Indian youth ready and disruptive today, setting research milestones: PM Modi

New Delhi, April 29 The youth in India is ready and disruptive today, setting research milestones in different sectors, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing the YUGM Conclave here on Tuesday.

YUGM ("confluence" in Sanskrit) is a first-of-its-kind strategic conclave convening leaders from government, academia, industry, and the innovation ecosystem.

The Prime Minister said the YUGM is a confluence of stakeholders joined together to work towards Viksit Bharat, and "will strengthen efforts to boost the country’s innovation capacity and deep tech advancements".

“Our endeavour is to empower the youth with skills that make them self-reliant and position India as a global innovation hub,” the PM said.

Asserting India’s strong position for research and development, he added that “our youth is ready and disruptive today, and it is achieving milestones in different sectors”.

PM Modi said this, citing innovations such as the 410-metre-long first Hyperloop test track by IIT Madras researchers, and 'brain on a chip' technology capable of storing and processing data in 16,500 states within a molecular film by scientists at the Indian Institute of Science (IISC).

He noted that "India’s future depends on the youth" and to make them future leaders, the “education system shares a great responsibility”.

"We are modernising the country's education system according to the needs of the 21st century," PM Modi said.

The PM informed about the DIKSHA (Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing) platform under which the One Nation, One Digital infrastructure has been established.

“The infrastructure is AI-based, scalable and is being used to develop textbooks in over 30 Indian languages and seven foreign languages,” the PM said.

The PM also lauded the research ecosystem in the country, which more than doubled in its gross expenditure -- over Rs 1.15 crore currently from just Rs 60 crore in 2013-14.

To boost research in the country, the PM informed the launch of various programmes such as state-of-the-art research parks; the establishment of the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), One Nation, One Subscription; and PM Research Fellowship, among others.

“The country’s innovation culture is also growing -- from 40,000 patents in 2014, we now have over 80,000. This shows that the youth are getting support,” he said, while also stressing India’s growth and representations in global rankings, such as in the QS rankings.

Further, the PM noted the opening of Indian campuses in Abu Dhabi (IIT Delhi) and Tanzania (IIT Madras), as well as the setting up of foreign university campuses in India.

“This will pave the way for academic exchange, research collaboration, and cross-cultural learning exposure to our students".

He called on the industry leaders to stand with young researchers, guide and fund them to foster larger innovations.

"It is crucial that the journey from idea to prototype to product is completed in the shortest time possible," the PM said.

While India is rapidly adopting AI and AI excellence centres are being increasingly established, "our vision is to make AI work for India”, the PM said.

The event held at the Bharat Mandapam was driven by a collaborative project of around Rs 1,400 crore with joint investment from the Wadhwani Foundation and government institutions.

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