Stressing that India’s path to becoming a developed nation by 2047 must be powered by innovation, R. N. Ravi said achieving the vision of Viksit Bharat can only be technology-driven. He was delivering the inaugural address at the 14th edition of the ThinkEdu Conclave organised by a media group. Calling the 2047 goal “not merely an aspiration but a necessity”, he warned that failure to achieve it would have serious consequences and said a revolutionary approach to education, as envisioned in the National Education Policy 2020, is essential.
Drawing from history, he said India was once a global economic leader in textiles, agriculture and metallurgy before colonisation weakened its dominance. Europe later rose on the strength of technologies like gunpowder and the steam engine, leading for nearly 300 years. “The journey of human civilization has always been on the back of technology,” he said, noting that the global balance shifted in the mid-20th century when the US acquired nuclear capability and later retained dominance through innovation in Information and Communication Technology. Every major technological breakthrough, he said, widened the gap between those who possessed it and those who did not.
Warning that artificial intelligence could deepen this divide, he said, “AI is a transformative technology that empowers individuals and nations,” and urged India to build domain-specific AI models instead of copying high-energy Silicon Valley systems. He added that literacy in the coming years will be defined by AI literacy. “The choice before us is simple- whether we use the instrument, or allow the instrument to use us. We must adapt technology as much as we can and saturate ourselves,” he said. He highlighted government initiatives in digital payments, women operating drones and missions in AI, quantum technology and nanotechnology, along with increased research funding and stronger school and college infrastructure.
Referring to 10,000 Atal Tinkering Labs with plans to expand to 50,000, Ravi called for hands-on experimentation and stronger industry-academia collaboration. He noted that start-ups and intellectual property rights applications have grown manifold in the past decade. At the event, Prabhu Chawla said that since 2012, the conclave has hosted 585 sessions with 20,280 attendees. He added that in 2025, 52 million students entered higher education and 9 million will graduate this year, with enrolment rising nearly 15% annually, cautioning that “The numbers are impressive, but quantity is not a marker of quality.”
Also read: Viksit Workforce for a Viksit Bharat
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