Page 40 - NIS English 1-15 June, 2026

Cover Story
Science and Technology
Years
of Vikas Yatra

Science and Technology

An Era of Transparency and Transformation

The scriptures state: ज्ञाानाम् विवज्ञााना सवि�तम् यत् ज्ञाात्वा मोोक्ष्यसे अशुुभात्।।Science serves as the very foundation for solutions,
development, and innovation. Inspired by this ethos, the ‘New India’ of today is marching forward, rallying under the
slogan: “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Vigyan”—and now, “Jai Anusandhan”. Science and technology have emerged as
pivotal instruments for India’s growth, scripting the saga of this New India...

India Soars High in Global Science and Technology Indices

Global Innovation Index (GII) n The NRI (Network Readiness
2025 Network Readiness Index 2024 Index) is one of the leading
India has secured the 38th rank global indices assessing the
among the world’s top innovative usage and impact of Information
economies. and Communication Technology (ICT)
WIPO Report 2023 Ranked Ranked 79th across 133 economies worldwide.
India ranks 6th globally in terms of 49th
Intellectual Property filings. n India ranks 3rd globally in terms of
2024 2019 research publications.

Transformations Over the n India possesses the world’s first and most successful digital public
Past Decade infrastructure. 218,000 Gram Panchayats have been connected via
n Expenditure on Research and Development optical fiber. This facility has made life easier for citizens.
(R&D) has doubled. n While India’s space programs have reached as far as the Moon and
Mars in recent years, the benefits of this advanced technology have
n The number of granted patents has crossed the
100,000 mark; in 2014, this figure stood at 5,978. also been extended to farmers and fishermen.
The volume of patents has increased 17-fold. n Annual number of patent filings by women has exceeded 5,000.

n With over 200,000 startups, India has now n INSPIRE MANAK has promoted STEM education. In the year
emerged as the world’s third-largest startup 2025-26, a total of 1.147 million ideas and innovations were
ecosystem. garnered from schools; notably, 52% of the enrollments were girls.
6,000+ ‘Deep Tech’ startups n Women’s participation in STEM education has reached 43%,
currently operating in
sectors such as clean energy surpassing the global average.
and advanced materials. n 10,000 Tinkering Labs have been established, where over 10
n India’s semiconductor sector has also taken million children are currently conducting experiments. India is now
flight. The Semiconductor Mission 2.0 is set to working towards setting up 25,000 new Atal Tinkering Labs.
be launched. n In past few years, 7 new IITs and 16 IIITs established.
Bio-economy National Quantum n Under the New Education Policy, young people will now be able to
Mission pursue STEM courses—such as Science and Engineering—in their
4 Thematic Hubs
own local languages.
$10 billion $140 billion established, n Today, AI is being utilized everywhere—from retail to logistics, and
comprising 152
from customer service to children’s homework. In line with this
researchers from 43
trend, India is investing over ₹10,000 crore in the India AI Mission.
project teams.
2014 2025 institutions and 17

38 NEW INDIA SAMACHAR || June 1-15, 2026