Piyush Goyal responds to startup criticism, calls the backlash ‘unfortunate’
On April 7, Goyal doubled down on his original point, stating that his intention was not to discredit the sector but to encourage urgency and ambition.
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Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has responded to the backlash over his recent remarks urging Indian startups to prioritise innovation and scale globally, calling the criticism “unfortunate.” Speaking at an event in Mumbai on 7 April, Goyal addressed the pointed comments made by former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai, who had taken offence to the minister’s remarks at the Startup Mahakumbh event earlier in the month.
“I have been bashed up a little bit by Mohandas Pai in the last few days for my appeals for startups to focus on innovation,” Goyal said. “But I do believe it is unfortunate that the whole issue of innovation was criticised. Sometimes it is important to shake up an ecosystem to make it realise the urgency of the situation.”
The row began on April 3, when Goyal, speaking at the Startup Mahakumbh, encouraged Indian startups to broaden their ambitions and take a hard look at their global potential. He highlighted that the number of deep-tech startups in India stood at just about 1,000 — a figure he called “disturbing” — and urged the community to focus either on short-term wealth creation or on building businesses that could operate at a global scale.
Pai later hit back, asking Goyal not to “belittle” the progress and contributions of Indian startups, many of which have driven innovation in sectors like fintech, healthtech, and logistics despite limited resources and regulatory hurdles.
On April 7, Goyal doubled down on his original point, stating that his intention was not to discredit the sector but to encourage urgency and ambition. He also called on India’s larger businesses to play a more active role in mentoring and supporting smaller startups, particularly in improving product quality to meet international standards.
“We as a nation have to collectively focus on supporting each other and focus on high quality in goods and services,” he said, reiterating his appeal to industry leaders to champion Made in India products.
The debate arrives at a moment when India’s startup ecosystem is facing new challenges—ranging from global funding slowdowns to concerns over exits and profitability. Goyal’s comments appear aimed at ensuring that Indian startups look beyond valuations and investor interest to longer-term innovation and global relevance.
