In response to Union commerce minister
Piyush Goyal's jibe about Indian startups focusing on food delivery and quick commerce instead of deep-tech innovation, and drawing comparisons with China's progress, Zepto's co-founder and CEO Aadit Palicha offered a strong rebuttal. He staunchly defended the quick commerce sector, citing Zepto's impact - creating 1.5 lakh jobs, paying over Rs 1,000 crore in taxes, and drawing more than $1 billion in FDI.
"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 on X.
Goyal had sharply criticised the sector, urging startups to shift focus from "delivery boys and girls" to high-tech fields like semiconductors, robotics, and AI. "Do we want to make ice cream or chips? Dukaandari hi karna hai?" he asked.
At the same Startup Mahakumbh event in New Delhi, G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant warned against India becoming a "technological colony" and stressed the need to invest in innovation to protect sovereignty.
BharatPe founder Ashneer Grover said netas need a reality check. "China also had food delivery first and then evolved to deep tech... maybe time for politicians to aspire for 10%+ economic growth rate for 20 years before chiding today's job creators," he wrote on X. "Maybe it's time to change 'public discourse' from history to science!"
Former Infosys CFO TV Mohandas Pai also hit back, asking Goyal what he had done to grow deep-tech startups. "There are many startups in chip design, robotics, EV charging, etc., but where is the capital?" he asked. "Long-term investors still don't invest despite your efforts... AIF flow is down, RBI harasses foreign investors, and PSU-run buses won't buy even when we have the technology."
Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays, public holidays, current gold rate and silver price.