In a nation that's sent a spacecraft to Mars, a sad trend is emerging in India's startup ecosystem: the meteoric rise of astrology apps. While the world focuses on AI and renewable energy, some of our brightest minds are busy decoding celestial gibberish. This cosmic gold rush is more of a black hole for innovation.

Astrology startups are springing up faster than you can say "Mercury retrograde," attracting millions in funding. They're dressing up ancient superstitions in tech jargon, slapping on some AI buzzwords, and calling it innovation. It's like putting a spaceship's control panel on a bullock cart and calling it the future of transportation. These ventures aren't just harmless fun, they're actively harmful to India's progress. 
Every rupee invested in planetary predictions is money not going into solving real problems. We could be developing apps to predict natural disasters or revolutionise education. Instead, we're funding digital fortune cookies.

Defenders argue there's a huge demand for these services. But let's be clear, just because there's a user base doesn't make it right or beneficial. There's a demand for many harmful things, but we don't encourage them just because people want them. These startups are capitalising on insecurities and the desire for easy answers, not servicing a legitimate need. By legitimising these practices through these apps and substantial investments, we're endorsing pseudoscience. We're telling people it's okay to base important life decisions on cosmic positions rather than logic and reason.

The irony is very clear here. We're a nation with a rich scientific heritage, now feeding a multi-million dollar industry based on planetary positions affecting your love life. It's like we're trying to launch a space program while consulting tarot cards for the launch date.This trend is polluting our digital ecosystem with galactic garbage. We're raising a generation more likely to check their daily horoscope than understand basic scientific principles.

India's startup ecosystem has the potential to be a global innovator. We have the talent and the drive. But by indulging in this astrological absurdity, we're shooting ourselves in the foot, or rather, in the stars. It's time to redirect our focus towards real science, technology, and solutions. Let's invest in startups that tackle genuine problems, encourage critical thinking, and promote evidence-based approaches. Let's create a demand for scientific literacy instead of cosmic compatibility charts.

The future of India's tech scene shouldn't be written in the stars – it should be coded, engineered, and innovated right here on Earth. To all the astrology startups out there: may the force be with you, because science certainly isn't. It's time we reached for the stars in our ambitions, not in our business models.