India, April 25 -- Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal's comments last month that Indian startups were doing very little in the realm of deeptech may have ruffled a few feathers, but it struck a nerve for a reason. Well, by now, it shouldn't come as a surprise that India is miles behind its more advanced peers like the US and China.

Now, there may be plenty of explanations - funding gaps, limited R&D, policy conundrums - but the hard truth is that India's deeptech euphoria has been built on shaky grounds. While many of us may agree to disagree (yet again), a major case in point is the Indian startup electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem.

Let's understand how, but first.

India's EV Startup Legacy In A Snapshot

About a decade ago, in ...