NEW DELHI, Oct 27: The Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called India to take the lead in developing next-generation technologies saying the country must move beyond adopting innovations created elsewhere and focus on building solutions that address challenges faced by the world. Addressing the Emerging Science, Technology and Innovation Conclave 2026 in Delhi, the Prime Minister said India was entering a new phase of scientific and technological progress, driven by the confidence, ambition and ideas of its young innovators.
Reflecting on his interaction with startup representatives ahead of the event, PM Modi praised the scale of their ambitions and their confidence in pursuing new ideas. “The scale at which the youth of India are thinking, and the confidence with which they are moving forward, is truly inspiring,” he added.
Referring to the conclave’s theme, “Emerging Science and Technology,” PM Modi said India’s approach to scientific progress had undergone a significant change. In the past, the country often adopted technologies developed abroad, sometimes years after their introduction, and made incremental improvements to them.
“Decades ago, there was a time when science and technology for India simply meant ‘catch up’,” he said. “When something was innovated in the world, that technology would reach us several years later. We would adopt it, or make minor improvements to it and carry it forward,” the Prime Minister added.
He said India was now pursuing a different path, backed by greater self-confidence and a broader ambition to develop technologies that could serve both domestic requirements and global needs. “But today, 21st-century India is moving forward with a new mindset and renewed self-confidence,” PM Modi said.
“Now, our goal, for India, for the world, for today, and for tomorrow—is to create new technologies, define their direction, and build the capability to solve global challenges,” he added. Emphasising the need to lead rather than follow, the Prime Minister said, “India must embrace the technologies of the future, innovate boldly, and lead the world in creating them.”
Citing India’s achievements in space exploration, PM Modi pointed to the country’s Mars mission and its successful landing near the Moon’s South Polar Region as examples of its growing technological capabilities. “We reached the planet Mars on our very first attempt. We reached that South Pole of the Moon where no one has reached before,” he said. The examples were used to underline India’s ability to pursue complex scientific missions and achieve breakthroughs rather than simply rely on technologies developed by other countries.
The Prime Minister also recalled India’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the development of an indigenous vaccine, the large-scale vaccination drive and the supply of vaccines to other countries. “We saw an example of this during the Corona era. When many countries around the world were facing challenges regarding the availability of vaccines, India developed its own vaccine. India conducted vaccination on a large scale and also sent vaccines to other countries,” he said.
The Prime Minister presented the pandemic response as an example of India’s ability to develop and deploy technology at scale while contributing to international needs. This is the self-confidence of 21st-century India,” he added.
(Manas Dasgupta)