India must convert academic research into technology and products: NITI Aayog member

September 10, 2026 /Posted byPrajwal EW / 0

India needs to strengthen the translation of academic research into commercially deployable technologies and products, said Abhay Karandikar, Member, NITI Aayog, at Ashoka University’s Research X Impact Conclave 2026.

Ashoka University organised the conclave in collaboration with the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) at its campus on Wednesday. The event brought together researchers, academics, policymakers and other stakeholders to discuss ways to increase the societal and economic impact of research.

Delivering the keynote address, Karandikar said India ranks third globally in science and engineering publications, but continues to face a gap between academic and translational research.

“We are not able to convert the research happening in our universities and scientific R&D labs into commercially deployable technologies and products,” he said.

Karandikar attributed the gap partly to the absence of a mature corporate research and development ecosystem capable of engaging with academia. He called for incentives to encourage private-sector investment in R&D and strengthen industry-academia collaboration.

He also identified three areas that science and technology must address as India works towards becoming a developed economy: sustainability and fragility; constraints involving food, water and materials; and quality-of-life issues such as transport, housing, pollution and affordable healthcare.

ANRF chief executive officer Shivkumar Kalyanaraman said a research-to-impact ecosystem required collaboration among researchers.

“We have to convert deep science to deep technology, deep technology to deep entrepreneurship, and then go beyond,” he said.

Ashish Dhawan, founding chairperson of Ashoka University’s Board of Trustees, said research and development activity was increasing in India, with greater participation from academia, research laboratories and industry. He added that Ashoka University planned to expand its science infrastructure and faculty.

The conclave also featured ANRF grantee presentations, a session on SARAL AI led by ANRF visiting scientist Ponnurangam Kumaraguru, and a discussion on taking scientific discoveries from laboratories to the market. The commercialisation session was led by Premnath Venugopal, founder-director of Venture Center.

Also Read: MIT-WPU’s R.I.D.E. 2026 Focuses on Creative Problem-Solving

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“It must have seemed natural to me that the close-eyed obedience of the student was a form of bhakti. Bhakti was — this scene reminds us — a critique of the idea of god and bhakti itself. The andh bhakt worships the powerful, the academic-bhakt the powerless, so that both transform into a fetish. One wants to remain Hanuman, the other lives with the belief that it’s only a matter of time that they too will become Foucault. ‘Star professor’ should be an oxymoron in the classroom; but star professors lubricate the personality cult, seemingly unaware that it is a weapon of bullying and indoctrination. Instead of conquering the classroom like Alexander, I wish that teachers stood out of students’ sunlight.”

- Sumana Roy, The Indian Express, (7/9)

“Dalits in Indian academia are always managing themselves, projecting or living up to a certain image so as to keep hasty criticism at bay. If they stray a millimetre from the socially sanctioned script, disgrace of a kind that exists solely for them befalls them. To question someone’s academic credibility is one thing, but to violate their dignity is anything but responsible criticism. Black people and Dalits are forced to hold on to whatever dignity is left with them, enduring everyday racism and casteism. They know that what routinely bypasses the social gaze will be unforgivable in their case. In societies where race and caste continue to determine the majority’s standing, we ought to be mindful of the unethical foundations of such concerns for ethical conduct. To be Black, to be a Dalit, or any kind of minority, is a costly thing in society. Even in educational institutions, many of the marginalised continue to pay with their life.”

- Irfanullah Farooqi & Suraj Gogoi, The Indian Express, (3/9)

India must convert academic research into technology and products: NITI Aayog member

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