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Tough as in a lot of competition. A lot of market segments dominated by Chinese manufactures have a relentless stream of Indian Startups nipping at their heels, is what I understand.

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Chinese players don't compete with Indian companies as both China and India have blocked access to either's market. For example, Chinese digital exports remained banned in India and even Chinese players in India like SAIC and Xiaomi have been de facto Indianized via forced ownership changes, similar to what China used to do when it was in India's shoes in the 2000s when competing against the US.

When people on HN talk about the difficulty in the Indian startup scene, it about whether to raise in India or raise in the US and then operate in India.

The issues in Indian startup scene are myriad and not just raising. For one the lack of govt support and extreme corruption at anything govt related hinders the startups penetrating market. There other reality is a two tier system of founders where people belonging to certain premier institutes are assumed to be better at startup than others. This stems from the fact that most Indian VCs are mass holders and investment bankers with nil to little exposure to operating a tech company. Capital is probably a secondary order factor if you consider these issues.

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