Several Indian entrepreneurs gathered in a unanimous unity after Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal questioned the value and innovation propositions of India’s startup ecosystem as Zepto Ceopo CEO Aadit Palicha and Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu’s views on the issue made them express their views on their own issues, which gave them a place in the competition.
Palicha – one of the most recognized faces in the startup world and co-founder of Zepto – cites the contribution of Quick Company to Jobs and FDI and calls it “a miracle in Indian innovation.”
He highlights the role of consumer internet companies in driving innovation in technology leadership.
The young founder believes that entrepreneurial ecosystems, governments and owners of large Indian capital need to actively support the creation of “local champions” and “not cut down on teams working to achieve their goals”.
Zoho’s Vembu believes the minister’s appeal is a challenge to engineers and technicians, rather than pointing at the finger.
“What we need is smart engineers who roll up their sleeves and finish them,” Vembu said in a social media post.
Meanwhile, Goyal spoke to reporters on Friday, accusing Congress of misleading Indian startups in the message of misunderstanding that he had in startup Mahakumbh, affirmed by budding entrepreneurs.
He also claimed that the Congressional ecosystem did not understand his information about startups, which reflected their negative attitude.
He told reporters here: “In addition to some Congressional (social media) handles, I have received (positive) information about startups.
“Piyush Goyal acknowledges India’s entrepreneurial struggle”, Congress said in an article on X.
In another article, it claims that Goyal exposed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s lies on startups.
Mohandas Pai, former CFO of Infosys, responded to Goyal’s criticism, urging ministers to maintain their faith, help deep tech startups and eliminate difficulties, and ensure that the industry will deliver on its promises.
He said any comparison with China is not correct, because India also owns such startups, albeit “small”.
Shark Tank Indian Judge and founder of Shaadi.com Anupam Mittal said in an article on X that he was impressed by some of the deep technology companies he encountered.
“In the past few months, I have met some deep technology companies that absolutely shocked me. From AI and space technology to materials science, Indian entrepreneurs are ready to meet the world. But there is a serious lack of capital and growth and commercialization ecosystems.”
Founders can do most things, but not everything, Mittal wrote.
In a well-written article on LinkedIn, Zepto’s Palicha said: “It’s easy to criticize consumer internet startups in India, especially when you compare them to the deep technological excellence we/China has built. Using our example, the reality is: There are almost 1.5 million real people who have won Zepto on Zepto, and today there is no company in Zepto – not a company – an existing one before 3.5 years old.
His statement was published on Mr Goyal on Thursday asked the Indian startup community to shift its focus from grocery delivery and ice cream making to high-tech sectors such as semiconductors, machine learning, robotics and artificial intelligence.
The minister questioned India’s food delivery startups turned unemployed youth into cheap labor.
“Whether we will be happy to be the fate of India…this is not a startup, it is an entrepreneur…that the other side is doing – robotics, machine learning, 3D manufacturing and the next generation of factories,” Mr Goyal said Thursday, showing a slide titled “India VS China VS China Entrepreneurship Reality Check.”
He said some people might criticize him for comparing Indian startups with Chinese startups, but “I have no objection (because). We have to be willing to learn, develop…the desire is bigger, better, we have to be bolder, we should not be shy to compete”.
The minister added: “What are Indian startups doing today? We are focused on turning unemployed youth into food delivery applications for cheap labor so that the wealthy can eat without moving out of the house.”
On the other hand, Chinese startups are working to develop electric mobility and battery technology, and today, they dominate the electric flow ecosystem.
“We are very proud of what India has done, but are we the best in the world? Not yet. Should we aspire to be or be happy to be the fun of delivering boys and girls,” Mr Goyal added that some of them are making beautiful ice creams and cookies, but that’s the fate of India… It’s not a startup, it’s entrepreneur or business or business or business or business or business or business or business or business or business or business or business or business or business or business or business or business. ”
On the other hand, China is focusing on semiconductor growth, artificial intelligence and building chips, which will prepare them for the future, he said.
Palicha came out to defend Indian startups and continued to list Zepto’s contributions and the economic value created by his adventures.
“Rs 1,000 are paid to the government annually, with over $1 billion of FDI brought into the country, and tens of crores are invested to organize India’s back-end supply chain (especially for fresh fruits and vegetables). If this is not a miracle of Indian innovation, I don’t know what it is,” Palicha wrote.
Why doesn’t he own his own large-scale basic AI model, he quipped, adding: “It’s because we still haven’t built a great internet company”.
“For the past two decades, most technology-led innovations have come from consumer internet companies. Who will cloud computing? Amazon (originally a consumer internet company). Who are the biggest players in AI today? Facebook, Google, Google, Google, Alibaba, Tencent, etc. (all consumer internet companies),” Palicha said.
Consumer Internet companies drive innovation because they have the best data, talent and capital to invest in innovation.
“We need to build great local champions on the internet if we want to get a great technological revolution. Startup ecosystems, governments and a large number of Indian capital owners will first generate hundreds of millions of dollars in free cash flow (FCF) (FCF).
Zepto is still far from being a great internet company that can put candles in the best places around the world, but “execute day after day to get there.”
“I can guarantee that any capital we generate from this business (to be honest, we will be willing) invested in long-term innovation and value creation in India.
He further said: “Essentially, this is something I’ve worked hard to do in the next few decades: create dynamics in the Indian economy and our capital markets, just like Americans have been for decades. We have talent and capital; we just need to execute.”
Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma said the Indian startup system is still developing, and so is it in China and the United States.
“Ecosystems developed are ready to play a longer role, whether in China or the United States. When you mature, you have the resources, then you can play longer ARC games.”
He further argued that India and many other ecosystems are still mature in sequencing with developing countries that have developed.
“When you are like the ecosystems of India and many other countries, when you are like the ecosystems of India and many other countries, you are playing a role in what is in front of you,” he said. “The money coming out from there will help us expand…we will gradually achieve milestones”.
publishing – April 5, 2025 07:20 AM IST
