BJP MP Praveen Khandelwal criticized Zepto chief executive Aadit Palicha’s response to Union Minister Piyush Goyal’s comments on Indian startups as “misplaced and illogical”.

Mr Khandelwal, who is also the secretary general of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), said the Union Minister raised a genuine concern on the focus areas of Indian startups, and the Zepto CEO missed the essence of Mr Goyal’s comments in being defensive.

“Claiming to create jobs and pay taxes while burning foreign capital to dismantle India’s small neighborhood kirana stores is not innovation. This approach is not aligned with India’s long-term strategic interests,” the BJP MP said.

Mr Goyal, the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, at the ‘Startup Mahakumbh’ event questioned Indian food delivery startups for turning unemployed people into cheap labour.

“Are we going to be happy being delivery boys and girls? Is that the destiny of India? This is not a startup, this is entrepreneurship. What the other side is doing – robotics, machine learning, 3D manufacturing and next generation factories,” Mr Goyal said on Thursday, showing a slide titled ‘India vs China: The Startup Reality Check’.

Though he admitted some criticism will come his way because of his comments, Mr Goyal said, “I have no objections. We have to be willing to learn, evolve… aspire for bigger and better, we have to be bolder and we should not shy of competition.”

The Union Minister’s comments sparked a huge debate online, with some CEOs finding fault with his assessment about startups in China and India, and others supporting his view about the need for Indian startups to take on bigger, future-oriented, and foundational work.

Among those who pushed back at Mr Goyal’s comment was Mr Palicha, the CEO of the grocery delivery app Zepto. Mr Palicha highlighted what he called the company’s “contributions”, including creating 1.5 lakh jobs, paying annual tax exceeding Rs 1,000 crore, and attracting over $1 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI).

Mr Khandelwal dismissed Mr Palicha’s defence as missing the essence of the Union Minister’s message.

“Innovation must serve the nation, not just convenience. We need startups that solve real problems and build foundational technologies to drive India’s future,” the CAIT general secretary said.

Mr Khandelwal said startups should contribute to India’s technological self-reliance and global leadership, rather than pursuing short-term commercial gains at the expense of traditional businesses.

Big allocation for Deep Tech in Fund of Funds for Startups. #StartupMahakumbh pic.twitter.com/g9FSpvkP5n

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) April 5, 2025

The Startup Mahakumbh event that began on April 3 ended today. The event was spearheaded by India’s startup ecosystem leaders and led by FICCI in collaboration with ASSOCHAM, IVCA, Nasscom, Bootstrap Foundation, and other industry stakeholders, with support from the National Startup Advisory Council (NSAC), DPIIT, and Startup India.

This year’s theme focussed on the journey and vision of India’s startup ecosystem over the next two decades, aiming to shape a self-reliant, innovative, and Viksit Bharat (developed India) by 2047.

The complainant, Priyanka Mukherjee, alleged that a flight attendant stole the gold chain worth Rs 80,000 from her five-year-old child.

A car was fired at six times and set ablaze by a group of men in East Delhi allegedly because its owner ran a betting racket and owed one of them Rs 30 lakh.

Officials said eight men on motorcycles arrived in Trilokpuri, under the Mayur Vihar police station, around 4 pm on Saturday and ambushed a property dealer named Sanjay. They fired at his SUV, which was unoccupied, broke its windows and attempted to set it on fire after throwing petrol on it. The men then fled the area, firing in the air as they did so.

The father of a witness said his son saw the men arrive in the area. “They said things against Sanjay and broke the windows of his SUV. The men took out two bottles of petrol that they were carrying, splashed the liquid inside the car and set it on fire. They were firing in the air even after they left the area,” he said.

The men left behind a note in Hindi, warning Sanjay to return the money owed to one of them 

“Sanjay, give me my 30 lakh rupees or stop the betting business in your house. Give me my winnings. You are getting your son to threaten me, I know that your son is in touch with criminals. This is not a good thing you are doing. I know everything,” the note said. 

Officials said Sanjay is being questioned and the statement of the witness statement is being recorded. “Efforts are on to trace the men who fired at the car,” said an official.