(This story originally appeared in on Sep 30, 2018)

It’s been a year for unicorns — India has seen eight new privately-held companies valued at $1 billion or more emerge this year — and the country’s largest e-commerce company, Flipkart was acquired by world’s largest retailer, Walmart . There’s no dearth of capital for homegrown startups but will access to easy money come at the cost of their long-term decision-making freedom? How will Indian startups compete when the likes of Amazon and Uber that want to win the India market at any cost?, chairman and group CEO,is one of the few founders to speak out about the need for a level playing field. In a telephonic interview to TOI’s, he explained what the desi startup story could be in 10 years if measures are not in place. ExcerptsProtection is a strong word. We haven’t used protection anywhere. The logic is simple: India has created world-beating companies in many sectors, most recently in IT and ITeS. These companies whether Infosys, TCS or Wipro, compete with the best in the world because they exported services. These were companies run by Indians, and Indian promoters took long-term views. In the new-age sector — a lot of these companies are in the B2C or retail space — the companies need far more capital to compete with the best in the world, build a brand and acquire customers. For instance, Ola is up against deeply capitalised Uber. Capital is being used as a competitive advantage. Investors have made money in US and China, and India is the next big market. There is a genuine risk to some Indian companies. The 10-20 companies in the mid-bracket are excellent but unable to compete because there is more capital on the other side. It is up to the government to find a way to give these companies the oxygen to survive and thrive. If nothing is done, in five to 10 years, we will find very few pure Indian companies left. By Indian companies, I mean founderled companies where decisions are made here. Most of them will then be international companies or satellite-run companies, and we will have no one but ourselves to blame.China has created an enviable ecosystem of large, or rather, monster companies. Early-stage executives from these companies went on to start their own companies or invest in other startups. Today China’s internet economy rivals the US. I am not suggesting the Chinese model of shutting out companies, which is anyway too late to do — that ship has sailed. Let’s give a level playing field to our companies and give them the runway to grow into larger, sustainable companies.We can create our own ecosystem that we are proud of. The ingredients are smart people and we have no dearth. There are many onerous obligations on Indian companies. GST has not made it easier and, ironically, it is easier for a foreign company (laughs)... We go overboard when we say Atithi Devo Bhava.They are listening, for sure. Most of our discussions have been with the bureaucracy but with the ecommerce policy they called for a roundtable and we shared our views. As a responsible government, they have to hear all sides. We are willing to be patient.It’s wrong to think that nothing is happening. [Startups are] an area they are interested in. I would love to see more incubation centres, more focus on machine learning, data science and artificial intelligence where the government’s help stimulates action. We have to invest heavily in AI talent, and quickly build AI courses or [design] curriculum right from IITs to smaller universities.Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal was part of lobby group Indiatech and wanted a level playing field against Amazon. Bansal has left and Flipkart is owned by Walmart. How will this affect the debate?These benefits or breaks should be given as long as the company remains Indian-led, as long as there are founders in the saddle who own it. Once they go away, the (benefits) should go...it’s as simple as that.Ownership and how much stake founders have. I’ve been talking about non-commensurate voting rights over majority shares. As long as founders are in, it remains an Indian company. Their stake in management is key, and as long as management is Indian, it is Indian.If it does, it’s a good test. The founder is the only one taking a really longterm view. If investors are going to get nervous, it is better early on, otherwise you will have a situation like Ola, a clash within management or between entrepreneur and investor, which will not help either.