New Delhi, April 7 -- Piyush Goyal, the usually affable union minister of commerce and industry, has stirred a hornet's nest with his comments about Indian startups being overly focused on food delivery and betting even as those in China are working on electric vehicles (EVs), battery tech, semiconductors, and artificial intelligence (AI).

His remarks drew sharp and swift reactions from many entrepreneurs, a reminder that truth bites.

However, Goyal's remarks may have been slightly misdirected. There is no contesting the fact that innovation in India lags behind that in our bete noire, China. In the 2024 Global Innovation Index (GII), China is ranked 11, while India comes in at 39. Other reports too consistently point out that China has...