New Delhi, April 6 -- A semiconductor startup founder has issued a blistering open letter to Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, hitting out at India's bureaucratic machinery for blocking genuine deep-tech efforts.

His remarks follow Goyal's comments at the Startup Maha Kumbh, where the minister had criticised startups for prioritising delivery services and gaming apps over core technologies. "Do we have to make ice cream or chips? Dukaandari hi karna hai," Goyal had said, expressing concern that India has only about 1,000 deep-tech startups.

'It's not the startups, it's the system'

The founder argued that it's not for lack of ambition or ideas, but the roadblocks within the system that stifle innovation.

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