New Delhi:
BJP MP Praveen Khandelwal criticized the comments of Union Minister Piyush Goyal of Zepto Chief Executive Officer Adit Palika as “wrong and irrational” on Indian startup.
Mr. Khandelwal, who is also the General Secretary of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), said that the Union Minister expressed a real concern over the focus areas of the Indian Startups, and the CEO of Jepto recalled Mr. Goyal’s comments in being defensive.
The BJP MP said, “It is not innovation to claim to pay jobs and taxes while burning foreign capital to eliminate India’s small neighborhood grocery stores. This approach is not aligning with India’s long -term strategic interests,” said the BJP MP.
Mr. Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, used to question Indian food distribution startups to convert unemployed people into cheap labor in the ‘Startup Mahakumba’ program.
“Are we going to be happy to deliver boys and girls? Is it not a destiny of India? It’s not a startup, it is entrepreneurship. What is the other side doing – robotics, machine learning, 3D manufacturing and next generation factories,” Mr. Goel said on Thursday, showing a slide title ‘India vs. China: The Start Warrows’.
Although he admitted that some criticism would come in his way due to his comments, Mr. Goyal said, “I have no objection. We have to be ready to learn, should be developed … big and better aspiring, we have to become a boulder and we should not be ashamed of competition.”
The Union Minister’s comments created a major debate online, with some CEOs making mistakes with their assessment about startups in China and India, and others support their views about the need for Indian startups, which to take up large, future-oriented and fundamental tasks.
Among those who pushed back on Mr. Goyal’s comment, the delivery of the grocery was Mr. Palicha, the CEO of the app Zepto. Mr. Palicha highlighted what he called the “contribution” of the company, including 1.5 lakh jobs, paying more than Rs 1,000 crore annual tax, and attracting more than $ 1 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI).
Shri Khandelwal rejected the defense of Shri Palicha as remembering the essence of the Union Minister’s message.
The CAIT general secretary said, “Innovation should serve the nation, not only facilities. We need startups that solve real problems and create basic technologies to run India’s future.”
Mr. Khandelwal said that startups should contribute to India’s technical self -sufficiency and global leadership rather than pursuing short -term commercial benefits at the cost of traditional businesses.
Big allocation for deep technology in fund funds for startups. #Startupmahakumbh pic.twitter.com/g9fspvkp5n
– Piyush Goyal (@Piyushgooyal) April 5, 2025
The startup Mahakumbi incident starting on 3 April ended today. The event was organized by India’s Startup Ecosystem Leaders and in collaboration with Assocham, IVCA, NASSCOM, Bootstrap Foundation and other industry stakeholders under the leadership of FICCI, with the support of National Startup Advisory Council (NSAC), DPIIT and Startup India.
This year’s theme focuses on the journey and vision of India’s startup ecosystem over the next two decades, aiming to shape a self -reliant, innovative and Vikasit Bharat (developed India) by 2047.
