At the panel discussion on “Frontier Tech for Bharat: Building Deep Capabilities for a Sovereign Future”, industry leaders stressed that India must go beyond its famed spirit of jugaad innovation to build robust deep-tech ecosystems that can secure the country’s future.
Vivek Mishra, Co-Founder & CEO of Raphe mPhibr, cautioned against relying on improvisation in critical sectors such as aerospace and defence. “The buzz about India being good in jugaad doesn’t work in this sector. Even if one subsystem is not up to the mark, it will create an unreliable system,” he said. Mishra made these remakrs in the panel discussion moderated by Rahul Seth, director of Industrial47, at Network18 Reforms Reloaded 2025 summit in Delhi on Monday.
Mishra added, “Research is hard, manufacturing is harder, and mass manufacturing is hardest. It needs money, and patience.” He underscored the need for India to establish a strong R&D ecosystem not just for defence and aerospace, but across industries.
Meanwhile, Shashi Shekhar Vempati, Co-Founder of the DeepTech for Bharat Foundation and former Prasar Bharati CEO, noted that some earlier government policies—such as the push towards a cashless economy and the mandate for set-top boxes—helped lay the foundation for a sovereign technological future.
Vempati also acknowledged how targeted state interventions have enabled growth in sectors like space and drones, citing the establishment of IN-SPACe.
“Government has made a big bet on BharatGen. BharatGen is India’s Manhattan Project for AI,” he said, referring to the country’s ambitious effort to build sovereign AI capabilities.
Shivang Luthra, Managing Director of Ramakrishna Electro Components, highlighted the role of the Indian Semiconductor Mission (ISM) in drawing foreign investments but pointed out lingering bottlenecks around customs and other procedural challenges. “We are hoping that the upcoming ISM 2.0 will address such challenges,” he said.
Rishi Bal, Executive Vice President at BharatGen, emphasized the scale of opportunities and challenges. “Challenges are enormous in terms of data and talent, but opportunities are huge,” he said. To address the talent gap, BharatGen has set up a consortium with 45 full-time employees and seven academic partners, with expansion underway. “We have tapped into top AI talent in India,” he added.
Bal contrasted India’s journey with global models, noting, “When we look around the world, there is the American pattern, which is based on private capital, and the China model, where it is mostly government funded. India has to create some sort of area where AI systems can be incubated with significant funding. We also have to think about policy and incentives.”
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