India Will Be A Major Global Player In Science By Next Decade, A Lot Will Be Driven By AI: Experts Predict Science Advancements

India has shown remarkable development in the fields of molecular biology, biotechnology, medical science, space, astronomy, engineering and technology, and is expected to make more strides in these.

India is poised to become a major global player in science by the next decade, and a lot of science will be driven by developments in artificial intelligence (AI), experts told ABP Live.

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India has been achieving innumerable milestones in science since time immemorial. The discovery of the Bose-Einstein Condensate, the theory of bosons, the invention of the crescograph, the public demonstration of microwave communication, the discovery of the Raman Effect, the proposal of the Saha Ionisation Equation, the discovery of the Chandrashekhar limit and Chandrasekhar number, the inception of the Indian space programme, the formulation of the three-stage nuclear programme, the code for the File Transfer Protocol, and the development of the Simputer are some of the major breakthroughs in science achieved by Indian scientists. In recent years, India has shown remarkable development in the fields of molecular biology, biotechnology, medical science, space, astronomy, engineering and technology. 

In the coming years, India is expected to achieve a multitude of landmarks in science. Ahead of India's 77th Independence Day, ABP Live spoke to Indian scientists and other experts to know what they believe can be expected in different fields of science, including physics and biomedical sciences, in the next decade. 

What to expect in the field of science in the next decade?

India is poised to become a major global player in science by the next decade, and a lot of science will be driven by developments in artificial intelligence (AI), the experts said.

“The Indian Science community has come a long way. As rightly projected by the late President of India Dr A P J Abdul Kalam in his book “India 2020: A Vision for the New Millennium”, India has been making steady strides since the turn of the century towards becoming one of the most powerful economies, one of the leading factors being its science and technological advances. In the coming years, India will see marked achievements in multidisciplinary domains and particularly in science, from engineering and computation to medicine and astronomy. With the pandemic, India clearly emerged as among the leading nations in biotechnology and healthcare. In the coming decade, India will be a major global player through its participation in international mega-science projects that will trigger the growth of indigenous development of world-class infrastructure and technology,” said Dr Debarati Chatterjee, Chairperson of LIGO-India Outreach, and Associate Professor, Inter-University Centre for Astronomy & Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune. 

India is on its way to becoming a global leader in space due to the efforts of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and private space firms. Given the amount of resources, the Indian space agency and other space firms have demonstrated phenomenal engineering and space technology capabilities 

Dr Chatterjee, who is also a theoretical physicist with an expertise in the research of neutron stars and white dwarfs, said, “India’s ambitious space programmes are demonstrating its prowess in advanced engineering and space technology. India is rapidly adapting to technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. Their applications in diverse domains like healthcare, finance, cybersecurity, and education have the potential to make India one of the world leaders.”

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In the next 10 years, India is expected to integrate more into the global research ecosystem through participation in international research. Translational research, which refers to the translation of research results into applications that directly benefit human health, will also increase, and will be driven by startups. 

“Scientific discoveries, by definition, have an element of surprise. Therefore, it is not easy to predict where science will be in 10 years. We can, however, project current trends into the future and make a few broad predictions. A lot of science will be driven by developments in AI. As has been happening for two decades, research will increasingly be international and India will integrate more into the global research ecosystem. Translational research will increase, and will be driven by startups. The research output from India will continue to increase. The university system is expected to do more research as they get more funding. All these are trends that have already begun,” said Hari Pulakkat, Editor, IIT Madras Shaastra.

The fields of biotechnology and biomedical science have shown accelerated growth in a short period of time, and are expected to witness a drastic revolution in the coming decade. India participates in a large number of publications on biomedical research, and biotechnology startups are bringing up interesting products and innovations.

“Newer government institutes like IISERs and NITs, which were established in the last decade or so, have attracted a good talent pool of scientists and students. We rank much better now in terms of publications in peer reviewed journals and therefore, I see a good qualitative and quantitative shift in the next decade. Similarly, there is a good competition among the private universities to bring in new talent and focus on research and development. This augurs well for the biotechnology and life science fields. Finally, the most important change that is happening is in the ‘startup’ domain. Many new and innovative startups in the biotechnology and biomedical space are trying to revolutionise these fields with interesting and impactful products,” said Dr Debojyoti Dhar, Co-Founder & Director, Leucine Rich Bio. 

A doctorate in molecular biology from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Dr Dhar said, “India now ranks high in terms of number of patents filed per year which is a reflection of innovation in the country.”

What landmarks in science does India aim to achieve?

India aims to achieve several landmarks in science, including experimental physics, theoretical physics, astrophysics, gravitational wave science, development of new and effective drugs, better diagnostic machines, and novel biotechnology products, among others.

The fields of physics in which Indian physicists are achieving breakthroughs are neutrino physics, quantum computing, ultra-cold atoms, precision spectroscopy, nuclear physics, high energy physics, astroparticle physics, and observational cosmology.

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“The Indian science community is rapidly growing in diverse disciplines. In several fields, Indian researchers are making breakthrough achievements in experimental physics such as neutrino physics, quantum computing, ultra-cold atoms, precision spectroscopy, biophotonics, nuclear and high energy physics. Indian physicists are also dominating diverse domains of theoretical physics, which includes condensed matter, nuclear and particle physics; astroparticle physics; theoretical and observational cosmology and astrophysics; and gravitational wave science. In these fields, we expect Indian science to achieve important milestones in the coming years,” said Dr Chatterjee.

Scientists aim to use the traditional knowledge system, and the latest scientific information to make strides in biotechnology.

Explaining that India is already in the forefront of innovative products in the biotechnology and biomedical fields, Dr Dhar said, “I feel Indian scientists and engineers will add value to the development of new and effective drugs, better diagnostic machines and tools, incorporating the latest scientific know-how and our traditional knowledge system. I also feel that our scientists will bring in new biotechnology products for improving the environment and help sync mankind better with nature.”

In the coming years, India hopes to increase investments in science, especially in the universities. 

“Countries do not aim for landmarks in science. They happen automatically. However, India is hoping to increase investments in science, and especially in the universities and in the private sector,” said Pulakkat.