Prime Minister Narendra Modi today asserted that the country is no longer just a consumer of technology, but it has now become a pioneer of technological transformation.
Inaugurating the Emerging Science and Technology Innovation Conclave 2025 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, Mr Modi said, the government is focusing on ease of doing research to build a modern ecosystem of innovation in the country. He highlighted that the world’s most successful digital public infrastructure has been created in the country.
The Prime Minister emphasised that the policies and decisions taken in recent years to make the country an innovation hub are now yielding results. Mr Modi said the country’s Research and Development expenditure has doubled in the last decade, and the number of registered patents has also increased 17 times. He said the country has become the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem. He added that over six thousand deep-tech startups in the country are working in areas such as clean energy and advanced materials.
The Prime Minister said that the country’s semiconductor sector has taken a transformative leap. He also highlighted the growth of the country’s bio-economy, which has expanded from 10 billion US dollars in 2014 to approximately 140 billion US dollars now.
Underscoring that in recent years, India has made significant strides in several sunrise domains, including green hydrogen, quantum computing, deep sea research, and critical minerals, Mr Modi emphasised that the country has established a promising presence in all these areas.
The Prime Minister said the country is working to build a modern innovation ecosystem and is focusing on improving the ease of doing research. Mr Modi said, reforms have been made to ensure that prototypes can swiftly move from lab to market.
Underlining that the 21st century is a period of unprecedented transformation, Mr Modi remarked that the global order is witnessing a new shift and the pace of change is not linear but exponential. He said that the Anusandhan National Research Foundation has been established to scale up research and innovation in Indian universities. He emphasised that efforts are being made to promote research and development in the private sector as well.
On this occasion, the Prime Minister also launched the one lakh crore rupees worth of Research Development and Innovation Scheme Fund to give a major boost to the research and development ecosystem in the country. The scheme aims to promote a private sector-driven research and development ecosystem in the country.
Union Minister for Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh, Principal Scientific Adviser Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, Nobel Laureate Sir Andre Geim and other dignitaries were present at the event.
