‘There is space for everything in our economy,’ Ashwini Vaishnaw defends startups amid criticism

He further highlighted the growing presence of deep-tech startups in India, particularly in semiconductors.

A fierce debate is unfolding over the direction and contribution of India’s startup ecosystem, with top ministers and industry voices sharply divided on its role in nation-building and innovation.

Speaking at the Rising Bharat Summit 2025 in New Delhi, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw defended India’s startups and praised the government's role in nurturing them.

"In our economy there is space for everything. Some of the startups are working on very difficult technologies," Vaishnaw said, adding, "The government has played a big role in fostering startups in the country. There are 1.5 lakh startups in the country as opposed to a few hundreds a few years ago."

He further highlighted the growing presence of deep-tech startups in India, particularly in semiconductors. “We have startups in semicon, IIT Madras has over a 100 deep-tech startups. Startups focusing on problem solving are needed in every space,” he added.

His remarks come amid a wider national debate, triggered by Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on April 3, when he questioned whether India’s startup economy was settling for low-paying gig work while countries like China forged ahead in high-tech innovation.

“What are India startups of today, we are focussed on food delivery apps, turning unemployed youth into cheap labour so the rich can get their meals without moving out of their house,” Goyal said, calling for a shift in focus towards deep-tech.

His comments sparked backlash across the entrepreneurial community. Goyal later called the reaction "unfortunate".

Backing Goyal’s view, columnist and brand consultant Suhel Seth escalated the controversy in a recent appearance on Republic TV. “Eighty percent startups in India are nothing but a racket,” he said. “When was the last time you paid yourself Rs 100 crore when your company was losing Rs 3,000 crore? These guys are doing it.”

Entrepreneur and Vionix Biosciences CEO Vivek Wadhwa also weighed in at the Rising Bharat Summit on April 8, criticising the lack of innovation among Indian startups.

“India’s entrepreneurs are focusing too much on food delivery and gig work instead of using technology to solve real, pressing problems,” Wadhwa said. “You can build smart cities using the advanced sensors in today’s smartphones. These are the same types of sensors that used to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and were once found only in nuclear missiles.”

He added, “Use these sensors in Delhi and Punjab to monitor pollution—it’s inexpensive. I don’t know why India hasn’t done this yet. As Goyal said, entrepreneurs here are busy building brain-dead startups instead of solving real problems.”

However, the sharpest rebuttal came from Info Edge founder Sanjeev Bikhchandani, who publicly defended Indian startups and condemned Seth’s remarks.

Taking to X, Bikhchandani wrote, “Suhel’s allegations against startups, founders, venture capitalists, and private equity firms in general were completely untrue, unfounded, and non-specific.”

He continued, “Suhel has also called out Masa and SoftBank specifically. Perplexity informs me that Masa and SoftBank have invested over $15 billion in India. They are great believers in our country. We should be grateful—India is a capital-short country. This is particularly useful when Chinese capital is not permitted.”

“Startup founders take a risk with their careers and their future to do what they do. And they struggle and they tighten their belts and they don’t give up. They are heroes and they should be respected and lionised not abused,” he added.