India should focus on atmanirbhar innovation, not imitation: Scindia

Jyotiraditya Scindia

Union Minister of Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia on Sunday pushed for the Indian industry to prioritise Atmanirbhar (self-reliant) innovation over imitation and emphasised that the country must build indigenous technological capabilities in the time of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital transformation.

“We should not be focused on imitation, but on Atmanirbhar innovation,” Scindia said, adding that “AI must not be seen as a product to be consumed, but as a Swadeshi capability to be cultivated.”

Scindia highlighted India’s growing strength across sectors such as semiconductors, telecom as well as digital finance. He also recalled the efforts made during the COVID-19 pandemic and said that the pandemic years showed us the strategic importance of chips in the global economy. “We learnt a lesson from the COVID pandemic, that the fate of billion-dollar companies lies in the ability of a small chip. For India, it was a moment of decision, not despair,” he said.

Calling semiconductors “the very fabric of future progress of mankind,” Scindia said the government has already invested ₹1.6 lakh crore in the sector. “India is determined to mine these digital diamonds,” he added.

The minister further said that despite global instability, India continues to be a pillar of stability and growth. “Over the last five years, global geopolitical turbulence has been at its all-time high. We have had conflicts and wars in every corner threatening energy security, protectionism affecting trade barriers, climate shocks and inflation,” Scindia said, adding, “Turbulence is a catalyst, and India has acted as a catalyst growing at 7.8%, emerging as a fulcrum of Global South. We are a voice of fairness and equity. India is a bridge between east and west and north and south.”

He also stressed on India’s rapid digital transformation, noting that the country now has 1.22 billion mobile subscribers and 944 million broadband users, which is a more than 15-fold increase in the past decade. “We have successfully executed 5G in just 22 months, alongside the rollout of UPI. Today, 46% of global digital transactions take place in India. We have emerged as a fountainhead of innovation,” he said.

Scindia added that India developed its own 4G stack within 22 months, breaking into a space long dominated by a few global players. “We will switch these 4G towers to a 5G network within 6–8 months,” he said on Sunday.

Further, emphasising India’s role as a leader in AI development, the minister said that private players have already deployed 38,000 GPUs and that the government plans to invest $10 billion in the AI ecosystem. “If connectivity has been the backbone of growth, AI is the next frontier,” Scindia said.

Positioning India as the world’s digital-first nation, Scindia concluded, “In this age of uncertainty, which has become the norm, we are not just another destination. India is the direction.”