Global Summit on Technology, R&D, and IP 2025
From Dependence to Dominance: Research, Deep Tech and IP for AtmaNirbhar Bharat
16th December 2025, New Delhi
“Technology and deep-tech R&D must be viewed through the prism of economic and national security. In a world of concentrated supply chains and rising geopolitical uncertainty, India must urgently build domestic capabilities across the deep-tech value chain to enhance resilience, competitiveness and strategic autonomy” said Mr Lekhan Thakkar, Joint Secretary, National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS), Government of India at the CII Global Summit on Technology, R&D, and IP 2025
In his special address at the CII Global Summit on Technology, R&D and Intellectual Property 2025, Mr Lekhan Thakkar, Joint Secretary, National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS), Government of India underscored that India can no longer be seen merely as an importer of technology. He said that the future lies in co-creation, value addition and partnerships with like-minded countries, where innovation strengthens both economic growth and global bargaining power. He further highlighted the risks posed by highly concentrated global supply chains in critical and emerging technologies such as semiconductors, AI, quantum, clean energy and batteries. He noted that export controls, technology restrictions and geopolitical tensions have made it imperative for India to scale up indigenous R&D, pursue technological leapfrogging, and reduce dependencies on a few countries or firms.
Ms Debjani Ghosh, Distinguished Fellow, NITI Aayog, Government of India in her special address at the Opening session stated that India is at a rare inflection point where mega technology shifts, policy reforms and a changing mindset are converging, and emphasised that this is not the time for the country to merely catch up but to leapfrog by investing decisively in frontier R&D, building and owning intellectual property, setting global standards, and shaping the technologies that will define the future.
In his address at the Opening Session, Dr Naushad Forbes, Chairman, CII National Committee on Technology, Innovation & Research & Co-Chairperson, Forbes Marshall said “India’s ambition to become a developed nation by 2047 can only be realised through a decisive shift towards technology-led growth. This requires a fivefold increase in industry-led R&D and an eightfold expansion of public research in higher education, with industry taking the lead in building a strong, self-sustaining innovation ecosystem”. He further emphasised that strengthening India’s innovation ecosystem requires a decisive shift towards industry-led R&D, supported by enhanced public research in higher education, so that increased investment not only accelerates proprietary technology development but also builds a robust talent pipeline capable of sustaining long-term economic growth and global competitiveness.
Mr Masood Mallick, Chairman CII National Committee on Waste to Worth Technologies in his address said this is the moment for India to accelerate from being a consumer of global technology to becoming a creator and exporter of world-class innovation. To achieve this, we must decisively shift our research and innovation ecosystem from being government-funded to industry-led, with sustainability and intellectual property at the core of our growth strategy.
Ms Vaishali Nigam Sinha, Chair, CII Women in STEM Initiatives & Co-Founder, ReNew & Chairperson, Sustainability addressed the gathering and said “India’s journey to Viksit Bharat must be anchored in innovation that is technologically advanced, socially grounded and inclusive. She further highlighted that the real value will be created when industry, academia, policymakers and MSMEs come together to build solutions rooted in India’s needs while leveraging global best practices”.
The Summit marked several important milestones with the release of a suite of high-impact Thought Leadership Report on the Deep Tech Frontier: Robotics, Automation, IoT and Drone Systems, which analyzes global trends, India’s current capabilities, ecosystem gaps, and strategic pathways across industrial robotics and automation, IoT-enabled systems, and drone technologies. The report positions these domains as critical enablers of India’s economic growth, industrial productivity, and technological sovereignty over the coming decade.
This was followed by the release of key strategic reports, including the CII–TCS Report on Artificial Intelligence and Intellectual Property, which examines India’s rapidly evolving AI and GenAI patenting landscape, highlights IP challenges faced by MSMEs, and addresses emerging governance concerns such as transparency, bias, and misinformation, while offering actionable recommendations for responsible AI adoption and future-ready IP frameworks.
The Summit also unveiled the CII–Qualcomm Report on the Indian Deep-Tech Startup IP Ecosystem, presenting a data-driven analysis of intellectual property trends among Indian deep-tech startups across critical technology domains. The report identifies strengths and gaps in existing IP strategies and outlines measures to strengthen IP awareness, commercialization pathways, and global competitiveness.
In addition, the Summit released a series of compendiums, including the CII Women in IP Compendium: Driving India’s Knowledge-Powered Economy, which highlights the growing role of women as innovators, entrepreneurs, and IP professionals through data-driven insights and inspiring narratives. The Innovation Excellence Compendium was also launched, showcasing best practices and success stories that are driving innovation-led growth across sectors.
Beyond knowledge releases, the Summit announced the launch of the R&D Excellence Awards and the IP Excellence Awards for Law Firms, recognizing outstanding leadership and contributions in research, innovation, and intellectual property. The event also featured the formal announcement of the National Technology Readiness Assessment Framework, designed to enable systematic assessment of technology readiness and maturity, strengthen India’s innovation-to-commercialization ecosystem, and accelerate the deployment of technologies at scale.
The Summit further featured nearly 20 curated exhibitions showcasing cutting-edge technologies, innovative solutions, and breakthrough research from startups, industry leaders, and research institutions, offering a dynamic platform for collaboration, knowledge exchange, and partnership building
The Summit brought together over 700 delegates, including senior government officials, industry leaders, academic experts, and representatives from the research and innovation ecosystem, for focused discussions on strengthening India’s innovation backbone.
The Summit will also witness the felicitation of the CII Industrial Innovation Awards, CII Women in STEM Awards, and the CII IP Awards over the two days. The 2 day long summit will deliberate on advancing industry–academia collaboration, enabling research-led growth, improving ease of doing research, fostering deep-tech and mission-driven innovation, and identifying policy pathways and partnership models that can accelerate national R&D outcomes.