Mumbai, March 22 Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Sunday that in the coming decade, young innovators will not only address the deep-tech challenges facing the country, but also those of the world, especially the Global South and emerging economies.
Delivering the concluding address at the concluding session of Bharat Innovates' deep-tech pre-summit at IIT Bombay, he said that academia, industry, the financial sector, and young people are the key players in making the country a major innovation and technology force.
"Indian technology is attracting the world with digital transactions, affordable healthcare, and generic medicines. The Global South will not be able to adopt the technology of the Western bloc, and they want to adopt our technology," Pradhan said, suggesting greater effort to convert technology into a public purpose by bringing academia and industry together.
He said that an "India-Fast" approach needs to be adopted to meet the growing economy's needs.
"As we grow, we need to meet the aspirations of the people," he said, adding that a balance needs to be struck between civilizational knowledge and the young generation's innovation.
"In the coming days, we will convert Bharat Innovates into an institutional mechanism. Without research, we will not grow. Areas such as waste management, biomass treatment, bio-medicine, and hydrogen need more work in research and innovation," he said.
Pradhan said, "It is encouraging to witness the depth of innovation emerging from India's startup ecosystem, with a strong focus on technology-led development, sustainability, and real-world impact. Such platforms are vital in connecting ideas with investment and enabling scalable, future-ready enterprises."
Earlier, he interacted with over 200 startup founders and investors at the Bharat Innovates deep-tech pre-summit, an official said on Sunday.
The two-day event to showcase startups, investor interactions, and industry networking featured around 137 promising deep-tech startups selected from over 3,000 applications received from across the country, according to the official in a statement.
The Bharat Innovates initiative was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the inauguration of the India-France Year of Innovation.
A flagship programme of the Ministry of Education, it operates under the strategic guidance of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India.
Bharat Innovates 2026 unfolded across three milestones: National Basecamp: Gandhinagar and Mumbai (December 2025 and January 2026); Bharat Innovates Deep-Tech Pre-Summit: IIT Bombay, Mumbai (March 21–22, 2026) and International Innovation Showcase: Nice, France (June 14–16, 2026).
The Pre-Summit brought together over 200 startup founders; over 70 investors and venture capital leaders; over 50 industry leaders, corporate partners, senior government stakeholders, and innovation missions.
The Bharat Innovates Deep-Tech Pre-Summit showcased innovations across 13 critical technology domains, including Advanced Computing, Healthcare and MedTech, Space and Defence, Energy and Sustainability, Semiconductors, Biotechnology, Smart Cities and Mobility, Blue Economy, Next-Gen Communications, Agri and Food Technologies, Advanced Materials, Manufacturing & Industry 4.0, and Disaster Management.