Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, addressing the TiEcon Delhi-NCR 2025 conference on Wednesday, reflected on the controversy surrounding his earlier criticism of Indian start-ups. Speaking on the theme ‘India’s Deeptech Moment: From Digital Leadership to Technological Sovereignty’, Goyal said his comments made at the Startup Mahakumbh event in April were intended to encourage innovation in deep technology sectors.
Piyush Goyal On Startup Remark Row
During the April event in Delhi, Goyal had drawn flak from the start-up ecosystem after remarking that Indian entrepreneurs were overly focused on food delivery and online betting apps, unlike their global counterparts working in machine learning and robotics. His observation had triggered strong reactions from industry leaders who called his criticism “unfair” and “dismissive” of India’s start-up achievements.
Revisiting the controversy at TiEcon, Goyal said, “For a few hours, it seemed as if there was a flurry of action and attack on me. It turned out that people like Mohandas Pai genuinely felt I shouldn’t have said it; probably, the Zepto guy was balanced in his messaging. I realised finally that it has actually created a wake-up call for all of us to recognise the importance of this subject and do something about it,” Economic Times reported.
The minister added that his remarks were not meant to undermine the start-up sector but to push for greater focus on deep technology innovation. “I met many youngsters later who agreed with my statement,” he said, thanking the TiEcon Delhi-NCR organisers for inspiring young entrepreneurs to engage with the deep tech ecosystem. “This will be truly a forerunner to India’s deep tech asset,” he added.
Goyal On India’s Digital Transformation, Technological Growth
Highlighting India’s progress over the past decade, Goyal said the country’s digital landscape had undergone a remarkable shift since the Modi government came to power. “India became the third-largest economy, overtaking Germany,” he said, noting that the number of internet users had risen from 250 million to over one billion, as per ET’s report.
“The journey of deep tech has a very holistic connotation. It’s not just artificial intelligence (AI), or quantum computing, or machine learning (ML); whether it’s our foray into defence and space tech, the semiconductor mission, or our effort to inculcate the spirit of inquisitiveness, the spirit of innovation, or our effort to bring technology into India’s DNA through strengthening of our intellectual property ecosystem—all of these are part of the deep tech ecosystem,” Goyal remarked.
He further emphasised that both the government and private stakeholders were actively supporting the sector. “The government is supporting this as well and well-meaning individuals and organisations are investing, not only in terms of financial investment, but also in terms of effort,” he said.
