Next Industrial Revolution Will Be Driven by Biotechnology, AI: Jitendra Singh
New Delhi, Aug 9 (TNT): India will play a key role in the next industrial revolution, which is expected to be driven by biotechnology and artificial intelligence, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Sunday.
Addressing a media conclave attended by technology developers, industry leaders and other stakeholders, Singh said India had been late in becoming part of the previous IT-driven industrial revolution but was now well positioned to play a leading role in emerging technology sectors.
He said India was among the first few countries to have a dedicated biotechnology policy under the BioE3 (Biotechnology for Economy, Employment and Environment) initiative and had also launched the National Quantum Mission and India AI Mission, besides making rapid progress in space and other frontier technologies.
India’s space economy, which was earlier almost negligible, has grown to around USD 9 billion and is projected to reach USD 40-45 billion over the next eight to nine years, he said.
Singh said India’s technological capabilities were increasingly being measured against global benchmarks and cited the Chandrayaan mission’s detection of evidence of water molecules on the Moon as an example of India’s contribution to global scientific knowledge.
He said India had never lacked scientific talent or technological capabilities, but what was required was an enabling policy environment to convert these capabilities into economic and societal outcomes.
The Minister said the global economy was undergoing a gradual shift towards emerging sectors such as biotechnology, artificial intelligence, circular economy and recycling, alongside traditional manufacturing.
Biotechnology, he said, would increasingly influence medical science, agriculture and food production, while creating new avenues for economic growth and employment.
Referring to the opening of the space sector to private participation in 2020, Singh said the move had demonstrated how policy reforms could unlock India’s domestic capabilities.
He pointed to the emergence of Indian space startups, including companies that had developed rockets and achieved unicorn status within a few years, as evidence of the potential of private participation.
Singh said the government was also opening sectors that had traditionally remained largely outside private enterprise, including the nuclear sector, creating new opportunities for industry while requiring companies to develop capabilities in emerging areas.
He said India had limited time to prepare for the opportunities linked to its 2047 development vision and called upon the private sector to be ready to participate in new areas of technology and industry.
The Minister also highlighted the role of technology in democratising access to education, particularly for young people outside major cities. He cited the example of a student from a financially constrained background who cleared IIT-JEE using digital learning resources.
The growth of India’s startup ecosystem also showed that innovation was no longer confined to metropolitan centres, with entrepreneurs increasingly emerging from smaller towns, he said.
Singh said the government had removed nearly 2,000 obsolete laws and provisions as part of efforts to simplify governance and eliminate outdated procedures.
He highlighted reforms relating to family pension rights for single daughters, nomination rights for women government employees and pension provisions for families of employees who die before completing 10 years of service.
He also referred to the removal of the requirement for gazetted officer attestation for several documents, describing it as a measure reflecting greater trust in citizens and young people.
Singh said India’s ambition for 2047 required the country to move beyond being a technology follower and become a nation whose capabilities and innovations are adopted by others.
Calling for stronger public-private collaboration, he said the earlier scepticism between government and industry needed to give way to mutual learning and cooperation.
A “whole of government plus whole of nation” approach would be essential for achieving India’s long-term technological, economic and developmental goals, he added.
TNT KS
