India Minister: "Do we want to make ice cream or semiconductor chips? Look at China!"

On April 13, South Korean media outlet "Everyday Economy" published an article stating that "Do we want to make ice cream or semiconductor chips?" was a remark made by India's Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal.

Recently, at an entrepreneurship conference led by the Indian government, he criticized India's entrepreneurial ecosystem for focusing too much on business activities rather than technological advancement.

Goyal expressed admiration for the rapid rise of new Indian companies, calling it the world's third-largest entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Then he asked entrepreneurs and investors present: "Do we want to make ice cream, or semiconductor chips?"

He pointed out that quite a number of startups in India are focused on food delivery applications and handmade brand sales, with very few companies dedicated to technological innovation.

He particularly mentioned China, saying "on the other side, machine learning and robotics are making great strides, and next-generation technologies capable of competing with the world are being developed."

He stated that in India, companies still mainly focus on lifestyle products such as gluten-free ice cream.

His remarks sparked strong backlash on Indian social media and other media outlets. Some criticized this as an unfair criticism of the entrepreneurial ecosystem that has made significant contributions to the national economy.

Adit Palich, co-founder of business application Zepto, said: "Consumer internet companies have been driving technological innovation in India and globally."

Others pointed out that insufficient funding from both the Indian government and private enterprises into deep-tech startups has led investors to fund lifestyle startups because they provide quick returns.

According to Indian media reports, by 2023, only 5% of investments in Indian startups will flow to deep-tech, compared to 35% in China. India currently has 4,000 deep-tech startups, and it is expected that this number will increase to 10,000 by 2030.

Original Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1829255126792260/

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