New Delhi, April 8 -- Is it a moment of reckoning or an aberration? When Union Minister Piyush Goyal took the stage at Startup Mahakumbh, little did the audience realize at that point that Goyal was going to do a hard appraisal of India's startup ecosystem. He didn't mince words when he said, "Are we going to be happy being delivery boys and girls? Making fancy ice cream and cookies. is that the destiny of India?" he asked pointedly.

Goyal's remark, though not intended at any one startup, in a way provoked the audience to think deeper. While support as well as dissent is growing for Goyal's remark, beyond the hyperlocal delivery and Q-commerce, is India producing more semiconductor giants, deep-tech innovators, or core technology players...