PM Modi’s vision driving growth of science and technology: Ajay Kumar Sood

New Delhi, May 4 Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, on Sunday credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision and push to leverage science and technology on several platforms for the growth seen in the field in recent years.

Talking about AI-related challenges, Sood, who has been elected as an International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, said India is well placed to take on the AI challenges, as you know that India launched a very big AI national mission. He said we need to be one up to see that we ethically utilise the strength of AI, transparently and inclusively.

Excerpts from an exclusive interview with IANS:

IANS: You have been elected as an International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. How important is this recognition and the role of Prime Minister Modi's guidance on this?

Ajay Sood: I truly feel humbled by this recognition. This academy was founded in 1780, and the uniqueness of this academy is that it recognises leaders, leadership and honours excellence in all works of the arts and sciences. So they have recognised our contribution in the field of public affairs and public policy.

This is very significant because if you look at what is happening in our country in the last few years, we have a tremendous push under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on science and technology on every platform. This is being amplified in different ways, so the Principal Scientific Advisor’s role, which comes in this technology policy, is very important. This recognition really recognises our contributions in this field. It’s not a contribution to me. It’s a contribution actually to the entire nation and the entire ecosystem.

In some sense, this is honouring the science and technology growth in our country in the last many years. If you look at the list, under international members, we have members from 16 countries, and I am the one from India, and there are two other people of Indian origin, Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft and C. Jagdish, President of the Australian Academy of Sciences. We are three of Indian origin, so in that sense, it’s a very good honour, and I am grateful for this recognition

One reason that I feel very humbled by this recognition is also the people who have been elected before me in this academy. I see names of Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, Laurence Olivier, you know Akira Guru, the famous filmmaker, Nelson Mandela, and so these names, as you know, are really like the world leaders in their own fields, and this makes you feel further humbled by this recognition.

IANS: How do you see the impact of the Indian diaspora on the global stage? How has the perception of India changed in the world in the last decade?

Ajay Sood: India is making a huge impact actually in all walks of science and technology, technology and innovation. You look at all the leadership in the top companies, that is where you will find Indian leadership. You will see that India as a country is highly respected and recognised for its innovative culture and innovative ways of doing science; we don’t follow people. We follow our own way of making something ahead in this ecosystem. Under Prime Minister Modi‘s leadership, India has launched many missions recently, for example, India, quantum mission, artificial intelligence mission, green hydrogen mission, and all these things are reflecting India’s growth story in science and technology, and India’s diaspora is making waves in all walks of science and technology.

IANS: How is India prepared in view of AI challenges and innovation?

Ajay Sood: India is well placed to take on the AI challenges, as you know that India launched a very big AI national mission. The office of Principal Scientific Advisor has a role to play in that, and AI is here to stay. AI will make a big, big difference in our lives, be it in our social life or scientific life, and this is where we need to take advantage of this, and we need to be leaders in this rather than followers.

The mission outlines seven verticals, and in all of those verticals, work is going on. The good news is, as we speak, AI is progressing extremely well in India. In the coming months, you will see the difference. Our minister has already announced India’s LLM foundation model, and substantial financial support has been given, and many more are in the pipeline in that direction.

IANS: How will AI change the work atmosphere in countries like India?

Ajay Sood: AI is not a replacement. It is an assistive technology and a disruptive technology, both. AI will tell us how we work differently. For example, the service-oriented sectors will be tremendously affected by AI intervention. So, we should not cry that the services are getting affected because when AI comes into picture, what people must see is how we use this technology to provide even better services or even new services, new products and not simply stick to the old services model which might get threatened with the coming of AI.

There is no way that AI will not make a difference in our lives. It will make and we need to be one up to see that we utilise the strength of AI in an ethical manner, in a transparent manner and in an inclusive manner, so the safety aspects are equally important. In the government, there is a tremendous effort in this, and an AI safety policy is in the rollout process.

IANS: Given the challenges on the border, how do India's scientific innovations give it an edge over Pakistan?

Ajay Sood: There is no comparison. If you look at the tremendous progress our country has made in any field. You take in atomic energy, in space, in digital transformation and clean energy and in biotech technology. You name it. Actually, we are at the forefront; if we are not at the forefront, we are getting there, and this is where all the SNT policies, SNT framework, SNT interventions, and SNT financial support - all are coming into the picture. IT involves stakeholders from all sectors, be it academia, industry, government and policy makers. Everyone has come together to make a difference, so the comparison is actually not relevant. We will say that we are logically many, many decades different from that, so there is no comparison at all.

IANS: How can India face the challenge put forth by China in scientific innovation?

Ajay Sood: We need to see how we position ourselves. In this, we should see how India can lead. India needs to be a product nation. It is not only a service economy but a product nation as well. If you want that, we would need many things, we will need our design capabilities, we will need to go from design to production manufacturing and then marketing.

We have to see the challenges which are there, but I do not see that this will really deter us from going further in our pursuit of excelling in science and technology. I don’t see any negative aspect, but it’s a good challenge for us to make sure that we remain relevant and we remain at the forefront of technology, so this is very essential for the entire country, and our leadership is seized of this and they are really motivating us to do the needful.

IANS: PM Modi puts special emphasis on technology and its use. Can you share your experience about working with him?

Ajay Sood: Prime Minister Modi is absolutely focused on science and technology. Technology is a vehicle for improving the lives of our countrymen. If you look at all the speeches from August 15 from the Red Fort, it’s completely obvious that this is really one of the main focuses.

He gave many, many new programmes on August 15 last year – be it quantum mission, be it the AI mission, and anything which is technology. Actually, S&T is at the heart of this government’s policies. Look at the innovation, look at the start-up culture. The start-up culture has exponentially grown in the last 11 years. We had around 470 start-ups. Now we have 1.7 lakh start-ups. These start-ups. They have tremendous support from the government, and whatever needs to be done. I think we should look at it, and PM Modi‘s focus on science and technology is totally there.

IANS: How PM Modi's focus towards scientific innovations shaped the new India?

Ajay Sood: PM Modi‘s focus has been on how to really take science to the masses. A very good example of this is the digital transformation. You look at it, our digital transformation, digital transactions, be it Aadhaar registration, be it UPI, be it digital signature, be it in the education sector.

The technology is enabled in a way that it is democratic, transparent and affordable, and this is where Prime Minister Modi‘s clear directive clear direction really is coming into the picture. He and the Minister of Science and Technology believe that innovation, which goes along with science and technology, will nurture the tree of Viksit Bharat 2047. Anything, be it our space exploration, Chandrayaan and Mangalyaan, all this is driven by Prime Minister Modi’s vision of keeping science and technology at the centre of our growth ecosystem.

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