Unacademy CEO Gaurav Munjal recently posted on X, referencing Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal ’s call for startups to focus on deep tech — a comment that sparked backlash from entrepreneurs and ongoing controversy involving Kunal Kamra . “First Comedians, now Startups. We should all have stuck to being Doctors and Engineers,” Munjal wrote in his post.
Speaking at the Startup Mahakumbh 2025, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said that the Indian startups are focusing heavily on services like quick commerce and food delivery, contrasting this with China's advancements in deep-tech sectors such as electric vehicles, battery technology, and robotics. He questioned, “Are we going to be happy being delivery boys and girls? Is that the destiny of India... this is not startup, this is entrepreneurship”, igniting a debate within India's entrepreneurial community.
The second incident Munjal is referring to in his post is the controversy surrounding comedian Kunal Kamra. During a stand-up performance at The Habitat comedy club in Mumbai, Kamra made remarks targeting Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Supporters of Shinde's Shiv Sena party vandalized the venue in response. Kamra faced multiple charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and has approached the Bombay High Court to challenge the FIRs filed against him.
Following the controversy involving his remarks about Eknath Shinde, the ticketing platform BookMyShow delisted Kamra's shows. Kamra publicly requested either reinstatement on the platform or access to audience data from his past shows. BookMyShow responded, stating that facts had been misrepresented.
“BookMyshow is a platform to facilitate the sale of tickets and operates the business with neutrality and in compliance with the applicable laws of India. Facts on our role have been misrepresented in the public domain. Our role is to provide a platform for ticket sales of live shows and it is the decision of the organiser or the venue to list or delist their shows,” the company said in a statement.
First Comedians, now Startups. We should all have stuck to being Doctors and Engineers.
— Gaurav Munjal (@gauravmunjal) April 8, 2025
Speaking at the Startup Mahakumbh 2025, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said that the Indian startups are focusing heavily on services like quick commerce and food delivery, contrasting this with China's advancements in deep-tech sectors such as electric vehicles, battery technology, and robotics. He questioned, “Are we going to be happy being delivery boys and girls? Is that the destiny of India... this is not startup, this is entrepreneurship”, igniting a debate within India's entrepreneurial community.
The second incident Munjal is referring to in his post is the controversy surrounding comedian Kunal Kamra. During a stand-up performance at The Habitat comedy club in Mumbai, Kamra made remarks targeting Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Supporters of Shinde's Shiv Sena party vandalized the venue in response. Kamra faced multiple charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and has approached the Bombay High Court to challenge the FIRs filed against him.
Following the controversy involving his remarks about Eknath Shinde, the ticketing platform BookMyShow delisted Kamra's shows. Kamra publicly requested either reinstatement on the platform or access to audience data from his past shows. BookMyShow responded, stating that facts had been misrepresented.
“BookMyshow is a platform to facilitate the sale of tickets and operates the business with neutrality and in compliance with the applicable laws of India. Facts on our role have been misrepresented in the public domain. Our role is to provide a platform for ticket sales of live shows and it is the decision of the organiser or the venue to list or delist their shows,” the company said in a statement.
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