At the CII Annual General Meeting, startup founders and investors called for the need for policy stability, more patient capital, and global competitiveness, even as India emerges as a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship.

Rajat Verma, founder and CEO of battery recycling startup Lohum, pointed out the mismatch between India’s global ambitions and the depth of its private capital markets. “There’s no dearth of engineering talent or market opportunity,” he said, “but a lot of promising deep-tech entrepreneurs are unable to scale simply because long-gestation sectors lack the capital support they need.”

Drawing on InMobi’s journey from a scrappy startup in 2007 to one of the world’s largest independent ad tech firms, Dr Subi Chaturvedi, global senior VP at InMobi emphasised that the current startup generation doesn’t seek subsidies or hand-holding—just clarity. “Policy cannot be an afterthought,” she said. “What we need is consistency, not volatility. Without that, global investors will hesitate to back Indian innovation.”

On the other hand, Paavan Nanda, CEO and co-founder of WinZo Games thinks that what every entrepreneur in India needs is “exposure”. “Exposure is the single most important unlock that any entrepreneur can get, especially if they're looking to expand globally. We're talking about Indian games to hold top 3 ranking across all countries.”

The discussion also turned to the broader issue of narrative—how Indian startups are viewed, both at home and abroad. Suhel Seth, who joined the panel to provide an outside-in view, didn’t hold back. “Today, the startup ecosystem is largely measured by valuations and unicorn status,” he said, “but that’s not the right yardstick. The real question is—are we solving unique, replicable problems that change how people live, behave, and consume?”

He added that Indian startups must lead not just with scale, but with pride and values. “Why haven’t we built a Google or Facebook? It's because we often celebrate exits more than endurance,” Seth said, urging founders to spotlight impact over investor returns.

Healthcare, gaming, deep tech and financial inclusion were all cited as sectors where Indian companies could lead globally—but only if backed by the right ecosystem.

Siddhartha Nihalani, CEO and co-founder of Practo, noted that India is well-placed to become a hub for medical tourism, but needs to resolve challenges around global credentialing and remote care. “We’ve got the doctors, the hospitals and the tech. But there are regulatory challenges around education, around privileging these doctors in their respective countries, which is something that governments of countries can work together and figure out – and which country recognises which medical degree across countries.”

Throughout the discussion, the emphasis remained on thinking big—but thinking Indian.

60% of the cost of any military equipment today is made up of electronics – 35% of that is semiconductors. China's penetration of that market has increased 600%, including U.S. defence supply chains in the last couple of years from 2004 to 2022. And what’s more, by 2030, China will have 65% of global capacity on semiconductors and electronics for defence.

“That's the piece that we're up against. Now, why India? India is the only country with enough skilled manpower to be able to compete with China. Why? Because since the 70s, American companies have come to India, European companies have come to India and set up huge tech centres over here. So, our GCCs are finally paying off,” explains Vrinda Kapoor of 3rdiTech.

20% of the world's entire semiconductor design talent sits out of three Indian cities – Bangalore, Hyderabad and Mumbai. Qualcomm's 5G chip was 100% designed in India.

“So what needs to change? Indian product companies need to emerge and Indian capital needs to back them,” added Kapoor.

“In a sector like ours, the edge doesn’t lie in capital alone,” said Lohum’s Verma, drawing contrast with a US peer that raised ten times more money but went bankrupt. “We built the business on local talent, manufacturing ability and discipline. Today, we closed last financial year with almost 1000 crores in revenue and almost 120 crores in income.”