At the latest Startup Mahakumbh 2025 in New Delhi, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal gave a frank critique of India’s startup sector, calling for a strategic shift away from consumer-facing startups towards deep-tech innovation.
A Call for Deep-Tech Innovation
Minister Goyal emphasised a worrisome trend: while China is making headway in fields such as semiconductors, robotics, and electric mobility, Indian startups are largely occupied with food delivery and instant-commerce offerings. He wondered if the entrepreneurial energies of India are being invested in ideas that create long-term value or just respond to short-term conveniences.
“Are we going to produce ice cream or chips?… Aman Gupta, revolutionise your investment mindset on Shark Tank!”
— Piyush Goyal (Moneylife)
Concerns Over Foreign Investment Dominance
Goyal also showed concern regarding the foreign capital domination of Indian startups. He pointed out that foreign investors are acquiring or making big-ticket investments in several successful startups, resulting in the loss of local ownership and control. He cited instances such as Zepto and Flipkart, which have high foreign investment.
(Inc42 Media)
“I wish only that they invested more Indians instead of foreigners purchasing all our startups,”
— Piyush Goyal (Inc42 Media)
Mixed Reactions from the Startup Community
Goyal’s remarks elicited a spectrum of responses from the startup community. Some industry leaders, like Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO of Ola, agreed with the minister’s call for deeper innovation.
“Our startup community needs to introspect as to why we’re just building consumer tech companies.”
— Bhavish Aggarwal (The Economic Times)
On the other hand, others came to the defence of the existing Indian startup focus. Zepto CEO Aadit Palicha pointed out the jobs and economic impact of his firm:
“Almost 1.5 Lakh real people are earning livelihoods on Zepto today. If that isn’t a miracle in Indian innovation, I honestly don’t know what is.”
— Aadit Palicha (The Economic Times)
Government Initiatives to Encourage Innovation
In an effort to promote innovation in high-technology industries, Goyal launched the Startup MahaRathi Challenge, with ₹70 crore in prize money, to promote new startups in areas such as cybersecurity, AI, robotics, and biotech. The challenge is meant to offer finance and guidance to early-stage startups to scale and contribute to India's technological growth.
(Indian Startup News)
Conclusion:
Startup Mahakumbh 2025 address by Minister Piyush Goyal is a turning point for India’s startup ecosystem. His call is to move away from shallow fintech and become more domestic and deep-tech innovation-driven. The debate continues, but what is certain is that having a diverse and innovation-led startup ecosystem is key to India’s sustainable economic growth and global competitiveness.
(Outlook Business)