A homegrown innovation ecosystem is taking root

Technologies that once arrived in India through imports are increasingly being invented at home through local research institutions, industry, and startups. Three institutional foundations of an innovation economy are now advancing together: public research, corporate research and development (R&D), and deep-tech entrepreneurship. The transformation is yet incomplete, but the architecture is finally visible. Gallium Nitride (GaN) semiconductor technologies, critical for advanced radar, space systems, and next-generation communications, are increasingly being developed domestically, helping close a strategic gap in a tightly regulated, export-controlled field. At the same time, affordable immunotherapies developed in India are expanding access to advanced cancer care and demonstrating the country’s growing capacity for biomedical innovation.