Tech-driven innovation key to India's economic renaissance, says Dr Jitendra Singh

Dr. Jitendra Singh, India's Minister of State for Science & Technology and several other portfolios, stood before the Indian National Science Academy in New Delhi on May 4th to mark the 56th Foundation Day of the Department of Science and Technology. His message was direct: the innovations emerging from India's research institutions over the past decade are not academic curiosities. They are the engine of the country's economic future.

The transformation Singh described has been deliberate and structural. A decade ago, India's space sector and nuclear energy industry were largely closed to private enterprise. That changed. The government opened both sectors to startups and private companies, a policy shift that has already begun to reshape what India can do. Within a few years of that opening, the space industry alone has seen a surge of new ventures developing satellite technologies and related capabilities. The startup ecosystem has grown from a few hundred companies to more than 200,000 today—a measure of how much has shifted in the innovation landscape.

But Singh's central argument went deeper than celebrating growth numbers. He was calling for a fundamental reorientation of how India's scientific institutions operate. Science, he said, must move "from laboratories to markets and from ideas to impact." This is not merely a slogan. It reflects a policy direction that treats research not as an end in itself but as the beginning of a chain that leads to commercial products, economic value, and national capability. No country advances in science while remaining isolated from industry and the private sector, Singh argued, calling for deeper collaboration among government agencies, universities, and businesses.

The evidence Singh cited for India's growing scientific maturity came from multiple angles. The country's share of highly cited research publications has grown, suggesting that Indian researchers are not just publishing more but publishing work that other scientists find significant enough to build upon. The pharmaceutical sector, which Singh highlighted as a critical area, is increasingly developing its own technologies rather than relying on imports or licensing arrangements. These are not marginal shifts. They point to a country developing indigenous capacity across sectors that matter to both economic competitiveness and national security.

Yet Singh also sounded a note of caution about the ecosystem itself. Scientific institutions, he said, must do more to communicate their achievements and engage with potential partners. Visibility and outreach are not luxuries—they are essential to attracting the collaborations and investment that turn research into products. At the same time, he emphasized that while innovation should be encouraged, the system must remain transparent and merit-based. Young talent needs clarity and realism, not just enthusiasm.

The administrative machinery is shifting to match this new direction. Singh referenced ongoing reforms aimed at improving efficiency and aligning institutions with present-day technological needs. This includes restructuring legacy systems and moving toward greater decentralization in decision-making—a recognition that the old, centralized model of managing research institutions may not be nimble enough for the pace of technological change.

Principal Scientific Adviser Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood and Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology Prof. Abhay Karandikar, both present at the event, spoke to specific initiatives designed to strengthen the ecosystem. The Anusandhan National Research Foundation, the RDI Fund, and the National Quantum Mission were highlighted as major efforts to align research with technology development and commercialization. These are not small programs. They represent a sustained commitment to building the infrastructure that turns ideas into capabilities.

What Singh was describing, in essence, is a country trying to close the gap between what its scientists know and what its economy can do. India has talent, research capacity, and growing scientific standing. The question now is whether the institutions, policies, and partnerships can move fast enough to translate that into sustained competitive advantage. The next phase of India's economic development, Singh suggested, depends on getting that translation right.