The controversy around India's Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal's remarks about the country's start-up ecosystem does not seem to die down. While some have taken a dig at the minister others have defended him on the need for Indian startups to set higher aspirations. 

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Speaking at the second edition of the government-led startup conclave called the Startup Mahakumbh, last week, Goyal urged Indian startups to move beyond consumer-centric businesses and focus on deep-tech sectors instead of “grocery delivery and ice cream making.”

The minister presenting a slide titled “India vs China. The Startup Reality Check” compared the Indian startups with the innovations being made by the "other side".

"Are we going to be happy being delivery boys and girls... Is that the destiny of India? This is not a startup, this is entrepreneurship... What the other side is doing -- robotics, machine learning, 3D manufacturing and next generation factories," said the minister during the conclave.

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He at one point went on to ask the audience, "Do we want to make ice creams or [semiconductor] chips?".

What are Indian startups doing

India with a population of approximately 1.4 billion has seen several startups emerge and expand globally. But how much have they matched their Chinese counterparts is something to ponder over. While China is aggressively working on sectors like semiconductors, AI, electric vehicles (EVs), and robotics, India is still caught up in food delivery and fantasy sports apps. So, India here is lacking focus on deep-tech and critical sectors that other countries including, United States, Germany, South Korea, and Japan are focused on.

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The sentiment was echoed by Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, who said Indian startups are busy making “food delivery apps, fancy ice cream & cookies, instant grocery delivery, betting & fantasy sport apps and reels & influencer economy," adding  "China are working on EV & battery tech, semiconductors and AI, robotics and automation, global logistics & trade and deep tech & infrastructure.”

Both China and India with their strong population were envisaged as centres for global startup growth. But by 2024 China left India behind with companies like Alibaba, Tencent, and ByteDance becoming global leaders. While most Indian startups, struggled with scale and profitability despite showing great capabilities.

According to a Business Standard report, Alibaba's Singles’ Day sales hit $203.6 billion, which surpassed India’s entire e-commerce market, that stands at $147.3 billion.

Despite India being the world's third-largest startup ecosystem with over 1.57 lakh government-recognised startups and more than 100 unicorns, it is yet to catch up with its rivals in on deep-tech sectors.