India has grown into a technology-savvy nation that stands alongside global peers, thanks to home-grown technologies at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) above 5. Examples include ABHED lightweight bulletproof jackets from IIT Delhi; Vikram-1, Skyroot’s orbital rocket; a 3D quantum diamond microscope from IIT Bombay; the iPACE chip from IIT Indore, built under MeitY’s Chips to Startup (C2S) programme; the world’s first nuclear-heat-based hydrogen production facility at Kalpakkam; a 422-metre test facility for IIT Madras’s Avishkar Hyperloop; and a foundational 6G terahertz test bed that SAMEER, Kolkata, will build under the Digital Bharat Nidhi.
These trials give life to the “Lab to Market” idea, which echoes Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mission mantra. India’s approach begins with investment, moves to innovation, and then builds internationally recognised infrastructure backed by policy frameworks such as Make in India. Together, they nurture young talent and sustainable manufacturing that meet the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals and global quality benchmarks, including through Zero Defect Zero Effect (ZED). The result is stronger self-reliance in domestic value and supply chains. A natural question follows: who are the key drivers of Viksit Bharat, and who pushes Swadeshi, “Vocal for Local” and One District One Product (ODOP) beyond limits? The answer lies in the interplay of five elements, the “Pancha Mahabhuta”: organisations and policy frameworks, investment, innovation, infrastructure and talent development. Today, four institutions back grassroots and frugal innovators, MSMEs and startups, and equip young people to carry the torch of Viksit Bharat:
DRDO (Ministry of Defence): Technology Development Fund (TDF) and iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence)
ISRO (Department of Space): RESPOND and the Space Technology Incubation Centres (S-TIC)
BARC (Department of Atomic Energy): the AKRUTI programme and AIC ANUSHAKTI
DSIR with CSIR: Common Research and Technology Development Hub (CRTDH)
The key drivers at work
DRDO is the backbone of in-house technology and also builds indigenous innovation and skill-development infrastructure for young people. Its ecosystem gives MSMEs and startups access to high-end modelling and simulation software, and supports them in developing minimum viable products and prototypes, and in manufacturing, validating and testing them. The Technology Development Fund gives innovators visibility and stable funding, while iDEX offers seed funding to aspiring young entrepreneurs.
DRDO’s Defence Technology and Test Centre (DTTC) at Amausi, Lucknow, is a strong example. Inaugurated in 2024 to strengthen the Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor, it works under the Defence Materials and Stores Research and Development Establishment, Kanpur. The centre hand-holds innovators, startups and MSMEs through design thinking, product development, manufacturing, testing and validation, and connects them with large enterprises and government.
Its facilities include MATLAB, Ansys, Catia, AI tools and high-performance computing, all open to young innovators, along with rapid prototyping through 3D printing and printed circuit board fabrication. The centre also works on IoT and blockchain, offers incubation through a co-working space, and runs yearly skill-development programmes.
DTTC serves as the epicentre for the industrial corridor nodes at Agra, Aligarh, Lucknow, Kanpur, Jhansi and Chitrakoot, offers training and consultancy to industry, and collaborates with IIT Kanpur, IIT BHU and the Uttar Pradesh government.
ISRO has set up Space Technology Incubation Centres at six locations to nurture young people building indigenous space systems for transfer to large enterprises. Its RESPOND programme helps academic institutions build research infrastructure, run real-time experiments and develop talent.
BARC launched AKRUTI (Advanced Knowledge for Rural Technology Implementation) 18 years ago to promote social entrepreneurship by sharing DAE-BARC spin-off technologies. Academic institutions can set up AKRUTI Kendras to give students hands-on experience. AIC ANUSHAKTI, under the Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, lets youth and startups learn about DAE-BARC spin-off technologies through technology transfer.
Through DSIR, CSIR runs the Common Research and Technology Development Hub (CRTDH), which brings MSMEs, startups and innovators together with CSIR experts and mentors to set up industrial pilot plants on sustainable revenue models. It focuses on affordable healthcare, materials, electronics, renewable energy and low-cost machining.
A bird’s-eye view of Viksit India
Defence-ready: iDEX and DRDO have announced the GRSE Accelerated Innovation and Nurturing Scheme, an innovation challenge on AI in shipbuilding, green energy and shipyard efficiency. It should help young innovators become game changers for Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Viksit Uttar Pradesh.
Space-ready: The ISRO Robotics Challenge, run yearly by the U R Rao Satellite Centre (URSC), Bengaluru, inspires young innovators to redefine India’s future space exploration.
Quantum-ready: Q-Digishala 2026, organised by the Quantum Innovation Park at IISc Bengaluru, will build quantum soft skills.
India will soon install and commission its first IBM quantum computer, paving the way for the largest digital quantum infrastructure in Amaravati. To meet demand for quantum and semiconductor talent, Samsung India Research and IISc Bengaluru have introduced a 10-hour module on quantum computing and technologies under the India Semiconductor Workforce Development Program (ISWDP). It covers quantum transport, gates and circuits, qubit fabrication and industry trends. C-DAC’s PARAM Shavak offers reskilling through the QSim quantum simulator on the Make in India Bharat Operating System (BOSS), while PARAM Rudra at the SN Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, West Bengal, offers Quantum ESPRESSO for molecular modelling.
Young people trained through Chips to Startup, quantum initiatives and premier space programmes are becoming “Mission Ready”, like Gaganyaan, for Government-as-a-Service (GAAS) roles in Vision Viksit India. By turning micro and macro problems into passion, they are making themselves accountable and countable on the road to a $30 trillion economy.
The writer is the Chief Executive Officer of DAKSH Innovation & Incubation Centre (DIIC), Uttar Pradesh State Institute of Forensic Science, Lucknow; Views presented are personal.