Nandkumar M. Kamat
As the Republic of India enters its 76th year on January 26, 2026, its technological standing can be described in hard global terms that would have been inconceivable on January 26, 1950.
India now operates the third-largest domestic aviation market in the world, with over 160 operational airports and annual passenger traffic exceeding 170 million, most of which is domestic. It has the third-largest operational metro rail network globally, with over 1,000 kilometres of track and carrying over one million passengers every day. Indian Railways is the fourth-largest railway network under a single management, with more than 68,500 route kilometres, and its broad-gauge network is now over
99% electrified.
India runs the world’s largest real-time digital payment system, processing tens of billions of transactions every month. In terms of renewable energy, India ranks among the top five countries globally in terms of installed solar and wind capacity. In defence manufacturing, India is now a net exporter with record production and exports. In terms of innovation, India ranks among the top 40 countries globally and is the leading nation among lower-middle-income economies.
When India became a Republic, the installed electricity capacity was barely 1,713 MW, per-capita electricity consumption was around 18 kWh per year, railways were largely steam-powered, urban mass transit was absent, aviation served a tiny elite, digital technologies did not exist, and advanced scientific research was confined to a few institutions. India depended heavily on imported technology and had limited domestic manufacturing capabilities. The technological leap since then is best understood not as isolated achievements but as the steady construction of national systems capable of operating at a continental scale.
Energy is the foundation of this transformation. From extreme scarcity in 1950, India’s installed electricity capacity is expected to expand to nearly 475 GW by the end of 2026. The energy mix is even more significant. Solar power capacity has crossed 135 GW and wind power 54 GW, placing India among the world’s leading producers of renewable energy. Large solar parks, nationwide transmission networks, grid-scale integration, and decentralised solar for agriculture and rural households have reshaped daily life. India has moved from rationing electricity to managing complex challenges such as storage, grid stability, electric mobility, and green hydrogen.
Today, India’s national highway network exceeds 146,000 kilometres and has expanded rapidly over the past decade. Four-lane highways, expressways, long tunnels, and major bridges have become standard engineering undertakings. The railways, once emblematic of colonial infrastructure, have undergone a deep technological renewal. Electrification now covers virtually the entire broad-gauge network, thereby reducing fuel imports and emissions. Dedicated Freight Corridors have separated passenger and freight traffic, modern signalling has improved safety and capacity, and indigenous semi-high-speed trains such as Vande Bharat have changed expectations of rail travel. Indian Railways is not merely a transport system but a complex, digitally managed engineering enterprise that supports national growth. Urban transportation has been transformed by metro rail systems. From zero metros in 1950, India now operates metro networks in more than 20 cities, with a combined operational length exceeding 1,000 km, ranking third in the world.
Civil aviation reflects rising confidence and scale in China. India’s most distinctive global technological contribution is its digital public infrastructure. The Unified Payments Interface has become the world’s largest real-time payments platform, handling over 20 billion transactions every month, with values running into tens of trillions. This system has brought small traders, informal workers, women entrepreneurs, and rural households into the digital economy. Integrated with digital identity and online governance platforms, it has transformed service delivery, financial inclusion,
and transparency.
India’s 5G rollout has been among the fastest globally, reaching almost all districts within a few years, supported by nearly half a million base stations and hundreds of millions of users. Broadband connectivity now enables telemedicine, online education, precision agriculture advisories, digital commerce, and emergency communications. Connectivity has become a basic development input, on par with roads and electricity.
Space technology, led by the ISRO, symbolises the Republic’s scientific confidence. From having no launch capability in the early decades, India has emerged as a full-spectrum space power. Successful lunar missions, including a soft landing near the moon’s south pole, demonstrate advanced systems engineering, navigation, and mission control. India has also demonstrated satellite docking and in-orbit operations, which are essential capabilities for future space stations, servicing, and human spaceflights. Space systems today support weather forecasting, agriculture, disaster management, navigation, and strategic communication, while inspiring scientific
aspirations nationwide.
Defence technology and military modernisation mark a decisive shift from dependence to capability. Defence production has reached record levels, exceeding Rs. 1.5 lakh crore annually, while exports have crossed Rs. 23,000 crore, reflecting a mature domestic industrial ecosystem. Indigenous platforms such as the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, advanced warships, artillery, missile systems, and electronic warfare equipment demonstrate complex systems integration. India now operates a comprehensive range of indigenous missile systems, covering air defense, surface-to-surface, cruise, and strategic deterrence roles. Army modernisation increasingly incorporates networked warfare, drones, automation, and indigenous logistics, making technology central to national security.
The Republic’s technological frontier now extends under the sea. Through the Deep Ocean Mission, India is developing manned submersibles, underwater robotics, and advanced ocean-sensing systems capable of operating at depths of up to 6,000 metres. By 2025, Indian teams had already executed deep dives approaching 5,000 metres. Ocean technology integrates materials science, sensors, autonomy, and communication, strengthening maritime security, climate science, and the blue economy.
India is the world’s largest producer of two-wheelers, with annual sales approaching two crore units, supported by a dense supplier network, precision tooling, quality systems, and logistics. Biotechnology and life sciences have emerged as major pillars. India’s bioeconomy has expanded from approximately $10 billion in 2014 to nearly $166 billion by 2024, contributing over four percent of the GDP. Vaccines, biopharmaceuticals, diagnostics, agricultural biotechnology, and industrial bio-products now form a diversified ecosystem, strengthening health security, food resilience, and economic growth.
Artificial intelligence, drones, and autonomous systems define the Republic’s newest technological frontier. AI is increasingly deployed in governance, finance, healthcare, agriculture, and defense, whereas drones are widely used in mapping, logistics, disaster response, agriculture, and surveillance. Indigenous manufacturing and regulatory frameworks have enabled their rapid adoption. These technologies signal India’s transition from technology adoption to technology co-creation.
Human capital underlies all these achievements. India possesses one of the world’s largest pools of scientific and technical manpower and a technology industry projected to approach $280–300 billion in annual revenue by 2025. This workforce powers global services, national digital platforms, start-ups, research laboratories, and strategic programs.
Ours is a democracy capable of delivering population-scale digital public goods, operating advanced space missions, modernising its armed forces with indigenous systems, expanding renewable energy while growing its economy, and entering frontier domains from deep oceans to artificial intelligence. Challenges remain, such as uneven access, the need for deeper R&D investment, advanced semiconductor manufacturing, and ethical governance; however, the trajectory is unmistakable.
Republic Day celebrates self-governance. Technology is how a modern republic converts constitutional ideals into lived realities. The journey from 1,713 MW of power to nearly 475 GW, from steam railways to electrified networks and metro systems, from a handful of airports to a global aviation market, from imported defence equipment to indigenous platforms, and from paper-based administration to billions of digital transactions each month is the product of sustained national effort. India has built the technological foundations to shape its destiny and contribute responsibly to the world. We wish our readers a great 76th Republic Day.
