The year 2025 proved to be an important turning point in India’s scientific and technological journey, as this year the country emerged with new confidence and global status in the frontier region. This signals a fundamental shift in India’s relationship with technology. From artificial intelligence and semiconductors to space exploration, nuclear energy and essential minerals, India has shown that it is no longer just adopting global technologies, but shaping them.
For the first time in India’s independent history, technological self-determination is not a dream but an emerging reality, strongly linked to the vision of a developed India 2047.
The revolution brought about by India AI Mission
Under the India AI Mission, the Government of India has earmarked Rs. A huge investment of over 10,000 crores has been promised. It aims to ensure that artificial intelligence becomes a tool to improve society. It should be better utilized, especially in India’s wide rural-urban divide.
The government announced the expansion of the country’s National AI Infrastructure, adding 15,916 new GPUs. India’s national computing capacity now exceeds 38,000 GPUs. These GPUs are available at a subsidized rate of Rs 67 per GPU hour, which is Rs. 115 is much lower than the average market rate. This pricing architecture is a policy in itself, designed to facilitate access to sophisticated compute infrastructure.
Recently, India took a big leap and was ranked third in Stanford University’s 2025 Global AI Vibrancy Tool. India ranks third in AI competitiveness after the US and China. With this, India has overtaken many developed economies like South Korea, United Kingdom, Singapore, Japan, Canada, Germany and France. This shows how India’s fast-growing tech ecosystem and strong talent base are helping the country play a leading role in the global AI race.
A new era of India’s self-reliance in semiconductors
For the first time in the country’s history, a government has made semiconductor manufacturing the focus of India’s technology mission. In May 2025, it took a major step by launching two state-of-the-art facilities for 3-nanometer chip design in Noida and Bengaluru. These facilities are more than just production capacity. This marks the beginning of the country’s journey from importing 90% of its semiconductor requirement to building its future in this strategically important domain.
“Vocal for local” thinking was encouraged
Additionally, in September 2025, India’s first indigenously developed Vikram-32-bit chip was presented to PM Modi at the inauguration of the Semicon India 2025 conference. This “voice for the local” is a strategic turn, promoting an indigenous chip ecosystem and indigenous IP.
As global supply chains increasingly break down, India’s domestic semiconductor capacity represents both economic strength and strategic security. In 2025 alone, the government will spend around Rs. Sanctioned 5 more semiconductor units, totaling 10 semiconductor units in six states, with a total investment of Rs 1.60 lakh crore. Its main objective is to achieve a 10% share of global semiconductor consumption by 2030, so that the country can become a global hub for design, manufacturing and innovation.
Amazing in strategic rare earth and critical minerals missions
Just as steel is needed to build tall buildings, vital minerals are needed to make semiconductors. Without this, there can be no advanced electronics, no AI and no digital future and hence the Modi government launched the National Critical Mineral Mission in January 2025 with an outlay of Rs 16,300 crore to meet India’s demand for rare earths and strengthen our self-reliance in semiconductors, electronics and electric mobility.
By building a strong domestic supply of these minerals, India will be able to reduce its dependence on imports from countries that currently dominate the supply chain of many critical minerals. GSI has launched 195 mineral exploration projects for critical and strategic minerals across the country in FY 2024-25.
A total of 227 projects are being worked on in the financial year 2025-26. In Budget 2025-26, the Modi government exempted cobalt powder and waste, lithium-ion battery scrap, lead, zinc and 12 more essential minerals and introduced financial measures to promote domestic processing and recycling.
Flying high in space science and technology
Space technology became a mark of pride for the country. ISRO has completed some of its most difficult and important missions around the world. A major highlight was the successful launch of NISAR (NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) by GSLV-F16 on July 30, 2025. This historic joint India-US mission is the world’s most advanced Earth-observing radar satellite.
India’s human spaceflight aspirations also achieved a historic milestone in July 2025, when Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla became the first Indian astronaut to visit the International Space Station (ISS). Flying as part of the Axiom-4 mission, he spent 18 days on the ISS, conducting scientific experiments and international collaborative research. This enabled Indian scientists to join the global research commons and signaled that India could be an equal partner in humanity’s great endeavours.
This year, ISRO achieved another major success with the launch of CMS-03 on November 2, 2025 using the LVM3-M5 rocket. Weighing approximately 4,400 kg, CMS-03 is India’s heaviest satellite to date, reflecting the increased heavy-lift capability of the LVM3 vehicle launched in LVM3.
New Infinity Campus inaugurated in Hyderabad
As recently as December 2025, PM Modi inaugurated Skyroot Aerospace’s new Infinity Campus in Hyderabad and unveiled the company’s first orbital rocket, Vikram-1, designed to launch satellites into orbit. By allowing private participation in the space sector from 2020, India is going to reap great results in just a decade.
The establishment of IN-SPACE (Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre) has fostered a growing ecosystem of private innovators. Around 3304 industries, startups and MSMEs are now associated with IN-SPACE for authorization of space activities.
In 2025, IN-SPACE (India’s National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre) and ISRO achieved a major milestone, with India becoming the fourth country to dock in-space through the SpaDeX mission5. The country’s space industry is expected to grow from about $8.4 billion to $44 billion by 20336.
A major step in the expansion of the nuclear power sector
In 2025, India’s nuclear sector has made a lot of progress. In December 2025, the Union Cabinet approved the Atomic Energy Bill, 2025, titled SHANTI (Sustainable Use and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India). The Act is the biggest reform in India’s nuclear power sector since its inception, opening the door for private participation in the sector. It replaces the Nuclear Energy Act, 1962 and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act, 2010 with a modern legal framework that is aligned with current international best practice.
India’s nuclear production has reached an all-time high with NPCIL surpassing 56,681 MUs in FY 2024-25. PM Modi laid the foundation stone of the 4-unit Mahi Banswara NPP in Rajasthan in September, 2025. The project will have four units of PHWR – 700 MW each. First two units (KAPS 3 and 4) of indigenous 700 MWe PHWR at Kakrapar, Gujarat have received AERB license for regular operation. Rawatbhata Atomic Power Project (RAPP) Unit 7, the third indigenous 700 MWe PHWR in a series of 16 approved reactors, began commercial operations in April.
An indigenously developed Certified Reference Material (CRM) named ‘Ferrocarbonite (FC) (BARC B1401) was officially released in November 2025. First of its kind CRM in India and fourth in the world. It is considered very important for rare earth elements and mining.
Rapid change in the research and innovation ecosystem
The Modi government has also placed R&D at the center of its journey to Developed India@2047. Launching on November 3, 2025. Rs. 1 lakh crore Research Development and Innovation (RDI) scheme fund is an important step towards strengthening India’s research and development ecosystem.
In an important step to strengthen India’s science and technology ecosystem, PM Modi approved the integration of three major umbrella schemes under one central sector initiative, ‘Vijn Dhara’, with a total outlay of Rs 10,579.84 crore. It aims to train more scientists, upgrade laboratory infrastructure and ensure that scientific discoveries move faster “from the lab to the ground” to solve real-world problems. By streamlining funding and reducing duplication, the scheme aims to make India’s scientific ecosystem more efficient and globally competitive.
Under PM Modi’s decisive and forward-looking leadership, the country spurred innovation. Enhanced indigenous capabilities and stronger technological sovereignty. This pace of change has positioned India not only as a participant but also as a leader at the forefront of the global science and technology revolution.