NEW DELHI – Addressing the “Vigyan TECH 2026” programme on National Technology Day, Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh declared that the lion’s share of independent India’s technological transformation has occurred within the last decade. He credited this surge to decisive policy reforms, unprecedented political priority, and the opening of the scientific sector to private participation.
The event marked a historic “whole-of-government” approach, bringing together fourteen Science Ministries and Departments on a single platform to strengthen the nation’s innovation ecosystem.
A Decade of Exponential Growth
The Minister highlighted several key metrics that underscore India’s rising stature as a global scientific leader:
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Startup Revolution: India’s startup count has surged from roughly 400 in 2014 to over two lakh today, cementing its position as the world’s 3rd largest startup ecosystem.
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Global Innovation Index (GII): India has climbed significantly from Rank 80 to 38 over the last ten years.
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Patents & Research: India now ranks 6th globally in patents, with over one lakh filings. Notably, more than 55% of these are filed by Indian residents.
The Vision for “Viksit Bharat”
The theme for this year’s National Technology Day, “Building India’s Innovation Ecosystem for Viksit Bharat,” focused on the path toward 2047.
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Convergence is Key: Dr. Singh called for moving beyond “intra-ministerial” work toward true inter-science integration. He urged institutions working on shared themes—such as vaccines, genomics, and AI—to collaborate in a unified framework.
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Administrative Reforms: To accelerate research, the government has liberalized procurement norms and granted greater autonomy to institute directors regarding Global Tender Inquiries.
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Key Missions: Highlights included the National Quantum Mission, India AI Mission, and the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) as pillars of future growth.
The PM’s Seven-Point Appeal
A special message from Prime Minister Narendra Modi was shared, praising the collaborative spirit of the Ministries. Dr. Singh urged the scientific community to strictly follow the PM’s recent seven-point appeal, specifically emphasizing responsible practices and the reduction of unnecessary foreign travel to focus on domestic innovation.
“TECH-संग्रह” Launch
As part of the celebrations, the Minister released “TECH-संग्रह”, a comprehensive compendium of indigenous technologies developed by autonomous laboratories. This document serves as a roadmap for technology transfer and future MoUs between research institutes and industry players.
“Every contribution towards Viksit Bharat will be linked with science and technology. Our scientific ecosystem is the central engine of the nation’s journey towards 2047.” — Dr. Jitendra Singh
