Contents01

India's Emerging Technology Ecosystem

Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology / Department of Science & Technology — 12-Year Review

GS 3GS 2

02

India Becomes World's Top Ship Recycling Nation in 2025

Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways · UNCTAD Report

GS 3GS 2

Article 01

Article 01

India's Emerging Technology Ecosystem

Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology / Department of Science & Technology · 12-Year Review (2014–2026)

Relevance: GS 3 (science & technology — AI, semiconductors, quantum tech, IT/digital infrastructure) · GS 2 (government policies and interventions for development).

GS 3GS 2

Key Data at a Glance

42.36 lakh kmoptical fibre route coverage in 2025 (up from 19.35 lakh km in 2019)

102.86 crinternet connections in 2026 (up from 25.15 crore in 2014)

₹76,000 crSemicon India Programme outlay (Dec 2021)

₹6,003.65 crNational Quantum Mission outlay (April 2023)

₹10,300+ crIndiaAI Mission outlay (2024)

38thIndia's Global Innovation Index rank, 2025 (up from 81st in 2015)

Issue in Brief

• India has moved from being viewed as a large digital consumer market to an emerging global technology power, over a 12-year period (2014–2026) of sustained mission-mode investment.
• Mission-mode programmes in Artificial Intelligence (AI), semiconductors, quantum technologies, supercomputing, cloud computing and cybersecurity are shaping a strong innovation ecosystem, feeding into the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision.
• The transformation rests on three pillars: expanding national capacity, strengthening technological capability, and building global credibility.

Static Background

• Digital India Programme (launched 2015): laid the foundational digital infrastructure — optical fibre, broadband, 5G — underlying all subsequent mission-mode technology programmes.
• Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF): operationalised in 2024 as India's apex body promoting collaboration among academia, industry, startups and government for high-impact research.
• NEST Division (New, Emerging and Strategic Technologies): set up in 2020 under the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA); handles foreign-policy and legal aspects of technologies such as 5G/6G, AI, biotech and semiconductors — i.e. technology diplomacy.
• Bharat 6G Alliance (B6GA): formed in 2023, an industry-led, government-facilitated initiative driving indigenous 6G research and development.

Key Dimensions — Digital Backbone

• Optical fibre coverage rose from 19.35 lakh route km (2019) to 42.36 lakh route km (2025); 5G reached 99.9% of districts — among the world's fastest rollouts.
• Internet connections grew from 25.15 crore (2014) to 102.86 crore (2026); broadband connections rose from 6.1 crore (2014) to 99.56 crore (Dec 2025).
• Data cost fell sharply from ₹269 per GB (2014) to ₹8–10 per GB (Dec 2025), while average monthly data use rose from 61.66 MB to 24.01 GB — driving population-scale adoption of telemedicine, online education and digital payments.

Key Dimensions — Frontier Technology Missions

• National Supercomputing Mission (NSM), 2015, ₹4,500 crore outlay: 38 supercomputers deployed with combined power of 47 petaflops; indigenous PARAM Rudra series built with Indian-designed hardware and software.
• Semicon India Programme (Dec 2021, ₹76,000 crore) and India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) 2.0 (Union Budget 2026–27, ₹1,000 crore initial outlay for FY27). As of June 2026, 12 projects worth ~₹1.64 lakh crore approved under ISM — one semiconductor fab, two compound semiconductor fabs, nine packaging units.
• National Quantum Mission, approved April 2023, ₹6,003.65 crore, across four pillars — Quantum Computing, Quantum Communication, Quantum Sensing & Metrology, Quantum Materials & Devices. Four Thematic Hubs, 152+ researchers across 43 organisations, and 17 startups (9 deep-tech) supported. India demonstrated a 1,000-km secure quantum communication network, six years ahead of schedule; Quantum Valley foundation laid at Amaravati, February 2026.
• IndiaAI Mission, approved 2024, outlay over ₹10,300 crore. As of March 2026: ~1.8 lakh startups (nearly 89% of new startups using AI); a common computing facility with over 38,000 GPUs being established; AI Kosh platform hosts 12,115 datasets and 306 AI models across 20 sectors.

