While we have excelled in leveraging technology for consumer convenience, the next phase of India’s journey, to truly establish itself as a global innovation hub, requires a determined foray into the realm of deep tech and core industrial innovation.
MUMBAI: The air at the recent Startup Mahakumbh in New Delhi wasn’t just filled with the usual buzz of entrepreneurial energy; it was charged with a sense of national ambition. Amidst discussions of unicorns, funding rounds, and disruptive technologies, a pivotal moment emerged when Union Minister Piyush Goyal took the stage. He didn’t just offer congratulations; he presented a challenge, a vision articulated through a compelling comparison. Holding up a slide contrasting typical Indian startup domains with those dominating in China, he painted a picture familiar to many observers—one side highlighting convenience-focused businesses like quick commerce and food delivery, the other showcasing deep strengths in EVs, semiconductors, AI, and robotics.
Was this a criticism? Far from it. In the context of the Mahakumbh—a celebration of India’s innovative spirit—this comparison served as a powerful, constructive nudge. It was a strategic call to action from leadership, acknowledging our successes, while simultaneously setting a higher, more ambitious benchmark. The message was clear: while we have excelled in leveraging technology for consumer convenience, the next phase of India’s journey, to truly establish itself as a global innovation hub, requires a determined foray into the realm of deep tech and core industrial innovation. It wasn’t about finding fault; it was about galvanizing the ecosystem to reach its full, world-leading potential.
This call for evolution doesn’t diminish our remarkable achievements to date. India’s startup journey has been nothing short of revolutionary. We have built the third-largest startup ecosystem globally, fundamentally changing how Indians live, work, and transact. Our prowess in software development and IT services is undisputed, forming the bedrock of global digital transformation. Companies born in India now lead global SaaS categories. The India Stack, our pioneering Digital Public Infrastructure encompassing Aadhaar, UPI, DigiLocker, and ONDC, is a marvel of population-scale technology deployment. UPI alone hasn’t just revolutionized payments; it has driven unprecedented financial inclusion, brought millions into the formal economy, and become a model studied worldwide. These are not small feats; they are testaments to Indian ingenuity and entrepreneurial drive. They provide the solid foundation upon which we can, and must, build our next technological edifice.
The vision laid out, echoed in Minister Goyal’s presentation, points towards embracing what is often termed “deep tech”. This isn’t just a buzzword; it signifies ventures rooted in fundamental scientific research and engineering innovation, tackling complex, foundational problems. Think artificial intelligence that solves critical challenges in healthcare or agriculture, biotechnology breakthroughs that create new therapies or sustainable materials, advanced robotics transforming manufacturing, quantum computing unlocking unimaginable processing power, or private sector contributions scaling up our proud space exploration legacy.
Why is this shift crucial? Deep tech represents the frontier of value creation. It builds long-term competitive advantages for the nation, enhances national security, drives sustainable industrial growth, and creates high-value jobs. Innovations in these fields have the potential to solve humanity’s most pressing challenges, from climate change to disease. While convenience apps improve quality of life, deep tech fundamentally reshapes industries and strengthens national resilience. Building capability here is non-negotiable if India aspires to transition from being a follower or a service provider to becoming a genuine global leader setting the technological agenda.
The path to deep tech dominance, however, is demanding. It requires patient capital willing to invest in ventures with longer gestation periods and higher R&D risks, unlike the relatively quicker scalability of consumer apps. It necessitates a robust pipeline of highly specialized talent—PhDs, researchers, specialized engineers—nurtured through strong linkages between world-class academic institutions and industry. It demands significant, sustained investment in R&D infrastructure and a policy environment that actively encourages intellectual property creation, protection, and commercialization.
Recognizing this, significant steps are already being taken. Government initiatives like the National Deep Tech Startup Policy aim to create a supportive ecosystem. The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes, covering sectors from electronics and semiconductors to pharmaceuticals and drones, are explicitly designed to bolster domestic manufacturing capabilities in strategic, technologically advanced areas. The ambitious India Semiconductor Mission aims to build foundational capabilities in a sector critical to all modern technology. These initiatives signal a clear intent to move up the global value chain, creating synergies between our software strengths and burgeoning hardware ambitions. We are seeing nascent but exciting successes—Indian spacetech startups launching satellites, AI labs developing unique solutions for Indian contexts, and biotech firms contributing to global R&D.
Furthermore, India’s global leadership aspirations are increasingly intertwined with sustainability. The global imperative to decarbonize presents an enormous economic opportunity. Our nation’s ambitious “Panchamrit” climate goals necessitate massive innovation. Indian startups are pivotal in developing and deploying solutions in renewable energy generation (solar, green hydrogen), advanced energy storage, electric mobility ecosystems (from batteries to charging infrastructure), smart grid management, sustainable agriculture techniques (AgriTech), water conservation technologies, and circular economy models that minimize waste. Fostering green tech innovation isn’t just good for the planet; it’s good for the economy, creating future-proof industries and export opportunities.
Of course, technology and industry rely on human capital. India’s demographic dividend presents a unique advantage, but only if we equip our youth with the right skills. The challenge is to move beyond basic IT proficiency towards cultivating expertise in AI/ML, data science, biotechnology, advanced manufacturing processes, robotics, quantum technologies, and specialized R&D roles. This requires continuous evolution in our education curricula, strengthening vocational training programs aligned with industry needs, and fostering a culture of critical thinking, problem-solving, and lifelong learning.
All these efforts must be supported by an enabling environment. Continued focus on improving the “Ease of Doing Business” is paramount, ensuring regulations are streamlined, approvals are efficient, and policies remain stable and predictable—crucial factors for attracting the long-term investment required by deep tech and advanced manufacturing. Access to diverse forms of capital, including venture debt, patient equity from domestic institutions like pension funds and insurers, and targeted government grants for R&D-intensive projects, is also vital to fuel this next phase of growth.
Crucially, this journey towards deeper innovation must be inclusive. The goal isn’t just to create pockets of high-tech excellence but to ensure the benefits reach across the nation. Technology holds immense potential to bridge urban-rural divides. We need more startups focused on “Bharat”—addressing the specific needs and challenges of smaller towns and rural communities in areas like affordable healthcare access, quality education delivery, agricultural productivity, and local language digital content. As Minister Goyal implied, solving India’s core problems offers vast untapped markets. Moreover, as the gig economy continues to evolve, ensuring fair practices and exploring pathways for social security for platform workers remains an important consideration, addressing valid societal concerns about job quality.
In conclusion, the comparison presented at the Startup Mahakumbh wasn’t a rebuke, but a rallying cry. It was an acknowledgment of how far we’ve come and a clear-eyed articulation of the next ambitious frontier. India has the talent, the foundational digital infrastructure, a large domestic market, and increasingly, the political will to make a decisive leap into deep tech and advanced innovation. By strategically fostering R&D, supporting advanced manufacturing, championing sustainability, investing in future-ready skills, refining our policy environment, and ensuring inclusive growth, we can answer the call. This isn’t merely about competing; it’s about defining our own unique trajectory towards becoming a self-reliant, technologically advanced, and globally influential nation that builds not just for convenience, but for core, lasting impact. The journey requires collective effort—from entrepreneurs, investors, academia, and the government—but the destination, a truly innovative and leading India, is well within our grasp.
* Brijesh Singh is a senior IPS officer and an author. His latest book is “The Cloud Chariot” (Penguin). Views are personal.