India’s Startup Success: 7 Powerful Insights from Aviral Bhatnagar’s Bold Response to Goyal’s Remark

Union Minister Piyush Goyal recently stirred a debate by urging Indian startups to shift their focus from consumer apps like food delivery and fantasy sports to deep-tech areas such as electric vehicles, AI, and battery technology. At the Startup Mahakumbh event, he compared India’s startup ecosystem with China’s, calling for more global ambition and innovation. In response, Aviral Bhatnagar, founder of ajvc, defended Indian startups, pointing out that India ranks third globally in startup numbers and leads in digital payments.

He argued that the real challenge lies in India’s poor ease of doing business ranking, currently at 63rd, due to outdated regulations and red tape. Bhatnagar’s remarks highlighted how bureaucratic obstacles, not lack of vision, are stifling disruptive innovation. The conversation prompted Goyal to announce a dedicated government helpline to assist startups in navigating policy issues and filing complaints. The helpline will support regional languages and allow entrepreneurs to suggest legal reforms.

This exchange underlines the need for both visionary goals and a supportive regulatory environment to truly unlock India’s startup potential.

India’s Startup Success: 7 Powerful Insights from Aviral Bhatnagar’s Bold Response to Goyal’s Remark

At a recent Startup Mahakumbh event, Union Minister Piyush Goyal sparked an important conversation about the future of India’s startup landscape. Addressing young entrepreneurs, he urged them to move beyond consumer-centric sectors like food delivery and fantasy sports, and focus instead on advanced fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), electric vehicles (EVs), and battery technology. While he praised India’s thriving startup culture, he expressed concern over the limited number of deep-tech ventures—only around 1,000 out of tens of thousands of startups. “Should we just keep running shops (dukaandari)?” he asked, challenging innovators to think globally and compete on the world stage. Goyal also pointed to China’s aggressive investments in cutting-edge technologies, suggesting that India could learn from such strategies.

The Push for High-Tech Innovation

Goyal’s remarks highlighted a desire to elevate India’s standing in the global tech race. He emphasized that while consumer services have fueled early growth, the next leap forward will come from solving complex challenges through advanced technologies. His call to action aligned with India’s ambition to become a global innovation hub but also triggered debate. Some critics questioned whether the burden of transformation should rest solely on startups—especially when structural issues remain unresolved.

Regulatory Roadblocks: A Founder’s Perspective

Aviral Bhatnagar, founder of venture capital firm AJVC, offered a thoughtful response on LinkedIn. While agreeing on the need for greater ambition, he argued that the true barrier lies in India’s regulatory system, not in the mindset of entrepreneurs. Bhatnagar pointed to India’s strong startup credentials—third-largest ecosystem globally, a leader in digital payments, and a growing list of unicorns. Yet, the country ranks just 63rd on the World Bank’s ease of doing business index. “We know where the problem is,” he wrote, attributing the slow pace of progress to outdated laws, bureaucratic red tape, and complex compliance requirements rather than a lack of vision.

His views resonated with many founders who regularly encounter unclear regulations, sluggish approvals, and overlapping jurisdictions. Startups in sectors like fintech and healthtech, in particular, struggle to align groundbreaking models with legacy legal systems. For example, AI-driven platforms or EV infrastructure projects often run into vague licensing requirements or outdated policies, which limit their ability to scale effectively.

Government Responds with Support Initiatives

In a sign that the government is listening, Goyal announced a new startup-focused helpline. The service, accessible via a four-digit toll-free number and available in regional languages, is designed to help entrepreneurs report issues, offer feedback, and navigate regulatory challenges. Startups can flag bureaucratic harassment, propose legal reforms, or seek clarity on how to bring innovative solutions within current legal frameworks. “This helpline will empower startups to directly shape India’s business policies,” Goyal said, presenting it as a tool to bridge the gap between policy and innovation.

Balancing Aspiration with Action

The exchange between Goyal and Bhatnagar highlights the growing tension between India’s vibrant private sector and its slower-moving regulatory infrastructure. While the government encourages entrepreneurs to “think big,” founders insist that ambition alone isn’t enough to overcome systemic roadblocks. Securing pilot project approvals or tapping into R&D grants, for instance, often involves dealing with multiple departments, causing delays to time-sensitive innovations. Similarly, gaps in intellectual property rights and underdeveloped funding avenues for deep-tech ventures continue to hold back potential breakthroughs.

A Shared Vision for the Future

Despite their different viewpoints, both the government and startup leaders recognize India’s vast untapped potential. The country’s deep talent pool, affordable engineering, and strong digital backbone create an ideal foundation for global innovation. Success stories like Ather Energy (EVs), Niramai (AI healthcare), and Agnikul (space tech) prove that Indian startups can excel when supported by forward-thinking policies.

The road ahead calls for collaboration. While the government’s helpline is a promising step, lasting progress depends on broader reforms—simplifying compliance, updating industry laws, and boosting R&D incentives. At the same time, startups must continue exploring bold, high-impact sectors and pushing for a system that encourages risk and rewards long-term thinking.

As India works to become an innovation-driven economy, the key will be aligning regulatory flexibility with entrepreneurial ambition. The world is watching to see if the country can turn its demographic strengths and tech capabilities into real global leadership—a goal that will require not just visionary startups, but also a progressive and responsive governance model.