Key Dimensions — Cloud, Blockchain, Data Centres & Biotechnology

• MeghRaj (2014, by MeitY): India's national cloud platform, strengthened by MeghRaj 2.0 (hybrid cloud architecture, stronger cybersecurity). Adoption rose from 342 departments (2015–16) to 2,323 departments (June 2026), powering DigiLocker, MyGov and the National Scholarship Portal.
• National Blockchain Framework (NBF), MeitY, 2021, ₹64.76 crore outlay: platforms include the Vishvasya Blockchain Stack, NBFLite sandbox and Praamaanik app verification. As of October 2025, over 3 crore property documents verified via blockchain; RBI's Digital Rupee (e₹) pilots, TRAI's DLT-based spam control, and NSDL's blockchain audit trails are notable applications.
• Data centre capacity grew from ~375 MW (2020) to ~1,500 MW (2025), with hubs in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Noida and Jamnagar.
• National Biopharma Mission (2017, ₹1,500 crore) and the BioE3 Policy (2023) anchor biotechnology growth. The sector crossed USD 150 billion (2023) — two years ahead of the National Biotech Development Strategy 2021 target — and reached USD 190 billion (June 2026); 94 bioincubators established across 25 States/UTs by DBT-BIRAC.

Key Dimensions — Human Capital & Skilling

• Research Development and Innovation (RDI) Scheme (July 2025): ₹1 lakh crore corpus under ANRF, implemented by DST, for long-term affordable financing of private-sector research.
• FutureSkills PRIME (2018, MeitY–NASSCOM): 27.53 lakh registered candidates, 17.14 lakh trained (March 2026); ~80% of learners from Tier-2/3 cities.
• NIELIT: 56 centres, 750 affiliated institutes, 9,000+ facilitation centres; became a Deemed-to-be University in July 2024; established IndiaAI Data Labs across 27 centres.
• Four AI Centres of Excellence (₹1,490 crore total) at IIT Madras (Education), IISc Bengaluru (Healthcare), IIT Kanpur (Sustainable Cities) and IIT Ropar (Agriculture).
• Chips to Start-up (C2S) Programme (MeitY, 2022, ₹250 crore over 5 years): targets 85,000 industry-ready semiconductor professionals; ChipIN Centre at SCL, Mohali conducted six shared wafer runs enabling 122 chip-design submissions from 46 institutions.

Key Dimensions — Global Credibility

• Global Innovation Index rank improved from 81st (2015) to 38th (2025).
• Global Capability Centres (GCCs): India hosts over 2,100 GCCs across 3,728 units, employing ~2.36 million professionals; nearly half established since 2021 are AI-focused from inception.
• India AI Impact Summit 2026: declaration adopted by 92 countries/organisations; catalysed over USD 200 billion in AI-related investment commitments.
• India Stack / DPI diplomacy: agreements signed with 23 countries; UPI operational in Singapore, UAE, France, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Critical Analysis — Strengths

• Mission-mode architecture (NSM, NQM, IndiaAI, Semicon India) provides dedicated outlays, governance boards and measurable deliverables, rather than diffuse policy intent.
• Affordability-led scale — the collapse in data costs and rise in broadband penetration — created the demand base that made AI, cloud and blockchain adoption viable at population scale.
• DPI diplomacy (UPI abroad, DPI cooperation agreements) gives India distinctive soft-power leverage in technology governance beyond pure hardware capability.

Critical Analysis — Structural Questions

• Several figures (GCC counts, GII rank context, DPI agreements) originate from a single government retrospective; independent triangulation against WIPO, UNCTAD or RBI data would strengthen verification.
• Large headline outlays (₹76,000 cr Semicon, ₹1 lakh cr RDI) are approved/budgeted figures; actual disbursement and project-completion rates are not detailed in this review.
• The cited 70–80% indigenisation in semiconductors is largely at the assembly/packaging level; India does not yet have an operational leading-edge fab, so frontier chip fabrication remains import-dependent.
• Researcher and startup density under the National Quantum Mission (152 researchers, 17 startups) remains modest relative to the mission's stated ambition of global leadership in quantum technology.

Way Forward

• Commission independent audits (CAG/NITI Aayog) of mission-mode outlay utilisation against stated targets, especially for Semicon India and ISM 2.0.
• Prioritise commissioning of a leading-edge fabrication facility over packaging/testing capacity to close the indigenisation gap meaningfully.
• Sustain, rather than one-time, funding for quantum and AI talent to build researcher and startup density comparable to global competitors.
• Deepen state-level execution capacity so DPI and skilling gains reach Tier-2/3 India uniformly, not only metro hubs.

Prelims Pointers

Digital India: launched 2015; backbone of India's digital transformation.

National Supercomputing Mission: 2015, ₹4,500 cr; indigenous PARAM Rudra series.

Semicon India / ISM 2.0: Dec 2021, ₹76,000 cr; ISM 2.0 announced Budget 2026–27.

