A remark made by Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal at the recently concluded Startup Mahakumbh has set off a national debate on the direction, ambition, and reality of India’s startup ecosystem. What began as a motivational message quickly snowballed into a political flashpoint, prompting reactions from top entrepreneurs, opposition leaders, and tech veterans.
Speaking to a packed audience of founders and investors, Goyal questioned whether India’s startup ambitions were too limited. “We are making food and hyper-delivery apps; creating cheap labour so the rich can have a meal without stepping out,” he said. “While the Chinese are working on AI, EVs, and semiconductors, we are delivering groceries and ice cream. Should we make ice cream delivery apps or make chips? Dukaandari hi karna hai?”
The comment, meant to inspire bigger goals, was interpreted by many as a criticism of India’s growing consumer-tech sector — a perception that triggered swift responses.
Congress Hits Back
Congress leader Priyank Kharge slammed the government, calling Goyal’s remarks an “open confession” of failure. In a sharply worded post, he said:
“Skill India — failed. Make in India — failed. Startup India — failed. Even Minister Piyush Goyal couldn’t hide it. After a decade of slogans, what has Modi Sarkar actually delivered for innovation? No real support for R&D. No push for DeepTech. No genuine startup ecosystem.”
Kharge didn’t stop there. “The BJP Government has killed the scientific temperament by mixing mythology with science,” he said, referencing bizarre claims from past Indian Science Congress sessions. “When the Prime Minister proudly claims that Karna was a product of genetic engineering or Lord Ganesha’s head was fixed by ancient plastic surgeons, what future are we even imagining?”
He added, “Let’s not forget we have a Prime Minister who asked citizens to bang utensils and light lamps to fight Corona. When mythology becomes science, progress becomes a joke.”
Entrepreneurs React — With Nuance
While Kharge’s critique went viral, not all reactions were confrontational.
Aman Gupta, co-founder of boAt and a judge on Shark Tank India, defended Goyal’s intentions. “It’s not every day that the government asks founders to dream bigger,” Gupta posted. “I was there. I heard the full speech. Piyush Goyal ji isn’t against founders. He believes in us.”
Gupta said the minister was urging Indian entrepreneurs to benchmark against global competition. “If you want to build a world-class product, you must know your competition. That applies to India too. We’ve come far — but to be number one, we need to dive into AI, DeepTech, climate, mobility. We need more scientific risk, patient capital, and founder–policymaker collaboration.”
Zepto Co-founder Defends Consumer Tech
A more passionate rebuttal came from Aadit Palicha, co-founder of Zepto, the quick-commerce startup that has rapidly scaled across Indian metros.
“It is easy to criticise consumer internet startups in India,” Palicha wrote. “But there are almost 1.5 lakh real people earning livelihoods through Zepto today — a company that didn’t exist 3.5 years ago. That’s real impact.”
He continued: “₹1,000+ crore in annual taxes, over a billion dollars of FDI, hundreds of crores invested in organizing India’s supply chains — if that’s not innovation, what is?”
Palicha also addressed Goyal’s comparison with China. “Even China started with consumer services before building deep tech. Amazon, Facebook, Alibaba — all began as consumer internet platforms. They had the data, talent, and capital — that’s how they pivoted to AI and semiconductors. We need to build strong consumer companies first, then go deeper.”
Industry Veterans Step In
Former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai joined the fray, offering a broader industry view. “India has startups in deep tech too — but they’re small and need support,” Pai said. “Instead of questioning our startups, the Minister should ask himself: what has he done to help them?”
He cited policy roadblocks like the Angel Tax and RBI’s conservative stance on startup capital as major hurdles to scale.
Shaadi.com founder Anupam Mittal also weighed in. “I’ve seen deep-tech companies recently that absolutely blew me away,” he said. “But they’re starved of capital. The ecosystem for scaling and commercialization just doesn’t exist here.”
Former BharatPe MD Ashneer Grover was more direct in his critique. “China also had food delivery first — then deep tech,” he said in a post. “It’s fine to aspire for what they’ve done. But maybe our politicians should aspire to deliver 10%+ economic growth for 20 years before chiding today’s job creators.”
Minister Clarifies
In response to the uproar, Minister Goyal later clarified that his words had been misrepresented. “My message was received positively by young entrepreneurs,” he said. “Only a few Congress handles tried to manufacture controversy. The youth of India are ready to capture the world.”
The Larger Debate
Beyond the political back-and-forth, the incident has sparked a broader national conversation: What should India’s innovation roadmap look like? Should the focus be on solving everyday problems for a billion people through scalable consumer startups — or leapfrogging into cutting-edge global tech sectors like AI, semiconductors, and climate innovation?
While both visions aren’t mutually exclusive, the discourse underlines an uncomfortable truth — India must invest in scientific infrastructure, foster policy support, and back bold founders if it truly wants to lead the next era of global innovation.
Whether Goyal’s “ice cream” remark was a misfire or a masterstroke, it has done one thing well — it got the nation talking about the future of startups, not just the buzzwords surrounding them.
