'Don't pull down teams trying hard': Zepto's Aadit Palicha hits back at Piyush Goyal over 'dukaandari' remark

"Are we going to be happy being delivery boys and girls? Is that the destiny of India... this is not startup, this is entrepreneurship," Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal's recent remarks sparked a sharp debate around India's startup culture, dismissing parts of it as mere "entrepreneurship" rather than true innovation. Pushing back against Goyal's critique, 22-year-old Zepto co-founder Aadit Palicha hit back, saying that the need of the hour is to "actively support the creation of these local champions, not pull down the teams that are trying hard to get there."

What Piyush Goyal said

Speaking at the Startup Maha Kumbh on Thursday, Goyal said, "What are India's startups doing? They are focused on food delivery apps, turning unemployed youths into cheap labour so the rich can get their meals without moving out of their house."

Piyush Goyal shares his thoughts for Startup Culture in India ??

I don't completely agree. Startups like Zerodha, Zoho, Akshaya Kalpa, Big Basket, Zomato, Paytm, Jio Solve real problems of Indians. If Govt does not focus on employment & upskilling, Industry leaders have to do… pic.twitter.com/HpBZSLy8PM

— Fundamental Investor ? ?? (@FI_InvestIndia) April 3, 2025

He compared this situation to the Chinese startups which he claimed were leading the way in AI and technology.

"Are we the best in the world yet? Not yet. Should we aspire to be? Or are we going to be happy being delivery boys and girls?"

He refers to other Indian startups focused on things like "fancy ice cream and cookies" and questions if that's truly what India is meant for.

"Do we have to make ice cream or chips? Dukaandari hi karna hai (Do we want to just sell things)," he asked.

Calling for a focus on innovation beyond e-commerce, Goyal pointed out that there were only a limited number of deep-tech startups in India. "Only 1,000 startups in India's deep-tech space is a disturbing situation," he said.

What Zepto co-founder Aadit Palicha said

In response to the criticism directed at Indian consumer internet startups, quick commerce company Zepto co-founder Aadit Palicha defended their impact and potential, highlighting the real-world change they are already driving.

It is easy to criticise consumer internet startups in India, especially when you compare them to the deep technical excellence being built in US/China. Using our example, the reality is this: there are almost 1.5 Lakh real people who are earning livelihoods on Zepto today - a…

— Aadit Palicha (@aadit_palicha) April 3, 2025

He pointed out how easy it is to dismiss startups in this space when compared to deep tech innovations in countries like the US and China.

But, using Zepto as an example, he said, "There are almost 1.5 lakh real people who are earning livelihoods on Zepto today - a company that did not exist 3.5 years ago."

Palicha emphasised the tangible contributions Zepto has made: “?1,000+ crores of tax contribution to the government per year, over a billion dollars of FDI brought into the country and hundreds of crores invested in organizing India's backend supply chains."

He argued that consumer internet startups are essential if India wants to compete in future tech revolutions like AI. "Why doesn't India have its own large-scale foundational AI model? It's because we still haven't built great internet companies," he said, explaining how giants like Amazon, Facebook, and Alibaba started as consumer internet platforms and went on to lead global innovation.

Palicha urged the ecosystem to nurture and uplift Indian tech companies, saying, "The startup ecosystem, the government, and the owners of large pools of Indian capital need to actively support the creation of these local champions, not pull down the teams that are trying hard to get there."

While acknowledging that Zepto still has a long way to go, he shared his vision for the future: "Any capital we generate… will be invested towards long-term innovation and value creation in India."

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