In a fresh response to Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal's remarks on Indian startups at the Startup Mahakumbh, Shaadi.com founder Anupam Mittal remarked that Indian entrepreneurs are ready to take on the world.
Anupam Mittal responds to Goyal's remarks on Indian startups
However, he pointed out that government support is needed as founders can't do everything on their own.
Mittal wrote in an X post, "In the last few months, I have met a few deep-tech cos that have absolutely blown me away. From AI & space-tech to material science, Indian entrepreneurs are ready to take on the world."
And then he remarked, " But capital & the eco-system for growth & commercialization are severely lacking. Founders can do most things but not EVERYTHING."
In his speech at the Startup Mahakumbh, Minister Goyal urged entrepreneurs to reassess their value propositions, suggesting that too many startups were focused on food delivery and instant logistics with little long-term economic impact.
Goyal remarked that while Indian foodtech companies are turning unemployed youth into cheap labour for the rich people, the Chinese startups are pushing boundaries in sectors like semiconductors, robotics, EVs, and battery technology.
“Dukaandari ka hi kaam karna hai ya one of scale, to make a mark in the world?” Goyal asked entrepreneurs.
Earlier, Zepto co-founder Aadit Palicha responded to Goyal’s “dukaandari” jibe by defending the role of consumer internet companies in driving innovation and employment.
“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,” Palicha wrote.
He even shared Zepto’s economic contributions in numbers: “There are almost 1.5 lakh real people who are earning a livelihood 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 organising India's backend supply chains (especially for fresh fruits and vegetables). If that isn't a miracle in Indian innovation, I honestly don't know what is.”
Former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai also slammed Goyal, saying the minister should not "belittle our startups" and asking what the Commerce Ministry had done to promote deep-tech ventures.
“India has many deep-tech startups but no capital to grow fast,” Pai opined, calling on the government to offer support and warning that the Ministry’s startup division “seems to have given up.”
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