Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asserted that India must innovate and spearhead global efforts in defining future technologies. Mr. Modi emphasized India's imperative to adopt emerging technologies, foster bold innovation, and assume a leadership role in their creation. He underscored that a Viksit Bharat will be underpinned by robust scientific research, groundbreaking discoveries, and a commitment to innovation. The Prime Minister noted the nation’s accelerated progress in Fast Breeder Reactor technology, highlighting the recent achievement of first criticality by the 500-Megawatt Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor several months prior.

Mr. Modi stated that scientific advancement genuinely delivers value when it transitions from research environments to enhance the well-being of citizens, address significant challenges, and bolster healthcare, agriculture, education, employment, and disaster preparedness. He further emphasized that over the preceding year, the government has allocated 12 thousand crore rupees to commercially viable laboratory technologies, with an equivalent 12 thousand crore rupees in investment from private sources. He observed that annual patent filings have risen from less than 50,000 a decade ago to almost 1.5 lakh last year, signaling a substantive underlying transformation extending beyond quantitative metrics. Mr. Modi affirmed India's ambition to secure technological independence and cultivate resilience in essential domains.