Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking at the Emerging Science, Technology and Innovation Conclave 2026 on Tuesday, said science succeeds when it moves out of laboratories and improves the lives of ordinary citizens.
Modi said the value of “Lab to Land” technology should not be measured only by how advanced it is, but by whether it delivers solutions for healthcare, agriculture, education, employment and disaster prevention. He said India’s startup revolution was giving priority to such questions, including efforts to find uses for industrial waste such as steel slag.
Referring to a recent visit to Chennai, Modi said he had inaugurated an advanced brain centre at IIT Madras. According to him, the centre has developed a brain-imaging technology platform that can serve as an example for the world.
He said “technology for transformation” should be the test of scientific progress, adding that a country’s technological capability depends on its research. Modi said the Anusandhan National Research Foundation was being accelerated with this objective.
Modi said a commitment had been made at the same platform last year to provide ₹1,00,000 crore for research, development and innovation. Over the past year, he said, the private sector had made an investment commitment of about ₹12,000 crore, taking new research and development commitments to a total of ₹24,000 crore.
He also said patent applications had recorded substantial growth over the past decade, without giving a figure in this segment of the address. Modi said the trend indicated that research and innovation were emerging as a stronger culture in India.
