After Piyush Goyal’s comments, Amitabh Kant says Indian startups have done a good job

Amitabh Kant, G20 Sherpa and former CEO of NITI Aayog, stated on Friday that Indian startups have shown progress across various sectors and are poised to excel in emerging verticals. He highlighted that while China has made significant advancements in deep technology, electric vehicles (EVs), clean technology, and battery manufacturing on a global scale, Indian startups also have the potential to make a substantial impact in these areas. 

These comments were made following Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal's statement regarding the differences in the approach to innovation and business between Indian startups and their Chinese counterparts.

Kant, who was at the Startup Mahakumbh event, told FE Online: "Indian startups have demonstrated strong performance across different sectors and are expected to continue their successful streak in new areas."

On the first day of Startup Mahakumbh event, Commerce Minister Goyal said Indian startups are significantly contributing to the digital economy through innovative business concepts in areas such as food delivery, instant grocery delivery, and influencer-driven social media platforms. On the other hand, Chinese startups are excelling in international sectors like electric vehicle (EV) technology, semiconductor development, robotics, and automation.

Goyal stressed the importance of increasing domestic investment in forward-thinking innovations, cautioning against India becoming solely a service economy for foreign entities. He highlighted the necessity for startups to adapt, compete, and position India for future industries.

During his speech on Friday, Kant emphasized the importance of Indian startups developing their own AI models using indigenous data that is free from Western biases. He warned against relying on Western models, as this could potentially erode India's cultural identity and strength as a civilization. Kant urged startups to prioritize disruptive innovation in burgeoning technology sectors like deep tech, AI, electric vehicles, battery storage, and the circular economy.

“This is day and age of huge disruption and India must demonstrate a willingness to make a quantum jump in deeptech, space, drones, batteries, and cleantech. I’m making this point because China today controls about 70 per cent of the solar market, close to 74 per cent of the battery market, and close to 80 per cent of EV market,” he said. 

Kant emphasized the importance of having patient capital in the deeptech industry, which includes technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain, and big data that often have longer development cycles. 

Kant stated that deeptech companies will require patient investors, noting that disruptions in global supply chains and high US tariffs could affect the availability of venture capital worldwide.