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Journalism of Courage
At Startup Mahakumbh 2025, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal sparked debate with his comments on India’s startup ecosystem, questioning its focus on food delivery and logistics over deep-tech innovation. “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,” Goyal said, suggesting that this trend falls short of the kind of innovation India needs to lead globally. He did, however, acknowledge the progress made so far, but said, “Are we the best in the world as yet? Not yet.”
Goyal also compared India’s startups to China’s, and said, “Should we aspire to be, or are we going to be happy being delivery boys and girls?” This statement didn’t sit well with many in the entrepreneurial space. Zepto co-founder and CEO Aadit Palicha was among the first to respond, defending the value of consumer internet startups.
In a detailed post on X, Palicha shared how Zepto, which began just 3.5 years ago, has already created livelihoods for nearly 1.5 lakh people and contributes over Rs 1,000 crore in taxes annually. He also pointed out the massive foreign investment Zepto has brought in and the backend supply chain infrastructure it has helped build, especially in areas like fresh produce.
“It is easy to criticise consumer internet startups in India, especially when you compare them to the deep technical excellence being built in the US/China,” Palicha wrote. “But the reality is this: there are almost 1.5 lakh real people earning livelihoods on Zepto today… If that isn’t a miracle in Indian innovation, I don’t know what is.”
Palicha also said India lacks large-scale foundational AI models precisely because it hasn’t yet developed global-scale internet companies. Referring to the likes of Google, Amazon, and Alibaba, Palicha said, “Consumer internet companies drive this innovation because they have the best data, talent, and capital to put behind it.”
He urged the ecosystem — from the government to capital holders — to actively uplift emerging tech-driven businesses rather than dismissing their efforts. Though he admitted Zepto isn’t yet a “great Internet company,” he reaffirmed his commitment to building one and fueling economic dynamism in India. “Talent and capital exist,” he wrote, “what we need now is execution.”
Backing Palicha’s stance, former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai also pushed back on Goyal’s comments.
In a tweet, he pointed out the rapid growth of India’s deep tech startups in areas like chip design, IoT, robotics, and EV infrastructure, but raised a pressing question: “Where is the capital?”
