Mohandas Pai slams Piyush Goyal’s “Dukaandari” remarks, asking him about his work as minister to promote deep tech Indian startups
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday abandoned Indian startups, demanding that they shift their focus from food delivery applications to technologies like China. Goyal’s criticism has sparked a sharp reaction from the former Infosys CFO, who believes India does not have enough opportunities to expand its startup ecosystem.
Piyush Goyal commented on Thursday when he posted the startup Mahakumbh. This is a comprehensive account about what happened.
Mohandas Pai Explosion Piyush Goyal
Piyush Goyal pulled out a slide during his speech, comparing startups in India with startups in China. The slide shows that Indian startups focus on transport apps in food and grocery stores, as well as ice cream and sports fantasy apps. In contrast, Chinese startups are more about electric vehicles, semiconductors, AI and other high-tech industries.
Mohandas Pai was in Goyal for Goyal saying he should not “demean” Indian startups, adding that these are “bad comparisons.”
“These are bad comparisons. India has startups in all these areas, but they are small. Minister @piyushgoyal should not belittle our startups, but ask himself what he did in our ministers to help our ministers grow Deep Teak Starts in India? It’s easy to point fingers,” he quipped.
“We have a hostile @finminindia @nsitharaman who has harassed angel tax for many years, does not allow donations to invest, insurance still does not invest, and they invest globally, @rbi often harasses overseas investors on remittances and payments, while aif is similar. @piyushgoyal @ashwinivaishnaw has not helped solve these problems.”
Check out his post here:
Piyush Goyal helps Indian startup
In a speech on Thursday, Piyush Goyal said the food delivery app is turning unemployed Indian youth into deliverymen for the wealthy.
“What are Indian startups today – we focus on delivery apps that turn unemployed youth into cheap labor so that the wealthy can eat without moving out of their homes,” he said.
He asked the Indian startup community to shift its focus from “grocery delivery and ice cream production” to high-tech fields such as semiconductors, machine learning, robotics and artificial intelligence.
“Will we be happy to be a delivery for boys and girls? It’s the fate of India… It’s not entrepreneurship, it’s entrepreneurship… what other aspects are doing – robotics, machine learning, 3D manufacturing and the next generation of factories.”
Piyush Goyal further pointed out that new startups should focus on preparing for the future.
“We have to make ice cream or fries?” he asked. He asked, “dukaandari hi karna hai (we just want to sell things).
The Minister stressed the need to increase domestic capital investment and noted that the strong foundation of indigenous investment is crucial to reducing dependence on foreign capital and ensuring long-term economic resilience.
