delivery apps turning unemployed youth into cheap labor so that the rich can get their meals without moving out of their houses, and against that, (but) what does a Chinese startup do? Work on developing electric mobility and battery technologies, and with that they today (are) dominating the electric mobility ecosystem.
” The minister further added, We are very proud of what India has done. BUT ARE WE THE BEST IN THE WORLD AS YET? Not yet! Should we aspire to be? Or (are) WE GONNA HAPPY BEING DELIVERY BOYS AND GIRLS?” The minister continued his slamfest I have been going through a lot of our startup success stories—fancy ice cream and cookies! I know at least 3 or 4 billionaires whose children make one brand of fancy ice cream and cookies and run very successful businesses, and I have no complaints against that. BUT IS THAT THE DESTINY OF INDIA? KYA BHARAT KA BHAVISHYA US SE SANTUSHT HAI? Healthy ice cream, zero gluten free, whatever I dont know.
..vegan.
..YE SAB SHAB LAGAKE ACCHHI PACKAGING KAR K HUM STARTUP BOLTE HAI APNE AAP KO.
YE STARTUP NAHI HAI. YE ENTREPRENEURSHIP HAI. YE BUSINESS HAI.
Highlighting what the Chinese are up to, the minister added, Dusri taraf (China mein) semi-conductors mein growth ho rahi hai. Artificial intelligence, khud ki, apne desh ki ban rahi hai logo ki. They are investing heavily to become self-reliant.
Building chips, AI models, which will prepare the nation for the future. BHARAT NE KYA KARNA HAI? ICE CREAM BANANI HAI YA CHIPS BANANA HAI? Uske liye hum subko himmat karni padegi. He also suggested the Indian investors take heed of their investment, that drew a chuckle from the crowd.
Aur mein investors ko bhi keh raha hu. Aman Gupta, zara change karo Shark Tank mein apne perspectives ko.” Goyal continued, Third example.
Instant Grocery Delivery. Latest. Hot on the block.
I only wish it had more Indian investors rather than the foreigners buying all our startups. And look at what the other side is doing. Robotics, automation, machine learning, preparing themselves for 3D manufacturing, next-gen factories that are more efficient and that compete with the rest of the world.
Hum rote reh sakte hai. Choice humari hai. Yahan yuva peedhi hone ke karan ye out kia hai.
You all are the sculptors of new India. You have to make Viksit Bharat 2047 happen. Invoking the youths the minister stated We'll need to go global.
We'll need to think big. We'll need to be ambitious. We'll need to experiment.
We 'll need to go beyond the boundaries of our own thinking. Let's not limit ourselves with the past. Let's explore the unknown.
He continued When we look at the numbers. Probably like 1000 deeptech startups (in India)? It is a disturbing sign. Wealth creation in the short run may happen with some of these conveniences PAR DUKAANDAARI KA HE KAAM KARNA HAI HUMEIN? Ya vishwa vyapi ya international scale ka Bharat ki pehchan banani hai 🇮🇳 "Fancy ice creams, hyperfast groceries.
.. but where’s the real innovation?" Union Minister @PiyushGoyal calls for a reality check on Indian startups at @StartupMhakumbh ⚡️ Here's what he said about China—and what should India focus on? 👇 #Startups #IndiaVsChina .
.. pic.
twitter.com/TOfTHV3K6M — Moneycontrol (@moneycontrolcom) April 3, 2025 Meanwhile, entrepreneurs and founders responded to the minister’s statement. Former shark Ashneer Grover took to X/Twitter and remarked The only people in India who need a ‘reality check’ are it’s 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 ! Grover further thanked the 'Minister sir' for starting a 'healthy debate' on the crippling issue. Meanwhile Zepto’s Aadit Palicha in his long-post tweet remarked It is easy to criticise consumer internet startups in India, especially when you compare them to the deep technical excellence being built in US/China. Using our example, the reality is this: there are almost 1.
5 Lakh real people who are earning livelihoods on Zepto today - 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 organizing India's backend supply chains (especially for fresh fruits and vegetables).
He added, If that isn't a miracle in Indian innovation, I honestly don't know what is. The only people in India who need a ‘reality check’ are it’s 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..
. pic.twitter.
com/6WT8moviAz — Ashneer Grover (@Ashneer_Grover) April 4, 2025 The only people in India who need a ‘reality check’ are it’s 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...
pic.twitter.com/mqrRlquGQx — Ashneer Grover (@Ashneer_Grover) April 4, 2025 It is easy to criticise consumer internet startups in India, especially when you compare them to the deep technical excellence being built in US/China.
Using our example, the reality is this: there are almost 1.5 Lakh real people who are earning livelihoods on Zepto today - a..
. — Aadit Palicha (@aadit_palicha) April 3, 2025 Real innovation is happening with the babus of India accumulating a net worth of 500 crore with a salary of 1 lakh per month 🤑 https://t.co/WjG15lUx5Q — Trendulkar (@Trendulkar) April 4, 2025 The problem is known.
What’s the solution? Even the “delivery boys” can’t drive on the roads properly for the deliveries! Start with cultivating civic sense, then we may end up with a skilled and disciplined population. — Ranvir Shorey (@RanvirShorey) April 3, 2025 See Also: ‘He Only Gives Gyaan—Not Money’ Ex-Shark Ashneer Grover Slams Shaadi Dot Com’s Anupam Mittal Over Fundraising See Also: ‘Kuch Nahi Pata!’ Ashneer Grover Believes Most 20 Year Old Educated Indians Have No Clue How The Country Runs See Also: ‘Do The Math!’ Amid Inheritance Tax Debate Ex-Shark Ashneer Grover Slams ‘Tax Politics’ In India Cover: Patrick Gawande / Mashable India.
