India will rise to tackle global challenges, support emerging economies: Pradhan

Mumbai: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday said India will meet its domestic priorities and global challenges, and play a key role in supporting emerging economies in the Global South and low-income countries in the years ahead.

He was speaking at the 'Bharat Innovates Deep-Tech Pre-Summit' at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) here.

"I have complete faith that India will not only meet the country's needs ... but will also meet the global challenges. Especially, the emerging economy of the Global South, the low-cost economy of the poor countries, will be met by India in the coming days," he said.

The summit, organised as a precursor to the Bharat Innovates 2026 event in France, brought together 137 deep-tech startups selected from over 3,000 applications received from across the country. The selected startups will represent India's deep-tech ecosystem in France.

While India's priority should be on sustainability, agriculture, healthcare, livelihood, and the production sector, the country will fulfil the needs of the Global South through deep technology, Pradhan said.

"Bharat Innovates is working with such commitment. In the coming days, Bharat Innovates will become a societal movement involving leadership, investors, industry, academia, and policymakers. It will be made a public movement and given a distinct identity," he said.

In the coming decade, he said, India will achieve a leadership position in the energy sector.

"We are in a new situation in the world today. If the biomass of our 600 million metric tonnes is converted into energy, we can become a net energy exporter. Despite challenges in hydrogen energy, India can reach a global leadership position in that sector," he added.

He said that by 2047, India must transform into a developed economy and should aim to lead in at least 1,000 technologies globally.

The Global South may not be able to afford expensive technologies from the Western bloc, and there is growing interest in adopting India's more accessible and cost-effective technological solutions, said Pradhan.

"India is the world's model in digital transactions. India has set up a model in affordable healthcare. India has taken responsibility for the world in generic medicines. These are a few examples in some sectors.

"There is more work to be done and to achieve all this, it is our responsibility to make a long-term strategy and convert this technology into a public purpose," the minister added.

The event also provided a platform for interactions between startups, venture capital firms, and industry representatives, fostering meaningful partnerships and enabling them to explore pathways for commercialisation and global market expansion.