Piyush Goyal’s 'India vs Chinese' Start-Ups Remark Sparks Backlash from Ashneer Grover, Others

The fiery critical comments made by Union Minister Piyush Goyal about Indian start-ups at ‘Startup Mahakumbh 2025’ created buzz across the entrepreneurial ecosystem. He drew a sharp comparison between Indian and Chinese businesses, while giving a wake up call to entrepreneurs to change their perspective.

“Are we happy about being delivery girls and boys? Food delivery apps are turning unemployed youth into cheap labour so rich can get their meals without moving out of the house. Kids of billionaires are making fancy ice cream/cookies and calling it a start-up,” said Goyal while addressing the event on April 3.

While asking boAt cofounder Aman Gupta to change perspective on Shark Tank India reality show, the minister said, “Chinese are making semi con chips, EV batteries. India has only 1,000 deeptech start-ups. Dukaandari hi karni hai (Do you want to just sell things)?”

He also expressed his disappointed over Indian start-ups being acquired by foreign players, emphasising that new ventures should focus on preparing the nation for the future. “When I come to know that a bright idea of a young start-up got sold to a foreign company for Rs 25 lakh or Rs 50 lakh, I feel sad about it,” the minister added.

Backlash Grows on Piyush Goyal's Remarks

Industry leaders countered Goyal’s criticism of Indian start-ups, asking the minister not to belittle the country’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai pointed ut that although India boasts numerous start‑ups in sectors such as IoT, robotics, EV charging and battery management systems (BMS), these companies often struggle to secure sufficient government support to sustain and flourish.

“Goyal should not belittle our start‑ups but ask himself what has he done as our Minister to help deep tech start‑ups grow in India? It is easy to point fingers at them. We have a hostile Finance Minister who harassed start‑ups on Angel tax for many years, do not allow endowments to invest, insurance cos still do not invest whereas they do globally,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

Former BharatPe cofounder Ashneer Grover said people who need reality check in India is “politicians”. “Everyone else is living in the absolute reality of India. China had also food delivery first and then evolved to deeptech. It’s great to aspire for what they’ve done – may be time for politicians to aspire for 10%+ economic growth rate for 20 years flae before chiding today’s job creators,” he said.

Zepto CEO Aadit Palicha also joined the queue and defended the Indian consumer internet start-ups. He said it is easy to criticise consumer internet startups in India, especially when compared to the deep technical excellence emerging in the US and China.

He noted that nearly 150,000 people are now earning their livelihoods from the 3.5-year-old start-up. The company contributes over Rs 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.

“If that isn't a miracle in Indian innovation, I honestly don't know what is,” Palicha added.