After Pai, Zepto’s Aadit Palicha Reacts to Minister Goyal’s ‘Dukaandari’ Remark

After former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai’s counter of Union Minister Piyush Goyal’s criticism of the Indian start‑ups, Zepto CEO Aadit Palicha joins the queue and defends the Indian consumer internet startups.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the second Startup Mahakumbh, Minister Piyush Goyal remarked that many Indian entrepreneurs are overly focused on ventures like food delivery, betting and fantasy sports apps, while their Chinese counterparts are dedicating efforts to industries such as EVs, battery technology, semiconductors and AI.

He questioned whether India was content with an economy built on low‑wage gig work rather than one that drives technical advancement. "Do we have to make ice cream or chips? Dukaandari hi karna hai (Do we want to just sell things)," he said.

Notably, the remark seemed like a jab to most online food and grocery start-ups, including Zepto. These start-ups employ a hyper-local, quick-commerce business model, focusing on delivering essential goods within 10 minutes using "dark stores" (micro-fulfillment centers) strategically placed in high-demand areas. They make money through direct sales, delivery fees, subscription models, and potentially advertising partnerships.

As per Goyal statement, this model is built on the back of low-wage gig workers with no actual innovation in it.

Also Read: India Needs More Domestic Capital to Retain Ownership of Start-Ups: Piyush Goyal

Zepto CEO Reacts

Indirectly responding to the remarks, Palicha said that it is easy to criticize consumer internet startups in India, especially when compared to the deep technical excellence emerging in the US and China.

Giving Zepto’s example, Palicha noted that nearly 150,000 people are now earning their livelihoods from the 3.5 year old start-up. The company contributes over ₹1,000 crores in taxes to the government each year, has attracted more than a billion dollars in FDI, and has invested hundreds of crores in organizing India's backend supply chains, particularly for fresh fruits and vegetables.

Listing down these stats Palicha said, “If that isn't a miracle in Indian innovation, I honestly don't know what is.”

Also Read: Start-Ups Should Focus on Omni Customers, Says Lenskart Founder Peyush Bansal

Palicha further argues that India lacks a large-scale foundational AI model because it has not yet developed major internet companies, which are critical for driving technological innovation due to their access to superior data, talent, and capital. He points out that global AI leaders like Amazon, Facebook, Google, Alibaba, and Tencent all originated as consumer internet companies and suggests that India needs to build local internet champions generating significant free cash flow to compete in technology revolutions. This requires active support from the startup ecosystem, government, and capital owners.

He acknowledges that while Zepto is not yet on par with global leaders, it is striving to become a great internet company. He pledges to reinvest any profits into long-term innovation and value creation in India, aiming to boost the Indian economy and capital markets, and emphasizes that with India’s existing talent and capital, effective execution is key to achieving these goals.