Piyush Goyal clarifies startup remarks, says intent was to spur deep tech innovation in India

Addressing the event themed “India’s Deeptech Moment: From Digital Leadership to Technological Sovereignty,” Goyal clarified that his remarks at the Startup Mahakumbh in April were aimed at encouraging innovation in deep technology sectors, not disparaging entrepreneurs.

At the April event in Delhi, Goyal had drawn criticism from the start-up community after he said that Indian entrepreneurs were too focused on food delivery and online betting apps, unlike global founders who were driving advances in machine learning and robotics.

His comments had sparked backlash from several industry figures, who termed them “unfair” and “dismissive” of India’s start-up accomplishments.

Reflecting on the episode 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,” according to The Economic Times.

The minister reiterated that his remarks were never meant to undermine India’s start-up ecosystem, but rather to urge founders to focus more on deep tech innovation.

“I met many youngsters later who agreed with my statement,” he said, expressing appreciation for TiEcon Delhi-NCR’s efforts to nurture deep-tech entrepreneurship.

“This will be truly a forerunner to India’s deep tech asset,” he added.

Highlighting India’s remarkable progress over the past decade, Goyal said the country’s digital transformation had accelerated since the Modi government took office.

“India became the third-largest economy, overtaking Germany,” he said, noting that the number of internet users has surged from 250 million to over one billion, as reported by ET.

He added that India’s deep tech journey goes far beyond AI, quantum computing, or machine learning.

“Whether it’s our foray into defence and space tech, the semiconductor mission, or our effort to inculcate the spirit of inquisitiveness, innovation, and technology into India’s DNA through a stronger intellectual property ecosystem—all of these are part of the deep tech ecosystem,” Goyal remarked.