India’s next wave of growth will emerge from villages, small towns: Dr Jitendra

New Delhi, Jul 31: Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences, and Minister of State for PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh Friday called for connecting “Grassroots Innovators” with country’s formal innovation ecosystem and said that India’s next wave of growth will emerge from villages, small towns and community innovators, not only from laboratories and large cities, asserting that grassroots innovations hold the key to building an Atmanirbhar Bharat and realising the vision of Viksit Bharat@2047.
Calling for a seamless pathway to transform grassroots innovations into nationally scalable enterprises, he said innovation must move beyond recognition to scientific validation, technology translation, incubation and market adoption so that local solutions evolve into national assets capable of addressing India’s developmental priorities.
Addressing the Grassroots Innovator Recognition Ceremony 2026 at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre, New Delhi, Dr. Jitendra Singh said the Government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has transformed innovation into a nationwide movement by democratising access to science, technology and entrepreneurship. He said the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) has expanded the innovation ecosystem beyond premier institutions and metropolitan centres, enabling talented innovators from rural, tribal, hilly, coastal, aspirational and remote regions to become active partners in India’s development journey.
The ceremony was held in the august presence of the President of India, Droupadi Murmu, and attended by Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India Prof. Ajay Sood, CEO of NITI Aayog Nidhi Chhibber, senior officials of NITI Aayog and the Government of India, scientists, incubator partners and innovators from across the country. On the occasion, 26 grassroots innovators were honoured for developing practical, affordable and community-driven solutions across agriculture, healthcare, clean energy, assistive technology, water management, circular economy and sustainable livelihoods.
Describing grassroots innovation as the true strength of India’s innovation ecosystem, Dr. Jitendra Singh said the country has today crossed 2.4 lakh startups, making it the world’s third-largest startup ecosystem. He said these achievements are significant, but the real success of India’s innovation movement will be measured by the number of real-life problems solved through affordable technologies that improve the lives of farmers, women, artisans, entrepreneurs and ordinary citizens. Innovations that reduce drudgery, enhance productivity, generate livelihoods and create sustainable local enterprises, he said, represent the true spirit of inclusive development.
The Minister said Atal Community Innovation Centres (ACICs) have become an important bridge between community knowledge and the formal innovation ecosystem by providing mentoring, incubation, technical guidance, market linkages and capacity-building support to innovators from underserved regions. He noted that 25 ACICs are already operational while another 25 are under development, with the existing centres having supported more than 2,500 grassroots innovators. These centres are helping ensure that a promising idea is not constrained by geography, institutional access or lack of resources, but receives the support required to evolve into a viable enterprise.
Dr. Jitendra said the 26 innovators recognised this year represent the diversity and vibrancy of India’s grassroots innovation movement, coming from 16 States and 23 districts, ranging in age from 24 to 66 years, and including 11 women innovators. Their work addresses some of the country’s most pressing challenges through practical solutions in agriculture, healthcare, water conservation, clean energy, sustainable manufacturing, disability support and rural livelihoods, reaffirming that transformative innovation often emerges from close engagement with local communities and their everyday challenges.
The innovations honoured during the ceremony reflect the breadth of India’s grassroots ingenuity. These include compact mini rice mills that enable small farmers to process produce at source, tractor-operated machines that reclaim uncultivable land, technologies converting agricultural residue into high-value bio-products, AI-enabled soil diagnostic services that improve farm productivity, biodegradable alternatives to single-use plastics manufactured from agricultural waste, affordable assistive technologies for persons with disabilities and decentralised clean energy solutions that strengthen rural livelihoods while promoting environmental sustainability.
Emphasising the need to accelerate the journey from innovation to enterprise, Dr. Jitendra Singh called for stronger integration between the grassroots innovation ecosystem nurtured by AIM and the Department of Science and Technology’s National Initiative for Developing and Harnessing Innovations (NIDHI). Such convergence, he said, would provide innovators access to Technology Business Incubators, Centres of Excellence, prototype development, scientific validation, intellectual property support, product testing, certification, manufacturing partnerships, finance and market linkages, creating a robust national pathway from idea to product and from product to market.
Referring to the experience of the National Innovation Foundation, the Minister said India has repeatedly demonstrated that grassroots ideas can achieve national recognition when backed by sustained institutional support. He cited the Mitticool refrigerator, which evolved from a traditional clay-based innovation into the basis of a Bureau of Indian Standards specification, as an example of how scientific validation, incubation and technology development can transform community knowledge into nationally accepted products.
Calling upon scientists, academic institutions, incubators, industry and government departments to work in close partnership, Dr. Jitendra Singh said every recognised innovator should receive continued support through translation-readiness assessment, specialised incubation, design refinement, intellectual property facilitation, testing, certification and real-world pilot deployments. He said recognition should mark the beginning ‘not the destination’ of an innovator’s journey, enabling local ideas to scale into solutions of national relevance.
Concluding, Dr. Jitendra Singh said India’s innovation ecosystem must become increasingly responsive to grassroots talent by reaching innovators where they are and strengthening their ability to solve local challenges through science and technology. He expressed confidence that with sustained institutional support and stronger collaboration across government, academia and industry, grassroots innovators will emerge as key partners in shaping an Atmanirbhar Bharat and a Viksit Bharat, ensuring that the country’s next generation of transformative ideas originates from every village, every district and every community across the nation.