With the success of Chandrayaan-3, the world is now privy to the victory of Indian innovation and the potential of the country’s human capital and its capabilities. The world of science and innovation across the globe has perpetually had a hegemony of a select few trying to shape its course with very less room for other potential candidates. Along with the technological prowess, the foundation of this club invariably reflected a sense of having a big size “Elite” chip on their shoulders to the extent of these at regular intervals mocking ambitious aspirations of others. However, the tables have turned now. India is no longer an outsider to the club. We have broken the barriers of the third world country tag and, in fact, we are now amongst the most formidable voices in the world across all sectors. With the success of the Chandrayaan-3, India will verily be a significant player in the club involved in influencing and formulating policies for planetary explorations or even the extraction of resource from space.
This transition is the consequence of the efforts of our Indian scientists for over several decades. India has transformed from the days when our Indian brains launched our first rocket with absolutely limited resources to the days when our very own ISRO has launched over 177 foreign satellites for developed countries like US, UK France etc. Our journey has been magnificent.
From being mocked by foreign publishers, to the world appreciating India’s potential, this has been the Indian Space Program for us over the last seven decades. It is important here for us to highlight our Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address immediately after the Chandrayaan-3 success. He said, “This success belongs to all of humanity and it will help moon missions by other countries in the future. I’m confident that all countries in the world, including those from the Global South, are capable of capturing success. We can all aspire to the moon and beyond.”
Our leader’s statement embodies the nation’s values and ideology of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”. India is the first nation to touchdown on the lunar South Pole. Many countries have failed to achieve this. However, rather than exhibiting the exclusivity, Prime Minister dedicated this success to the entire world. This is “The India” for the rest of the world.
We could effortlessly do so as we are not oblivious of the hard work, passion and dedication by our former space program pioneers like Vikram Sarabhai, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, amongst many others. Swami Vivekananda had once said that “21st century is going to be India’s century”. Perhaps, he would have then envisioned our multiple success that we are translating into reality now. We come from times when technology and subsequent advancements appeared distant dreams.
We were grappled with ensuring basic needs of the human kind. Our generation has not only dreamt further but have translated our previous generation’s dreams and concepts into reality. We have been a witness to maximum changing times. We are privy to the advancements right from radio to online music platforms, from no TV to OTT era, from floppies to cloud storage. The pace at which things are advancing in the last two decades is very different to that of the earlier 50 years. The number of innovations has nearly doubled. Transformation is a gradual progression and we have evolved with credibility and quality. We are now not only the market to these technologies, but we are also the curators and creators of these advancements.
The world has entered a transformative era with the evolution of industry 4.0, web 3.0 and genetics 2.0. The world is now exploring the exponential possibilities of human genome projects, quantum computing, robotics, artificial intelligence etc. It is true that we have earlier missed the industrial and technological revolutions. However, this time we have the will, the vision and the leadership to exploit its innate potential and we are rightfully doing so.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has focused intensively on preparing the nation for the new revolution, giving a much-needed impetus to innovation. We have realized and capitalized on the importance and scope of digital infrastructure for ramping up the country’s innovation potential. While digital challenges like cybercrime, cyber hacking, e-banking problems etc. persist, we are the only ones giving solutions to these problems.
The government has invested deeply in encouraging the mindset of the young as well as new aspirations and possibilities. While talking of innovation, it is important to note that Prime Minister Modi has always focused on Making in India.
He believes in innovating and not imitating. This requires changing the mindset of Indian brains. With his vision and commitment, Prime Minister Modi has time and again encouraged our innovators by providing all the needed government support.
Initiatives like the establishment of the National Research Foundation are playing an instrumental role in encouraging the bright brains of the country, giving them a platform to explore the possibilities. Prime Minister Modi has often emphasized that science is the basis of solutions, evolution and innovation. And, it is with this inspiration, that today’s New India is moving forward with Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, Jai Vigyan as well as Jai Anusandhan. For India on a global platform, Prime Minister Modi’s vision is proving to be a catalyst for the incipience of many future successes.
The fact that India’s Global Innovation Index ranking improved from 81 in 2015 to 46 now is a testimony of the government’s efforts under Prime Minister Modi and this is appreciated by all 140 crore Indians. Today, India is proving to be a platform for all innovations. We are expanding and exploring our current capacities to the best of our potential. With extended government’s encouragement in science and technology advancements, lack of resources is proving to be a thing of the past. Equal importance is being given to this sector as well as that of the other infrastructure and basic developmental aspects. Not only domestically, but these phenomena are being adulated by the Indian diaspora all across the world. In the near term, it is the Sun that is next on ISRO’s agenda. The space agency may be sending Aditya L-1, a solar observatory to study the star as early as September. The entire world is looking at us as we embark on this mission.
One of the greatest achievements of the Modi government is the fact that Indian brains who were the driving force behind successful innovations and missions in foreign countries, are today looking back to India. In earlier times, due to lack of opportunities and resources, we talked about the brain drain due to the migration of Indian scholars to foreign countries. However, now the times are reversing with these people gradually wanting to come back to India. In the New India, imagination is turning into reality with subsequent innovations by our Indian potential. India, a global center of research and innovation, is bound to happen in this “Amrit Kaal”. The times have come for us now to lead the “Elite Club” in the field of space and innovations.
Vishwas Pathak is Co-Chief Spokesperson, BJP Maharashtra.
