Speaking at the Startup Mahakumba 2025 event, Union Minister Piyush Goyal called himself a startup instead of opening ice cream and cookies business to Indian billionaire children and focusing on the technological development of the nation.
Questioning India’s vision for the future, Goyal asked whether India wants to focus on technological advancement or if people are satisfied with the ice cream brand startup.
“Fancy ice cream and cookies. I know at least three or four billionaires, whose children make a brand or another, very fancy ice cream and cookies, and run a very successful business,” Piyush Goyal said in his address.
The Union Minister shared his analysis of startup success stories in India and said, “And I have no complaints against it. But is it the destiny of India? Is India’s future satisfied with this?”
Ice cream business, not a startup?
Union Minister, Piyush Goyal, in his address at the summit also questioned the strategies of these new and successful startups and said that the brands are using fancy conditions and good packaging to call themselves startups in India.
“Healthy ice cream, zero, gluten -free, vegetarian; using these words and good packaging, they call themselves a startup. It’s not a startup, it’s an entrepreneurship. It’s a business,” he said.
The minister also highlighted the story of India’s development, which is fuel by the growing domestic semiconductor industry and in-house developed artificial intelligence (AI).
“On the other hand, we are growing in semiconductors and in-houses developed Artificial Intelligence (AI). We are investing heavy in becoming a self-reliant, building chips and AI models that will create nation for the future,” Goyal said.
Questioning India’s priorities, Goyal focused on whether India needs more ice cream startups or semiconductor startups to grow for the nation’s future.
“What should India do? Create ice cream of semiconductor chips?” Goyal asked the Startup Mahakumba in his speech at 2025.
Zepto CEO defends Indian startups
After Piyush Goyal’s comments on Indian startups and people settling for low-paying gig jobs, China moved towards deep technical innovation. Adit Palika, co-founder and CEO (CEO) of Indian Quick Commerce Startup ZPTO, claimed that India’s consumers are important for innovation in the Internet Startup nation.
In social media posts, the CEO said, “It is easy to criticize consumer internet startups in India, especially when you compare them with deep technical excellence being made in US/China.”