'Make in India a failed campaign': Finfluencer highlights problems with India's startups

India's startup ecosystem has often won plaudits for being innovative and fostering job growth in a country of 1.4 billion. Critics, however, believe that most of the successful startups in the country are a copy of companies launched in western countries.

Finfluencer Akshat Shrivastava recently took to X (formerly Twitter) to highlight why the Make in India campaign is a failure.  "Ola is a copy of Uber; Zomato is a copy of Yelp; Paytm is a copy of Alipay (China). Make in India is a failed campaign. And, is now practically "Assemble" in India," he asserted. 

He further said that there is nothing wrong to copy good businesses and adapt it to the Indian market and even China does the same. "But, making this unnecessary noise; too much hype & marketing -- creates a wrong impression. And, makes people live in a la-la land."

The finfluencer was replying to Grok's response to a user query on the lack of innovation in startups in the recent decade. Grok said in its reply to the user that since 2015, India has seen innovative startups like Paytm, Zomato, and Ola.

"Yes, India has seen innovative startups like Paytm, Zomato, and Ola transform fintech, food delivery, and ride-hailing since 2015, reshaping its business ecosystem. MSMEs, especially in IT and manufacturing, drive ~46% of exports by 2025, boosting global profits. India excels in remittances ($125B in 2025) and supports startups via Startup India, fostering growth and jobs," Grok said in its reply to the user. 

Shrivastava's comments left the Internet divided, with some users claiming that adapting successful business models to the Indian market is not a mistake. 

A user wrote: "Adapting successful models to the Indian market isn't a flaw—it's smart business. Execution > originality in many cases. The real problem? Overhyping without sustainable value creation. Substance > noise any day!"

"Heck even we don’t have original TV shows. All our TV shows like Big Boss, Shark Tank, Laughter Chef, Kapil Sharma Show are copies of Western TV. Most of the Bollywood music and even movies are copies (sic)," a second user noted. 

"It's interesting that many successful companies began by adapting existing ideas. Often, the best innovations come from localizing and improving upon what's already out there," a third user said. 

"It’s fine to adapt, but the loud marketing can fool people into thinking it’s all groundbreaking when it’s not," yet another user commented.