Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal’s remarks at the Startup Mahakumbh 2025 in New Delhi have prompted strong reactions from entrepreneurs across the country. While discussing India’s startup landscape in comparison with China, the minister questioned whether India should be content with its current trajectory, asking, “Should we aspire to be, or are we going to be happy being delivery boys and girls?”
Goyal highlighted what he views as a narrow focus within India’s startup space, particularly on food delivery and hyperlocal logistics. “What are India’s startups of today? We are focused on food delivery apps, turning unemployed youth into cheap labour so the rich can get their meals without moving out of their house,” he said during his address. While acknowledging the progress made, he added, “We are very proud of what India has done, but are we the best in the world as yet? Not yet.”
His comments were met with a wave of responses from startup founders and stakeholders, many of whom took issue with the characterisation of consumer internet companies.
Zepto co-founder and CEO Aadit Palicha was among the first to respond. In a detailed post on X (formerly Twitter), he defended the contributions made by startups like Zepto, which was launched just over three years ago. “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. Using our example, the reality is this: there are almost 1.5 Lakh real people who are earning livelihoods on Zepto today – a company that did not exist 3.5 years ago,” Palicha wrote.
He pointed out the broader economic impact of such companies, noting, “Rs 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 this isn’t a miracle in Indian innovation, then I don’t know what is.”
Palicha also addressed the larger question raised by Goyal regarding India’s absence from the global AI race. “Why doesn’t India have its own large-scale foundational AI model? It’s because we still haven’t built great internet companies,” he wrote, referencing global giants like Amazon, Facebook, Google and Alibaba — all of which began as consumer-facing platforms before becoming leaders in advanced technology, including artificial intelligence.
“Consumer internet companies drive this innovation because they have the best data, talent, and capital to put behind it,” he added.
Palicha further emphasised the need for broader support from the ecosystem. “The startup ecosystem, the government, and the owners of large pools of Indian capital need to actively support the creation of these local champions, not pull down the teams that are trying hard to get there,” he said.
While acknowledging that Zepto is not yet a “great Internet company,” he affirmed his commitment to building one. “I’m dedicating the next few decades of my life to creating dynamism in the Indian economy,” Palicha wrote, concluding his post with a call to action: “India has the talent, India has the capital, but it needs execution.”
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