Shark Tank judge Namita Thapar slams Sridhar Vembu’s 'marry in your 20s' advice

In a forceful public response, Shark Tank India judge and Emcure Pharmaceuticals executive director Namita Thapar has sharply criticised Zoho co-founder Sridhar Vembu for his recent advice urging young Indians to marry and have children in their twenties.

Vembu’s comments, which he framed as a “demographic duty” to society and one’s ancestors, ignited a fierce debate on social media — and Thapar has now demanded that influential leaders concentrate on more substantive social issues. Also Read | Heir to ₹77,000 cr, Upasana Konidela’s viral take on career, freezing eggs

In response, Vembu wrote on X that he advises “young entrepreneurs … to marry and have kids in their 20s and not keep postponing it.” He justified this by arguing that forming a family early is “a demographic duty to