India's government is going to support their deep tech startup scene
Today, I read in Techcrunch that India has an ambition to "compete" with the US and China in the startup scene:
India has updated its startup rules to better support deep tech companies in sectors like space, semiconductors, and biotech, which take longer to mature.
The government doubled the period deep tech firms can retain startup status to 20 years and raised the revenue threshold for benefits.
Backed by a ₹1 trillion ($11B) R&D fund, the move aims to provide long-term capital and reduce funding gaps.
I noticed that Asian countries and also African countries are going to invest more in their business development.
The growth will be big with such support.
How do you see India’s position in the global entrepreneurship landscape over the next decade?
Can it realistically compete with the U.S. and China in deep tech?
It seems to me that they’re strongly supporting their residents in technology through education, research, and domestic investment. I might be wrong, though, so I’d really value hearing the local perspective.
Replies
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@fitnessrefined What I noticed is that many of their talents went to the US, so retention was very low. But this could possibly change that, and the presence will be more India-centric :)
@fitnessrefined Can you ever really be 'on time' with Deep Tech? 😅 It feels like it’s always a long game. India might not look like a front-runner right now, but 20 years ago China was just the world's factory without its own proprietary tech. The real question is whether investors have the patience to wait 10-15 years for results, or if they’ll push for quick ROI like in e-commerce
@lenavogel I think it comes down to execution than patience. Since the Indian government is the one driving this, they’ve already committed for the long term and aren't chasing quick profits. The real challenge is whether they can build the infrastructure fast enough to close the gap with the US/China.
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@tereza_hurtova yeah, their market is slowly opening towards more opportunities. We can see that in strategic collabs between the EU and India. I think that they have the potential to outperform even the US and China when there is enough support. They have the capacity for that.
TinyCommand
Speaking from someone who has built companies in India and is now running a U.S.-registered company, I see this support as directionally positive but often overstated in the short term.
If you look at the latest budget presented in Parliament, two sectors clearly received disproportionate focus: defense and deep tech, especially semiconductors. That signals intent. However, in practice, startup status extensions and higher revenue thresholds tend to be far less impactful than they sound. After operating in India for nearly a decade, my experience has been that bureaucratic overhead and policy friction often dilute the real value of these benefits.
On competing with the U.S. and China, I do not think that is realistic in the near or even medium term. Both countries have invested heavily and consistently in R&D, university research, and industrial policy for decades. That kind of ecosystem depth cannot be replicated in a few years, regardless of funding announcements.
As for the ₹1 trillion R&D fund, a significant portion is being allocated toward education and talent development, such as introducing AI and related subjects in schools and universities. That is important, but its impact will likely be visible only over a 5–10 year horizon. Because of that lag, it is very difficult to predict concrete outcomes today. India may strengthen its position over time, but expectations should be tempered by how long deep tech ecosystems actually take to mature.
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@priyanka_gosai1 many people went to the US from India. So how would you convince them to stay? Especially those quality who can help the country to be more prosperous?
TinyCommand
@busmark_w_nika you mean people who have already gone? From what I have seen in my family and friends, they only come back because of strong family ties. There's really no other motivator.
India has already proven it can be a global leader in IT outsourcing and SaaS. But Deep Tech is a whole different ball game. You can't just code and deploy here - you need labs, hardware, and supply chains. To me the main challenge isn't the funding, but building the physical infrastructure. It took China, for instance, 30 years to build that foundation