'Can we have a team to handle bribe cases?': Investor urges Piyush Goyal to ensure zero red tape, corruption

An investor on Saturday made an open appeal to Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, urging him to commit publicly to zero corruption and red tape for entrepreneurs in India and proposing a tech-led solution to tackle the problem.

“Dear Piyush Goyal ji,” the investor wrote in a post shared on X. “Can we have a Team exclusively to handle Bribe related cases when an Entrepreneur Wants to Start a Business Legally in India? Can you set an Example by having an App just to report Bribes and action to be taken subsequently? A Deep Tech App which can Solve this Deep Rooted Issue.”

He added, “Can you publicly commit to ZERO corruption when an Entrepreneur goes to Begin a Business? Zero Red Tape... If We Can Achieve Zero Corruption, our Entrepreneurs can Achieve Much Much More, just like you Suggested.”

The post came in response to remarks made by Goyal earlier this week, where he questioned the direction of India’s startup ecosystem. Speaking at the Startup Maha Kumbh in Delhi, Goyal criticised the dominance of food delivery and fantasy apps, asking, “Do we have to make ice cream or chips? Dukaandari hi karna hai.” He said the country should focus on sectors like EVs, semiconductors, AI, and battery tech—areas where China has made significant strides.

Goyal had also raised concern over the low number of deep-tech startups in India. “Only 1,000 startups in India's deep-tech space is a disturbing situation,” he said.

Meanwhile, the minister has also announced a helpdesk to address issues faced by startup founders. He said the government would soon launch a dedicated helpline desk under the Startup India initiative. The helpline, he said, would be open for entrepreneurs to report grievances, suggest reforms, or flag issues including corruption and harassment by officials.

“If any officer troubles you or if you want to make any suggestion regarding any changes in laws or flag a product or technology that may not fall under India's legal ambit, you can reach out to that helpline,” Goyal said.

In the past two days, several investors and entrepreneurs have raised concerns over bribery and bureaucratic red tape as persistent challenges that continue to hurt business growth in India. Multiple startup founders have come forward with first-hand accounts of being asked for bribes during GST registration, factory clearances, and tax processes.