{"id":43004,"date":"2025-11-03T15:06:16","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T09:36:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailynewsindia.co.in\/index.php\/2025\/11\/03\/pm-modi-launches-one-lakh-crore-research-innovation-drive\/"},"modified":"2025-11-03T15:06:16","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T09:36:16","slug":"pm-modi-launches-one-lakh-crore-research-innovation-drive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailynewsindia.co.in\/index.php\/2025\/11\/03\/pm-modi-launches-one-lakh-crore-research-innovation-drive\/","title":{"rendered":"PM Modi Launches One Lakh Crore Research Innovation Drive"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

New Delhi [India], November 3: <\/b>At Bharat Mandapam, where ideas usually echo politely, Prime Minister Narendra Modi set the stage ablaze. A \u20b91 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation Scheme was launched \u2013 not as a slogan, but as a statement: India\u2019s tech game is about to get very real.<\/span><\/p>\n

When Science Meets Scale<\/b><\/h2>\n
\n

PM Modi\u2019s address at the Emerging Science, Technology and Innovation Conclave 2025<\/a><\/strong> wasn\u2019t just another policy sermon. It was a masterclass in confidence. \u201cWhen science meets scale, when innovation becomes inclusive, when technology drives transformation \u2013 the foundation for great achievements is laid,\u201d he said. And for once, that didn\u2019t sound like a clich\u00e9.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Prime Minister made it clear that India\u2019s innovation narrative has outgrown its old costume. The nation isn\u2019t just a tech consumer anymore \u2013 it\u2019s becoming a global pioneer of transformation through technology.<\/span><\/p>\n

He was right. The numbers back him. India\u2019s R&D spending has doubled in the last decade, patent filings have multiplied seventeen-fold, and the country now boasts the <\/span>world\u2019s third-largest startup ecosystem<\/b>. Over 6,000 deep-tech startups are working on next-gen materials, clean energy, semiconductors, and biomanufacturing.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s not optimism. That\u2019s data.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ease of Doing Research<\/b><\/h3>\n

PM Modi introduced a phrase that might just become policy folklore: \u201cEase of Doing Research.\u201d It\u2019s a clever pivot from the much-touted \u201cEase of Doing Business.\u201d The idea is simple \u2013 make innovation frictionless.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reforms in procurement, financial rules, and regulatory processes are designed to help prototypes leap from lab benches to market shelves faster than ever before. The \u20b91 lakh crore RDI fund \u2013 announced with his trademark flair \u2013 puts serious money where the mouth is. For the first time, India\u2019s researchers and private innovators have access to capital for high-risk, high-reward projects.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s venture energy at a national scale.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Confidence of a Nation That Builds Its Own Satellites<\/b><\/h2>\n
\n

PM Modi\u2019s timing was no accident. Just a day before his speech, Indian scientists launched the nation\u2019s heaviest communication satellite \u2013 another feather in ISRO\u2019s already crowded cap. The Prime Minister used the moment to underline India\u2019s momentum: \u201cYesterday we scaled new heights in science and technology, and today we lay the foundation for even greater transformation.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The message: India is done playing catch-up.<\/span><\/p>\n

And he wasn\u2019t just speaking to scientists. He was speaking to every startup founder, engineer, and dreamer watching India\u2019s scientific renaissance unfold.<\/span><\/p>\n

Digital Public Infrastructure: The Unseen Engine<\/b><\/p>\n

One of the Prime Minister\u2019s proudest refrains returned: India\u2019s <\/span>Digital Public Infrastructure<\/b>. \u201cToday, India has the world\u2019s most successful digital public infrastructure,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

He\u2019s not exaggerating. Two lakh gram panchayats are fiber-connected. UPI has rewritten the global digital payments playbook. Data is cheap, access is widespread, and the digital divide is shrinking faster than skeptics predicted.<\/span><\/p>\n

When the world scrambled for vaccination logistics, India delivered <\/span>the world\u2019s largest vaccination programme<\/b> with its homegrown tech stack. That\u2019s what happens when scale meets science.<\/span><\/p>\n

Women: From Innovators to Icons<\/b><\/h2>\n

One of the most satisfying parts of PM Modi\u2019s speech was about women. A decade ago, fewer than 100 patents a year were filed by women in India. Today, that number is over 5,000. And women now make up 43% of STEM enrolments \u2013 higher than the global average.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s not tokenism. That\u2019s transformation.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWhen innovation is inclusive, its primary beneficiaries become its leaders,\u201d PM Modi said, acknowledging how women have gone from being contributors to commanding roles in India\u2019s scientific story.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

AI: From Buzzword to Framework<\/b><\/p>\n

Artificial Intelligence got the kind of mention that usually makes techies sit up straight. PM Modi declared that India is <\/span>shaping the global framework for ethical and human-centric AI<\/b>, and announced the upcoming <\/span>Global AI Summit in February 2026<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

With the <\/span>India AI Mission<\/b> investing over \u20b910,000 crore, the country isn\u2019t just experimenting \u2013 it\u2019s engineering the rules of responsible AI before the world decides them for us.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s smart. That\u2019s sovereign digital leadership.<\/span><\/p>\n

Science for the Next Billion<\/b><\/h2>\n

PM Modi\u2019s brand of tech optimism always circles back to inclusion. His challenge this time: shift from food security to <\/span>nutrition security<\/b>, from import dependence to <\/span>innovation independence<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

He threw a few curveballs to the scientific community:<\/span><\/p>\n