PM Modi at ESTIC 2026 Outlines Vision for India to Lead Global Technology

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing the Science, Technology, and Innovation Conference, known as ESTIC-2026, has given a clear goal for India to achieve global leadership in the development of future technologies. He strongly emphasized that the country should no longer limit itself to merely adopting existing technologies, but must take bold steps in innovation to guide the world in the technological domain. Held in New Delhi, this significant conference featured the Prime Minister presenting a comprehensive roadmap for India's bright future and technological self-reliance to the nation and the global community. His address comes at a crucial juncture when the entire world is navigating through the era of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies, where India is steadily marking its strong presence on the international stage.

Stepping Out of Conventional Thinking into a New Era

During his address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi elaborated extensively on the historic transformation witnessed in the country's technological journey. He pointed out that in earlier times, whenever a new technology was developed anywhere in the world, it used to take a long time to reach India. Technologies arrived after a gap of many years, and only then could the country adopt them or make minor improvements to move forward. However, the India of the 21st century has completely broken away from this old convention. Today's India is stepping forward in the realm of technology with a fresh mindset and unprecedented new self-confidence, while the primary goal of the nation is now to create new technologies and direct them in the right and humane path, keeping in mind the present and future of not just India, but the entire world.

The Application of AI and the Significance of Human Thought

Discussing the growing impact of artificial intelligence, Prime Minister Modi presented a highly balanced and visionary perspective regarding its implementation, while he noted that in the current era of AI, several new and unique challenges are emerging before us. AI can undoubtedly increase our productivity manifold by executing routine and repetitive tasks at an extraordinary speed. However, alongside this, he issued a clear warning that the usage of AI should never be allowed to limit human beings' independent thinking capacity. Instead, its main objective should be to enhance people's cognitive abilities even further, while the Prime Minister placed special emphasis on ensuring that technology must always be utilized in a manner that fosters human beings' capacity to think, understand, and develop novel ideas, rather than becoming completely dependent on machines.

A Stern Warning Against Rising Cybersecurity Threats

Addressing the risks looming alongside the advancement of AI, Prime Minister Modi also cautioned the country and the world on the critical front of cybersecurity. He expressed deep concern that in this modern era of AI, cybersecurity threats are consistently and rapidly escalating. These emerging threats could transform into massive challenges for financial networks and the national security of the country in the near future. To counter these severe challenges, the Prime Minister strongly advocated the urgent need to develop advanced security solutions capable of aggressively combating AI-driven threats. Such solid security measures will fully safeguard the country's vital and sensitive systems, allowing technology to be utilized fearlessly for the service and betterment of humanity. The Prime Minister reiterated that our ultimate goal is to develop technology that not only empowers India economically and strategically, but also contributes meaningfully to solving complex problems facing humanity.

Carrying Forward India's Rich Scientific Heritage

Concluding his address, Prime Minister Modi placed special emphasis on remembering and carrying forward India's ancient and rich scientific heritage. He stated that India's culture and traditions have always been rooted in the pursuit of knowledge, research, and discovery. History stands testament to the fact that the invention of zero, the development of the numeral system, and groundbreaking progress in astronomy have profoundly influenced the entire world, while pM Modi proudly stated that today's India is continuously advancing its great scientific legacy with modern technology and this very new self-confidence. According to him, drawing inspiration from past historical and scientific achievements, the country must never halt its momentum in the realms of new technology development, research, and exploration, but keep marching forward incessantly.