This podcast comment from Union Minister of State for Science and Technology,Dr. Jitendra Singh honestly feels like one of those bigger claims which people will debate from both sides . He said India has moved from being technology follower to technology leader under Prime Minister Narendra Modi,and that is not small claim ah .
Dr. Singh said that over past twelve years,India has built strong base in science and technology for vision of Viksit Bharat @2047 . Earlier,according to him,India usually entered new technology areas much later than developed countries. Basically,we were catching up more than leading .
But his point is that this has changed in recent years . India is now not just adopting new tech late,but taking part in global development of advanced technologies like space,nuclear energy and artificial intelligence.
He said,“The last twelve years have witnessed India’s transition to a technology leader,with a flourishing innovation ecosystem and technological infrastructure.” And tbh,this line is clearly meant to show confidence that India is no longer standing outside big tech race.
Few things standing out from his remarks:
- India has made progress in space,nuclear energy,and artificial intelligence.
- Government is pushing private sector participation in technology innovation.
- India’s space sector now has over 400 startups operating in it.
And space sector part is probably biggest example he gave . Dr. Singh said India’s space economy is valued at nearly USD 9 billion,and number of startups has gone from single digits to over 400. That jump does show how much interest has entered this field suddenly.
He also credited Prime Minister Modi’s proactive approach in bringing science and technology into national policy . According to him,this helped increase private participation and innovation-driven entrepreneurship,which earlier was not moving at same speed.
But at same time,big claims like “technology leader” also come with big expectations only . People will now look at whether this growth is reaching students,researchers,startups and common public services in real way,not just in speeches and podcasts.
And maybe that is actual question here . India is clearly moving faster in many tech areas,but whether world also starts seeing it as leader consistently… that part is still unfolding…
