MUMBAI: India is positioning itself to play a central role in the next industrial revolution, which Union minister Jitendra Singh said will be shaped more by biotechnology and artificial intelligence (AI) than by the IT-led changes of the past decades. Speaking at a media conclave, Singh underlined that recent policy moves and mission programmes are creating an enabling environment for these frontier technologies to be developed and commercialised.
"poised to play an essential role"
Policy architecture and missions
Singh cited several government initiatives as evidence of a deliberate push to back emerging sectors. He singled out the dedicated biotechnology policy BioE3, the National Quantum Mission and the IndiaAI Mission as examples of a policy framework being assembled to support research, industry development and eventual market adoption.
He said India had been slower to benefit from the previous industrial revolution but is now better placed to influence the next wave by pairing technical talent with targeted regulation, funding and private-sector participation.
Economic and sectoral impact
According to Singh, the technological pivot towards biotech, AI, the circular economy and recycling is already reshaping global value chains. He emphasised biotechnology’s potential to affect healthcare, agriculture and food production, while creating new employment avenues and economic activity.
- Biotechnology: expected to affect healthcare, agriculture and food systems.
- AI: anticipated to underpin automation, decision-support and new products across sectors.
- Circular economy and recycling: highlighted as complementary tech-led growth areas.
Space sector as a case study
Singh used the space industry as a concrete instance of how policy change can unlock private initiative. He noted that after the sector was opened to private players in 2020, India’s space economy grew from a small base to about $9 billion and, he said, is projected to expand to $40–45 billion within the next eight to nine years. The minister credited the policy shift with enabling startups that build rockets and other space technologies to scale rapidly.
| Metric | Current / Reported | Projection |
|---|---|---|
| India's space economy | $9 billion | $40–45 billion (in 8–9 years) |
He also pointed to scientific achievements such as Chandrayaan’s detection of evidence for water molecules on the Moon as examples of India contributing to global science while building domestic capability.
Enabling private participation and limits of past approaches
Singh argued that India’s past shortcomings were not a lack of talent or technical skill but the absence of an enabling policy environment that converts capability into commercially and socially useful outcomes. The government is now seeking to replicate the space sector’s public–private model across other traditionally government-dominated fields, the minister said.
The remarks highlight the government’s continuing emphasis on mission-led interventions and public policy levers to accelerate technology adoption. Programmes such as the IndiaAI Mission aim to coordinate stakeholders and lower barriers to deployment, while BioE3 seeks to provide a focused approach to biotech governance and industry support.
For Indian users, the implications are practical: greater public backing could translate into increased funding for startups, clearer regulatory pathways for new technologies (including in healthcare and agriculture), and opportunities for skilled professionals to work on commercially viable projects at scale. At the same time, the strategy will require careful regulatory design to manage ethical, safety and societal risks associated with AI and biotechnology.
Singh’s comments represent an articulation of how New Delhi envisions converting scientific capability into economic growth by combining focused policy, mission funding and private-sector access. The success of this approach will depend on implementation details — regulatory clarity, financing mechanisms, infrastructure and workforce development — rather than on declarations alone.
