Beyond valuations: India needs to invest more in R&D for sustained growth

India's startup ecosystem still falls short of structures that support deep tech

In a recent address, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal criticised the Indian startup ecosystem for being too focused on chasing valuations and using cheap labour instead of pursuing real innovation or solving fundamental technological challenges. Indian startups are largely seen to be consumption-driven and focused more on ecommerce, fintech, and edtech, that is, solving local problems at scale through technology-enabled services rather than work on long-gestation, foundational technologies. In other words, India’s startup story, while inspiring, has largely been one of scale and not frontiers of science. While the minister was right in pointing out that startups