Piyush Goyal’s ‘Dukandari’ remark on the Startup Mahakumbh stage sparked a controversy. Several startup founders slammed Goyal’s comment and defended it with bold perspectives. Piyush Goyal accused Congress of being behind this controversy. Let’s know what Piyush had remarked and what he accused Congress of?
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Piyush Goyal: “Dukandari” a Controversy.
Piyush Goyal, a Union Minister of eCommerce and Industry, said something while interacting on the Startup Mahakumbh stage, sparked a hot debate. Several well-known names responded to the minister’s comparison with China with bold perspectives.
Piyush Goyal demanded a reality check of the Indian Startup ecosystem, and compared it with Chinese ecosystem. Minister highlights where our startups are focused on instant grocery delivery, betting apps, ice creams, they are dominating with innovations in AI, EVs, and Semiconductors.
Piyush Goyal spoke at the event, “What are Indian startups doing today? We have focused on food delivery apps turning unemployed youth into cheap labour so that the rich can get their meals without moving out of their houses.”
Minister further said, taking a jibe, “Fancy ice cream and cookies. I know at least three or four billionaires whose children make one brand or the other, very fancy ice cream and cookies, and run a very successful business.”
“Do we have to make ice cream or chips? Dukaandari hi karna hai (Do we just want to do shopkeeping)?, “Goyal added. “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.”
Piyush Goyal: Congress behind the controversy.
Due to this remark of the minister, an online protest started. Several well-known unicorn founders took to social media platforms, criticizing the minister and slamming him. Some pointed out it’s not the Indian startup ecosystem but the corrupt politicians to blame.
Shadi.com founder Anupam Mittal wrote on X that Indian entrepreneurs are ready to take the world in any field, but capital and ecosystem are lacking. Zepto founder Aadit Palicha wrote, “It is easy to criticize consumer internet startups in India, especially when you compare them to the deep technical excellence being built in US/China.”
This list of criticisms goes on. Amid this controversy, Piyush Goyal, as always, drags Congress as the one responsible for this. In the interview, he says that Congress has done this as it is jealous because of Startup Mahakumbh’s and startups’ success.
“Have you seen all their handles, they are all Congress and its ecosystem who are all very uncomfortable over the success story of Startup Mahakumbh or the success stories of our young entrepreneurs, “Piyush Goyal told ET Now on the asked question.
