Union Minister of State for Science & Technology Dr. Jitendra Singh announced that India is positioned to be an essential player in the next industrial revolution driven by biotechnology and artificial intelligence, contrasting with the previous IT-driven revolution where India joined late. He stated that India is among the first few countries with a dedicated biotechnology policy (BiOE3 - Biotechnology for Economy, Employment and Environment) and has also launched the National Quantum Mission and India AI Mission.
India's space economy has grown from being almost negligible to approximately USD 9 billion currently, with projections to reach USD 40-45 billion within the next eight to nine years. This growth follows the opening of the space sector to private participation in 2020, which has enabled the emergence of Indian space start-ups including companies that developed rockets and achieved unicorn status within few years.
The government is expanding private sector participation into areas previously outside private enterprise scope, including the nuclear sector. Dr. Singh emphasized that India has limited time to prepare for opportunities leading to the 2047 vision, requiring every sector to evolve and private sector readiness for new areas. The government has removed nearly 2,000 obsolete laws and procedures, including gazetted officer attestation requirements for documents, representing greater trust in citizens.
Other reforms mentioned include family pension rights for single daughters, nomination rights for women government employees, and pension provisions for families of employees who die before completing ten years of service. Technology is transforming access to education, particularly for young people outside metropolitan areas, and the start-up ecosystem is expanding beyond major cities.
The Minister called for extensive public-private partnership, stating that earlier skepticism needs to give way to mutual learning and collaboration. A 'whole of government plus whole of nation' approach will be essential for India to achieve its larger developmental, technological and economic ambitions, moving from technology follower to global leader in emerging technologies.