‘Are we going to be happy being delivery boys and girls?’: Piyush Goyal on India’s startup focus

India’s startup landscape is under fire from Union Minister Piyush Goyal, who expressed concerns over its dependence on gig jobs while China advanced in deep-tech innovation. Addressing Startup Mahakumbh 2025 in New Delhi on April 3, Goyal questioned whether the country was content with low-paying delivery jobs rather than striving for groundbreaking technological progress.

“Should we aspire to be, or are we going to be happy being delivery boys and girls?” Goyal asked, referring to a presentation that compared India's startup landscape with China’s.

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Drawing parallels

Highlighting the stark contrast between the two nations, the Minister of Industry and Supply argued that Indian startups were overly focused on food delivery and gig work rather than pioneering technological 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,” he remarked.

While acknowledging India’s position as the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem, Goyal emphasised that scale alone wasn’t enough. “We are very proud of what India has done, but are we the best in the world as yet? Not yet.”

A major concern, according to Goyal, is the limited number of deep-tech startups in India. “Only 1,000 startups in India's deep-tech space is a disturbing situation,” he noted, calling for a stronger focus on innovation beyond e-commerce and service-based businesses.

Challenging entrepreneurs to think long-term, he urged them to move beyond conventional business models and strive for global leadership in technology. “Dukaandari ka hi kaam karna hai ya one of scale, to make a mark in the world?” he asked, encouraging startups to aim higher and drive meaningful technological change.

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