National Quantum Mission: April 2023, ₹6,003.65 cr; four pillars — Computing, Communication, Sensing & Metrology, Materials & Devices.

IndiaAI Mission: 2024, ₹10,300+ cr; AI Kosh hosts datasets and models.

MeghRaj: India's national cloud platform, MeitY, 2014.

National Blockchain Framework: MeitY, 2021, ₹64.76 cr.

ANRF: operationalised 2024; programmes — MAHA, PAIR, ATRI.

RDI Scheme: July 2025, ₹1 lakh crore corpus, under ANRF/DST.

NEST Division: 2020, under MEA — technology diplomacy.

Bharat 6G Alliance: formed 2023.

Global Innovation Index: India 38th (2025), up from 81st (2015); published by WIPO.

Practice Mains Question

“India's transition from a 'technology consumer' to a 'technology creator' rests on mission-mode governance in frontier sectors.” Critically examine this claim with reference to India's semiconductor, quantum, and AI missions.

GS Paper 3 · 250 words · 15 marks

Practice MCQs

Q1. Consider the following statements regarding the National Quantum Mission: (1) It was approved by the Union Cabinet in 2023 with an outlay of ₹6,003.65 crore. (2) It focuses on four areas — Computing, Communication, Sensing & Metrology, and Materials & Devices. (3) India achieved a 1,000-km secure quantum communication network ahead of schedule. Which of the above are correct?

A) 1 and 2 onlyB) 2 and 3 onlyC) 1 and 3 onlyD) 1, 2 and 3

Q2. Match List I (Mission) with List II (Outlay/Year): A. National Supercomputing Mission · B. India Semiconductor Mission (Semicon India) · C. National Blockchain Framework // 1. MeitY, ₹64.76 cr · 2. 2015, ₹4,500 cr · 3. Dec 2021, ₹76,000 cr. Choose the correct match:

A) A-2, B-3, C-1B) A-1, B-2, C-3C) A-3, B-1, C-2D) A-2, B-1, C-3

Q3. The “Global Innovation Index”, in which India's rank improved from 81st (2015) to 38th (2025), is published by:

A) World Economic ForumB) World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)C) UNCTADD) World Bank

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Article 02

Article 02

India Becomes World's Top Ship Recycling Nation in 2025

Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW) · UNCTAD Report · 22 June 2026

Relevance: GS 3 (infrastructure — ports and shipping; environment — circular economy and sustainable recycling) · GS 2 (government policies and interventions).

GS 3GS 2

Key Data at a Glance

35.4%India's share of global ship recycling in 2025 (up from 30.1% in 2024)

2.99 mn GTships recycled in India in 2025 (up ~60% from 1.86 million GT in 2024)

115ship recycling facilities made HKC-compliant

₹53.5 crfinancial assistance for yard modernisation

40%scrap value as credit note under the Ship-breaking Credit Note Scheme

~9 mn LDTtarget capacity after planned Alang yard expansion (nearly double current)

Issue in Brief

• India's share of global ship recycling rose to 35.4% in 2025 (from 30.1% in 2024), per the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), making it the world's No. 1 ship recycling nation.
• This achieves the Maritime India Vision (MIV) 2030 target of global leadership in ship recycling five years ahead of schedule.

Static Background

• Ship recycling (ship-breaking): dismantling end-of-life vessels to recover steel and materials — historically concentrated in South Asia (India, Bangladesh, Pakistan) using tidal “beaching” methods, which have long raised environmental and labour-safety concerns.
• Hong Kong International Convention (HKC) for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships: an International Maritime Organization (IMO) treaty setting global ship-recycling standards; India ratified it in 2019.
• Recycling of Ships Act, 2019: India's domestic law aligning its ship recycling ecosystem with HKC standards.
• Alang (Gujarat): the world's largest ship-breaking yard, the backbone of India's ship recycling capacity.
• Maritime India Vision (MIV) 2030: the Government of India's roadmap for transforming India into a global maritime hub through infrastructure development, sustainability and reforms.

Key Dimensions — Scale & Compliance

• India recycled 2.99 million GT (gross tons) in 2025, up ~60% from 1.86 million GT in 2024.
• 115 ship recycling facilities have become HKC-compliant, backed by ₹53.5 crore in government financial assistance for yard modernisation.

