India, April 3 -- India's startup landscape is under fire from Union Minister Piyush Goyal, who expressed concerns over its dependence on gig jobs while China advanced in deep-tech innovation. Addressing Startup Mahakumbh 2025 in New Delhi on April 3, Goyal questioned whether the country was content with low-paying delivery jobs rather than striving for groundbreaking technological progress.

"Should we aspire to be, or are we going to be happy being delivery boys and girls?" Goyal asked, referring to a presentation that compared India's startup landscape with China's.

Highlighting the stark contrast between the two nations, the Minister of Industry and Supply argued that Indian startups were overly focused on food delivery and gig work ...