Palash Gupta ,
R&D Engineering Leader,
Verint,
India now stands tall as the world’s fourth-largest economy, with a nominal GDP crossing $4 trillion and a robust 8.2% real GDP growth in FY2024—among the fastest globally. This remarkable transformation is fueled by multiple high-impact engines:
This is nothing short of phenomenal progress—a bright beacon lighting the path forward.
let’s not assume tomorrow’s strategy on yesterday’s momentum.
We must ask the defining questions: What could throw a wrench in the works? What risks lie ahead? Which forces will truly shape India’s destiny?
Looking Through the PRISM: The Global Lens
Two recent global economic developments bring some questions into sharper focus:
While, As an Indian, I take pride in our economic resilience and rising global position, but when viewed through our Peerless Prism, a deeper question emerges:
Our resilience to global phenomena seems to stem less from robust fundamentals and more from our limited exposure and relatively modest contribution to global trade. Are we mistaking insulation for invincibility?
What’s truly driving our phenomenal economic growth?
The Trade-to-GDP Ratio: A Double-Edged Sword
India’s trade-to-GDP ratio sits at 45%. Excluding software/IT exports, and defense and oil imports, it drops to just 36%.
The advantages are clear:
But there are risks as well:
Can a nation dreaming of economic leadership afford to be so lightly stitched into global value chains? This gap is more than a missing puzzle piece—it’s a roadblock to deeper global integration and lasting value creation.
The Hidden Fragility: Structural Economic Challenges
India’s ascent is real—but it remains incomplete. Several structural indicators expose the fragility beneath the momentum:
Our current growth model emphasizes volume over value, scale over sophistication, and population over productivity.
To move beyond momentum and build lasting economic leadership, we must evolve—from being a passive participant to an active creator in global value chains. This shift requires more than incremental reform. It demands a foundational transformation—one that only DeepTech can deliver.
Why DeepTech is India’s Strategic Imperative
DeepTech is more than a sector—it is a strategic enabler that fuses science, technology, and innovation to secure India’s future across three vital dimensions:
1. Strategic Sovereignty: Owning the Future, Not Renting It
In a world defined by contested borders, cyber threats, and technological one-upmanship, strategic sovereignty is no longer optional—it’s existential. DeepTech forms the frontline of national independence by reducing reliance on foreign technologies and enabling homegrown breakthroughs.
While Chandrayaan-3—powered by indigenous cryogenics and autonomous navigation—earned global acclaim, equally vital but less visible innovations are shaping India’s sovereign capabilities:
Though limited in number, these efforts hint at the transformative role deep tech can play in areas where strategic advantage, security, and long-term self-reliance matter most.
“He who holds the code holds the command.” - In new world order, owning the core technology—from source code to silicon—is the ultimate lever of strategic power.
2. Economic Muscle: From Bench Strength to Global Brilliance
India excels in IT services and talent—but global respect and pricing power demand innovation, not just scale.
Despite exporting goods worth around $450 billion, much of India’s export basket remains concentrated in low- to mid-value segments—textiles, petroleum products, and basic chemicals. In stark contrast, nations like Israel, Switzerland, and South Korea have carved global niches in high-value, Deep Tech-led exports.
Per capita income illustrates the real disparity:
This gap exposes the hard truth: Innovation depth beats population size every time.
Consider Sankhya Labs, developing India’s own chip IP for 5G, radar, and aerospace—technologies that are not only economically valuable but foundational to strategic autonomy. Or Planys Technologies, which is pushing the frontiers of maritime defense through advanced underwater robotics, offering indigenous solutions for inspection and surveillance in critical infrastructure.
India’s future isn’t in volume—it’s in sophistication. DeepTech must power the leap from talent factory to global innovation leader.
“Economic power today is less about size, and more about the strategic depth of innovation.”
India’s economic future must shift from scale to sophistication, powered by DeepTech.
3.Societal Scale Impact: Building for Billion
India’s most critical challenges—clean water, healthcare, energy—can’t be solved through incremental change. They demand bold, scalable, tech-enabled solutions, customized to a 1.4-billion-strong population.
Yes, Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin showed India can create and distribute health solutions at scale. But quieter revolutions are underway:
These ventures exemplify a deeper capability: solving first-mile problems with frontier science.
“In India, scale is not a choice—it’s a constraint.” - DeepTech turns this constraint into a competitive advantage, enabling India to build resilience—not just respond to crises.
DeepTech: India's Blueprint for a New Era
Our early triumphs in space, quantum, biotech, and semiconductors prove DeepTech springs from necessity, not novelty. Now, we must scale up massively, redefining growth, closing critical gaps, and future-proofing our economy. This isn't just about survival; it's how India will lead, thrive, and inspire the world.
DeepTech transcends mere technology; it's India's transformation engine. It empowers our people with cutting-edge skills, fuels a high-value job economy, safeguards our environment, and fortifies national security. This is how India converts its demographic dividend into an innovation powerhouse.
National Strategy, Not Just Economics
This extends beyond an economic play—it's India's national strategy. To become a top-three global economy and a genuine world leader, DeepTech must be at our core. It unleashes our scientific talent, embeds India firmly in global value chains, and powers the IP-rich industries of tomorrow.
A Necessity for All - From Ambition to Action
DeepTech is no luxury; it is an absolute necessity. From public health and clean water to agriculture, climate change, and cybersecurity, it addresses India’s most pressing challenges with unprecedented scale and speed. Ultimately, DeepTech embodies the full spectrum of human prosperity—physical health, mental well-being, social equity, economic opportunity, environmental balance, and cultural vibrancy. By democratizing technology and innovation for all 1.4 billion citizens, we strive to build a society grounded in both equality and equity.
The blueprint is clear the efforts are on, —and the onus now rests on all of us:
The future of India’s DeepTech revolution no longer hinges on vision—it now demands bold execution and relentless speed and scale, driven by a shared national purpose.
As we continue this vital exploration in “Point Black with Palash: Peerless Prismatic Precision,” we'll dissect with unparalleled clarity the forces shaping India's economy, technology, and future—delivering insights with a peerless attitude and unmatched precision.
**All views are in personal capacity and are not representative of the views of organizations for whom, I work or am associated
The Journey Into Industry
Palash Gupta is a Product Engineering and Strategy leader known for establishing, scaling and playing leadership Global Capability Centres for tech companies and DeepTech startups in India. A thought leader in technology space, He has served Nasscom National Product Council, led DeepTech Club, mentoring at IITs and IIMs and extensively contributed to the country's policy making technology & business ecosystem.
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