Innovation, Startups, MSMEs and Quality Manufacturing are Pillars of India's Future Growth: Shri Piyush Goyal at 22nd J.R.D. Tata Memorial Lecture

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal, today said that India's future growth would depend on innovation, deep technologies, skilled manpower, startups, MSMEs and an enabling policy environment that encourages enterprise and investment, supported by globally competitive manufacturing, good manufacturing practices and uncompromising quality standards across sectors.

Delivering the 22nd J.R.D. Tata Memorial Lecture on the occasion of the 122nd birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna Shri Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy (J.R.D.) Tata in New Delhi today, the Minister said India's journey towards becoming a developed nation by 2047 would be driven by technology, research and development, entrepreneurship and a culture of excellence.

Shri Goyal said emerging and deep technologies, including artificial intelligence, semiconductors, quantum computing, biotechnology, robotics and advanced materials, will define the next frontier of industrial growth and strengthen India's industrial capabilities. He said the Government is committed to strengthening startups, promoting MSMEs, encouraging deep technology innovation and expanding skill development initiatives. He emphasised that skill development cannot be a government-led effort alone and must become an industry-led movement, while the Government will continue improving ease of doing business and creating an enabling ecosystem in which enterprises can grow and compete globally.

Highlighting several Government initiatives aimed at promoting research and innovation, Shri Goyal said the Government has launched a ₹1 lakh crore Research, Development and Innovation Fund to provide long-term, low-cost risk capital for emerging technologies and innovation. He further stated that under the IndiaAI Mission, nearly 38,000 GPUs have already been onboarded to provide affordable computing capacity to startups and researchers, with plans for further expansion. He also highlighted the success of the India Semiconductor Mission, stating that commitments have already been received for the entire allocation under the first phase. He added that the Government has now launched the second Semiconductor Mission with an allocation of approximately US$12-13 billion and invited industry to participate through new investments and proposals.

Shri Goyal said innovation and manufacturing must progress together. He emphasised that the future of manufacturing lies in producing smarter through technology, automation, better product design, improved packaging, stronger branding and globally competitive quality. While India's large domestic market provides economies of scale, he said Indian industry must increasingly leverage that scale to expand into global markets, generating higher growth, creating more employment opportunities and maximising the benefits arising from India's expanding network of Free Trade Agreements.

Referring to India's Free Trade Agreement (FTA) strategy, Shri Goyal said the country has concluded nine FTAs covering 38 developed economies with a combined GDP of nearly US$60 trillion. He contrasted these agreements with India's earlier FTAs concluded prior to 2014, which were largely with economies having a combined GDP of around US$10 trillion and where India competed rather than complemented partner countries. He said these agreements provide Indian businesses with unprecedented market access and opportunities for expansion, adding that J.R.D. Tata's emphasis on quality and perfection would have enabled him to leverage such opportunities on a massive scale.

Highlighting India's economic performance, Shri Goyal said the country recorded economic growth of 7.7 per cent last year and 7.8 per cent in the last quarter, maintaining its position as the world's fastest-growing large economy despite global disruptions and geopolitical uncertainties. He said India's exports of both goods and services continued to grow during 2025-26 despite prolonged geopolitical tensions, uncertainties relating to crude oil and gas supplies, developments affecting the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea, and the imposition of 50 per cent tariffs on most Indian exports to the United States for a substantial part of the previous year. He added that merchandise exports have grown by 15 per cent during the current financial year from 1 April till date, demonstrating the resilience of the Indian economy. Shri Goyal said institutions such as the OECD, World Bank and IMF continue to project India as the fastest-growing large economy, attributing this confidence to India's enabling policy environment, the self-belief of its people, the entrepreneurial spirit of young Indians and the country's emergence as the world's third-largest startup ecosystem.

Continuing his address, Shri Goyal said created advantage matters more than inherited advantage and that India's future competitiveness would be determined by its ability to innovate.

The Minister said India's startup ecosystem has evolved significantly from its initial phase and is now increasingly focused on deep technology.

Recalling his participation alongside Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron at the inauguration of Bharat Innovates in Nice, France, on 14 June, Shri Goyal said 120 of India's leading deep-tech startups showcased their innovations before global investors, technology companies and world leaders. He said every participant returned with a renewed sense of confidence and pride after witnessing the quality of Indian innovation.

Shri Goyal stressed that the next priority should be to help startups move from ideas to prototypes and from prototypes to commercialisation. He urged industry to support startups by adopting their products, experimenting with their technologies and helping them scale commercially. Once proof of concept evolves into commercial success, he said, global markets would naturally follow.

Expressing concern over the loss of promising Indian innovations to overseas investors, Shri Goyal said many of the country's best technologies and startups are eventually acquired by foreign companies because Indian investors often wait until businesses mature before investing. He urged domestic investors to support Indian startups at an early stage and said India's deep-tech entrepreneurs represent an enormous investment opportunity. Referring to the 120 startups that participated in Bharat Innovates, he remarked that, had he been in business instead of public life, he would have invested his savings in such innovators.

The Minister said India's economy, currently valued at approximately US$4 trillion, is well positioned to achieve its stated target of US$13 trillion by 2047, when the country celebrates 100 years of Independence. He said India is already witnessing examples of this transformation across sectors.

Highlighting major reform initiatives, Shri Goyal said the Government has reduced compliance burden, decriminalised numerous legal provisions through the Jan Vishwas Acts, removed several obsolete laws from the statute books and continues to simplify regulations to encourage enterprise. He said Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is working every day to remove the barriers that constrain entrepreneurship and unlock the true potential of Indian industry.

The Minister said that over the past decade, equal emphasis has been placed on strengthening India's macroeconomic fundamentals and expanding public welfare through technology-enabled governance. He said direct benefit transfers have ensured that welfare reaches beneficiaries without leakages or intermediaries, while sustained efforts have been made to provide every citizen with basic necessities including food, housing, electricity, water, healthcare, education, physical connectivity and digital connectivity.

He also underscored the importance of MSMEs in India's development journey and said the sector must be supported in adopting technology at scale to improve productivity, competitiveness and product quality.

Shri Goyal said that while policies, incentives and technology provide the necessary framework for development, the ultimate success of every reform depends upon the people who implement it. He observed that the rise of a nation is determined not only by the quality of its policies but also by the quality of its mindset and national character.

Recalling the legacy of J.R.D. Tata, Shri Goyal said that he did not merely build companies but built capabilities, confidence and a spirit of self-belief in India. Referring to Guru Purnima, which is also observed on 29 July, the Minister said that, in the Indian tradition, a Guru removes doubts and transfers capability to students, adding that J.R.D. Tata played exactly that role for Indian industry.

Concluding his address, Shri Goyal urged Indian industry to pursue excellence by aiming for perfection and making the "Made in India" label synonymous with global respect and uncompromising quality. He appealed to industry to reinvest earnings in research and development, innovation, skill development, education and nation building. He also urged businesses to leverage India's Free Trade Agreements to expand their global market share and called upon industry to invest boldly in deep technologies, including artificial intelligence, quantum computing, biotechnology and the space sector, while continuously innovating within their own businesses.

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Abhishek Dayal/ Shabbir Azad/ Ishita Biswas