Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said that building startups in India has never been an easy journey, as he interacted with leading entrepreneurs at the ‘Startup Pe Charcha’ event organised under the Startup India initiative in New Delhi. 

Goyal was moderating a session attended by prominent startup leaders, including OYO Rooms Founder and CEO Ritesh Agarwal, boAt Co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer Aman Gupta, and Minimalist Co-founder Mohit Yadav. 

India has undergone key transformation: Ritesh Agarwal

Recalling his entrepreneurial journey over the past decade, Agarwal said India has undergone a significant transformation. “Over the last 10 years, India has seen a sea change. The country’s GDP has grown considerably, and today at least one-third of graduates from institutions like Harvard and Stanford want to return to India to start their own companies. The best talent wants to come back and work here,” he said. Agarwal also expressed support for youngsters from small towns aspiring to succeed as entrepreneurs. 

India’s progress in deep-tech sector

During the interaction, Rajan Anandan, Managing Director at Peak XV Partners, asked the minister about India’s progress in the deep-tech sector. Responding to the query, Goyal said the government is encouraged by the advances being made in the space. 

“I am very excited about the progress we are making in deep tech. I am glad that the second ₹10,000-crore Startup Fund of Funds announced by the government will largely be deployed to support deep-tech startups,” Goyal said. 

The event brought together policymakers and entrepreneurs to reflect on a decade of the Startup India initiative and discuss the future of India’s startup ecosystem. 

Ahead of the event, the minister said in a post on X that Startup India was a “pathbreaking initiative” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that had enabled the country to “dream big and act bigger”. He said the programme’s success was evident not only in numbers but also in its broader social impact. “What makes this success sweeter is that it has unlocked the spirit of enterprise in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities and empowered our youth and women,” Goyal said. 

Marking National Startup Day, the minister said the 10-year journey of Startup India reflected “consistency, inclusivity and growth”, and pointed to a promising future for India’s startup ecosystem. He added that more than 50 startups are being recognised every day across the country.