Aman Gupta sides with Piyush Goyal’s comments on Indian startups to focus on deep tech
New Delhi, Apr 06 (PTI): boAt co-founder Aman Gupta has come out in support of Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal's recent remarks urging Indian startups to focus more on deep-tech innovation. Gupta's comments come amid an ongoing debate within the startup ecosystem where several founders have countered Goyal's critique of consumer-focused ventures like food delivery and luxury goods startups.
Gupta took to social media platform X to echo Goyal's call for startups to move beyond consumer-centric models like food delivery and fantasy sports apps and instead prioritise technologies like artificial intelligence, robotics, and quantum computing.
"It's not every day that the government asks founders to dream bigger. But at Startup Mahakumbh, that's exactly what happened. I was there. I heard the full speech. Hon. Minister @PiyushGoyal Ji isn't against founders. He believes in us. His point was simple: India has come far, but to lead the world...we need to aim higher.
"It reminded me of something I say often on Shark Tank India, If you want to build a world-class product, you must know your competition. That applies to India too," Gupta wrote.
The minister, during the inaugural of Startup Mahakumbh on Thursday, asked the Indian startup community to shift their focus from grocery delivery and ice cream making to high-tech sectors like semiconductors, machine learning, robotics, and artificial intelligence.
He had questioned Indian food delivery startups for turning unemployed youth into cheap labour.
"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, showing a slide titled "India vs China. The Startup Reality Check".
The minister had pointed out that only 1,000 of India's 1.57 lakh recognized startups operate in deep-tech spaces-a situation he described as "disturbing" given India's aspirations to become a developed nation by 2047.
Startup founders including Zepto CEO Aadit Palicha, Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu, and Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma have countered Goyal's comments.
Gupta, however, said pitching the country against China is a smart strategy.
"Benchmarking against China, the US, or anyone else -- isn't weakness. It's a smart strategy. We're already the 3rd largest startup ecosystem in the world and the fastest-growing major economy. But if we want to be No.1, we need to also go deep into AI, deep tech, climate, mobility, and infra. We need LLMs and innovation stacks that compete on global standards.
"And to make that happen, we also need Scientific risk, More patient capital, Founder-policymaker collaboration and a long-term national vision," Gupta wrote.
It’s not every day that the government asks founders to dream bigger.
— Aman Gupta (@amangupta0303) April 6, 2025
But at Startup Mahakumbh, that’s exactly what happened. I was there. I heard the full speech. Hon. Minister @PiyushGoyal Ji isn’t against founders. He believes in us.His point was simple: India has come far,… pic.twitter.com/bA4ontAz1M
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EAM Jaishankar meets Jamaican PM, gifts over 10 BHISHM Cubes
Kingston (PTI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday met Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness and discussed ways to further deepen "political, economic and people-to-people cooperation."
Jaishankar also conveyed greetings from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Holness.
"Pleased to call on Prime Minister @AndrewHolnessJM in Kingston. Conveyed the greetings of PM @narendramodi," Jaishankar posted on X.
"Discussed deepening our political, economic and people-to-people cooperation. Value his commitment towards further strengthening India-Jamaica relations," the post further read.
Also, the external affairs minister handed over 10 BHISHM (Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog Hita & Maitri) Cubes as a gift to Jamaica.
"Formally handed over 10 BHISHM Cubes as a gift from India to Jamaica, in the presence of PM @AndrewHolnessJM, Health Minister @christufton and FM @kaminajsmith," Jaishankar posted on X.
"The BHISHM Cube mobile hospital system, designed for rapid deployment, will help Jamaica during disasters and emergencies. The gift of these cubes is a statement of friendship, a commitment to disaster preparedness, and an outcome of innovation," the post said.
Jaishankar arrived in Kingston on Saturday evening, marking the first leg of his nine-day tour of Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago, aimed at further strengthening India's strategic and cultural ties with the Caribbean nations.
Earlier in the day, he interacted with the Indian diaspora and discussed India's ongoing transformation in infrastructure, human development and technology-driven governance and entrepreneurship with them.
He also highlighted the cricket bond between both countries as India gifted a scoreboard to Jamaica.
A scoreboard was dedicated at Sabina Park in Kingston. It is the home of the Jamaica cricket team and is the only Test cricket ground in the Caribbean island nation.
The minister expressed hope that the new scoreboard would witness many memorable innings, including those symbolising the enduring friendship between the two countries.
Cricket has long been a strong cultural bridge between India and Jamaica, which is part of the West Indies cricket team.
Jamaican players, including Chris Gayle, Courtney Walsh and Michael Holding, have played a major role in shaping the legacy of West Indies cricket in the international arena, contributing to its dominance in earlier decades and its continued global appeal.
