Need to move to IP-driven regime as R&D is an imperative: 29th CII Partnership Summit

We are entering an era of exponential growth in India. Most of us are united in a shared vision of where India should be when we celebrate 100 years of India’s independence in 2047, said Ms Debjani Ghosh, Distinguished Fellow, NITI Aayog, India. She highlighted that in today’s world, our biggest ally is technology and the confluence of force multipliers that is enabling this magnitude of exponential growth. We are entering the era of super intelligence, AI, gene engineering, renewable energy, quantum technology, etc. which can transform societies, companies and countries. We need to move to an IP-driven regime and R&D is imperative for India’s success, she further added.

She was speaking at the session on “Technology Leadership for a Connected Future - Collaborative R&D in Critical Technologies & Emerging Sectors for Global Growth” of the 29th edition of the Partnership Summit 2024 organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), in partnership with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry in New Delhi on 2 December.

Robotics on the one side helps humanity in addressing challenges but at the same time creates transformative challenges on how we are going to evolve the workforce to adapt to this change. We must build technology for the people and not against them, said Mr Cyril Perducat, Chief Technology Officer, Rockwell Automation Inc., USA.

Mr Richard Heald, OBE, Chair, UK India Business Council, UK said that India and the UK already have a strong relationship in terms of technology and is based on the fact UK invests heavily in India and Indian companies are heavily embedded in the UK. In the UK, we already have a very well-developed axis between academia, corporate, and government. Therefore, networks and collaborations already exist that have succeeded in developing technology, which has been brought to India and scaled & developed effectively, he added.

Doing business with India comes easily for South Africa. India has a unique setup with its innovation board and technology will play a huge role here, particularly in the pharmaceutical sector, said Mr DáNiel Nel, Chief Executive Officer, Greater Corp, South Africa. He added that India has a great opportunity to position itself as an alternative to the US and Europe, especially in terms of technology.

Technology is not just about what we can do, but also how we scale that into proper solutions. I think there are two things we need to look at here: first, the need to have standards, that don’t hinder innovation but accelerate it. Second, a need for a global certification mechanism that will bring market confidence, said Mr Simon Lemin, Chief Executive Officer, TÜV SÜD, South Asia.

Technology is the ‘sutradhar’ or the connective tissue that brings together businesses, communities, and citizens and is now helping us connect across borders. I truly believe in the ability of technology to democratize information and access to information, which is the key, said Mr Sandip Patel, Managing Director, IBM India Pvt Ltd. Technology will also help in enabling services, improving productivity, and driving commercialisation, which is one of its greatest advantages.

The market is growing in an unprecedented way across several sectors and undoubtedly, this is going to be India’s decade. We are confronting scaling and reinventing ourselves in quite a few sectors, specifically manufacturing and will become 1st-time manufacturers for many items, said Mr B Thiagarajan, Chairman, CII National Committee on Consumer Electronics & Durables and Managing Director, Blue Star Ltd, India.

2 December 2024

New Delhi