Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology; Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh, today emphasized that the innovation journey to Viksit Bharat demands global thinking and a reoriented mindset. He underlined that both Government and private sector must shed inhibitions and work in true synergy.

Stressing the need to break mental barriers, he called for adopting global benchmarks and thinking with a global outlook. Dr. Jitendra Singh said the release of NITI Aayog’s landmark report marks an important milestone in aligning India’s innovation capacity with the vision of Viksit Bharat@2047.

Dr. Jitendra Singh, along with Union Minister for Education Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, jointly released NITI Aayog’s report titled “Pathways to Progress: Analysis and Insights into India’s Innovation Story” at NITI Aayog headquarters today.

In his address, Dr. Jitendra Singh emphasized that early industry linkage with equal partnership in investment is key to transforming startups into successful ventures. He cited the example of India’s vaccine success story, where private companies were brought on board from Day One, enabling timely development and delivery at scale.

The Minister underlined that India’s steady climb in the Global Innovation Index—from 81st position in 2015 to 39th in 2025— is not accidental but the outcome of deliberate policy choices, investments in entrepreneurship, and the spirit of India’s young innovators. Today, India hosts the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world, with more than 1 lakh Government-recognized startups and over 100 unicorns.

Importantly, nearly 50% of startups now originate from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, demonstrating the democratization of entrepreneurship and India’s inclusive innovation story.

Dr. Jitendra Singh acknowledged persistent challenges: lack of synergy across institutions, need for patient capital for deep-tech ventures, weak academia–industry linkages, uneven state-level innovation capacities, and gaps in intellectual property protection and commercialization.

To address these, Dr Jitendra called for creating specialized interfaces on the lines of BIRAC (Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council) and IN-SPACe (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre) in other critical areas of technology. Such platforms, he stressed, are essential for fostering seamless collaboration between government and private sectors.

Dr. Jitendra Singh emphasized that Government initiatives like the National Deep Tech Startup Policy, and the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) represent a fundamental shift towards building sovereignty in frontier technologies. These efforts, he said, will reward risk-taking, creativity, and collaboration, ensuring that India is not merely a consumer of global technologies but a producer and leader.

Looking ahead, Dr. Jitendra Singh said “India’s innovation journey cannot rely on government alone. It requires a whole-of-nation approach—government providing the enabling framework, industry bringing scale and investment, academia driving knowledge creation, and young innovators supplying energy and creativity. Together, we can transform aspirations into achievements and realize the dream of Viksit Bharat by 2047.”

The Science Minister further urged stakeholders to view the NITI Aayog report not just as an assessment, but as a roadmap and call to action—to scale successful models, diversify incubators, strengthen state-level capacities, and boldly invest in frontier R&D.

The release was attended by Dr. V.K. Saraswat, Member, NITI Aayog; Shri Sanjay Kumar, Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy; Dr. Abhay Karandikar, Secretary, Department of Science & Technology; Dr. Rajesh Gokhale, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology; Dr. M. Ravichandran, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences; Mr. Deepak Bagla, Mission Director, Atal Innovation Mission (NITI Aayog); and Dr. Vivek Kumar Singh, Senior Adviser, Science & Technology Division, NITI Aayog.

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NKR/PSM