Key Dimensions — Policy Levers

• Ship-breaking Credit Note Scheme: ship owners receive a credit note equivalent to 40% of the scrap value of a recycled ship, usable for up to 5% of the cost of a new vessel built at an Indian shipyard — linking recycling incentives to domestic shipbuilding demand.
• Regular stakeholder engagement with the Gujarat Maritime Board, the Ship Recycling Industries Association, global shipping companies, cash buyers and classification societies.
• India is pursuing inclusion in the European Union Ship Recycling Regulation (EUSRR) approved list of recycling facilities — a key market-access lever for high-value European-flagged vessels.

Key Dimensions — Capacity Expansion & Outlook

• India aims to nearly double its ship recycling capacity to about 9 million LDT (Light Displacement Tons) through the planned expansion of the Alang Ship Recycling Yard; the Gujarat government has prepared a comprehensive master plan.
• According to the Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO), more than 16,000 vessels are expected to be recycled globally over the next decade; with its 35.4% market share, India is positioned to recycle 500–600 vessels annually.

Critical Analysis — Strengths

• Demonstrates a rare case where environmental compliance (HKC) and economic competitiveness reinforce each other — compliance investment correlates with a market-share gain, not a trade-off.
• The Ship-breaking Credit Note Scheme is a structurally smart instrument: it converts a recycling subsidy into a shipbuilding demand-side incentive, addressing two sectors with one policy lever.
• Achieving a 2030 target in 2025 reflects genuine policy-execution alignment rather than purely favourable global conditions.

Critical Analysis — Structural Questions

• The 35.4% global share reflects volume leadership; it does not, by itself, confirm labour-safety and environmental outcomes at the yard level — Alang's beaching-method yards have historically drawn scrutiny from international labour and environmental observers, which would need independent verification beyond this release.
• EUSRR inclusion remains pending — India's largest market-access gap is access to EU-flagged ships, not technical capability; this is a work-in-progress, not yet achieved.
• The 60% single-year jump partly reflects a low 2024 base and cyclical global ship-scrapping demand linked to fleet age and freight rates; the sustainability of the 35.4% share over the coming decade is not guaranteed by a single year's data.

Way Forward

• Pursue EUSRR (EU-approved list) inclusion vigorously to capture higher-value European-flagged recycling contracts.
• Strengthen third-party labour-safety and environmental audits of Alang and other yards to pre-empt international scrutiny.
• Track actual uptake of the Credit Note Scheme in domestic shipbuilding orders, not just recycling volume, to validate the linked-incentive design.
• Fast-track the Alang capacity expansion (towards 9 million LDT) with environmental safeguards built in from the design stage.

Prelims Pointers

UNCTAD: source of the 35.4% global ship recycling share data for India (2025).

Hong Kong International Convention: IMO treaty for safe/sound ship recycling; India ratified in 2019.

Recycling of Ships Act, 2019: India's domestic law aligning with HKC.

Alang: located in Gujarat; world's largest ship recycling/breaking yard.

Maritime India Vision (MIV) 2030: India's maritime roadmap; ship recycling leadership achieved 5 years early.

BIMCO: Baltic and International Maritime Council — source of the 16,000-vessel decade projection.

Ship-breaking Credit Note Scheme: 40% of scrap value as credit, usable for up to 5% of a new Indian-built vessel's cost.

EUSRR: European Union Ship Recycling Regulation — India seeking inclusion in its approved facilities list.

Practice Mains Question

India's emergence as the world's top ship recycling nation in 2025 illustrates how regulatory compliance can become a competitive advantage rather than a constraint. Discuss with reference to the Hong Kong Convention and India's Maritime India Vision 2030.

GS Paper 3 · 250 words · 15 marks

Practice MCQs

Q1. Consider the following statements: (1) India's share of global ship recycling rose to 35.4% in 2025, as per a UNCTAD report. (2) The Hong Kong International Convention sets global standards for safe and environmentally sound ship recycling. (3) India is yet to ratify the Hong Kong Convention. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A) 1 and 2 onlyB) 2 and 3 onlyC) 1 onlyD) 1, 2 and 3

Q2. (Assertion–Reasoning) Assertion (A): The Ship-breaking Credit Note Scheme is expected to boost both ship recycling and domestic shipbuilding. Reason (R): The credit note received from recycling a ship can be used toward payment for a portion of the cost of a new vessel built at an Indian shipyard.

A) Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of AB) Both A and R are true, but R is NOT the correct explanation of AC) A is true, R is falseD) A is false, R is true

Q3. “Alang Ship Recycling Yard”, in the news for capacity expansion plans, is located in:

A) MaharashtraB) GujaratC) KeralaD) Tamil Nadu