Piyush Goyal slams Congress after startup remark triggered row: 'Manufacturing controversy'

Goyal asked the Indian startup community to shift their focus from grocery delivery to high tech sector like semiconductor, machine learning, robotics, and AI

Published on: Apr 4, 2025, 21:38:15 IST

By HT News Desk

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Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Friday accused the Congress of misleading Indian startups by “misinterpreting” his message at the Startup Mahakumbh.

"My message for startups has been received (positively) except by some Congress party (social media) handles who are hell-bent on manufacturing a controversy when it is none. By and large, the feedback that I have received is that the young Indians are ready to capture the world," PTI quoted Goyal as saying.

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal attends the inauguration of 2nd edition of Start-up Mahakumbh, at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on Thursday. (ANI)

The minister's remark came after the Congress and some startups criticised his statement at Startup Mahakumbh here on Thursday.

ALSO READ: Ashneer Grover reacts to Piyush Goyal’s startup remark: ‘Change public discourse from history to science'

"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," Goyal said on Thursday, showing a slide titled "India vs China. The Startup Reality Check".

He said that some people might criticise him for comparing Indian startups with Chinese, but added he had no objections because "we have to be willing to learn, evolve...aspire for bigger and better, we have to be bolder and we should not shy of competition".

ALSO READ: ‘1.5 lakh jobs, ₹1,000 cr in taxes’: Zepto CEO defends Indian startups amid Piyush Goyal's 'delivery boys, girls' remark

"What are Indian startups doing today? We have focused on food delivery apps turning unemployed youth into cheap labour so that the rich can get their meals without moving out of their houses," he added.

‘Some making fancy ice cream and cookies, is that the destiny of India?’: Goyal

"What India needs to do...should we make ice-cream or (semiconductor) chips...and for that, we need courage," the minister said.

The Congress had taken potshots at Goyal, alleging that the minister “exposed the lies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on startups.”

In a post on X, Congress said, "Piyush Goyal admits India's startup struggles".

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HT News Desk
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