Mumbai, March 21 (AHN) Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Union government, on Saturday, inaugurated the two-day Bharat Innovates Deep-Tech Pre-Summit at IIT Bombay, highlighting the importance of deep-tech innovation to India's technological leadership and global competitiveness.

Delivering his inaugural address, Sood, who is the chairperson of the Prime Minister's Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC), highlighted the role of academic institutions, research ecosystems, and startups in advancing cutting-edge technologies.

The Bharat Innovates Deep-Tech Pre-Summit, an initiative of the Ministry of Education, serves as a precursor in the Bharat Innovates 2026 journey that culminates in India's global innovation debut at Nice in France, in June 2026, as part of the India-France Year of Innovation 2026, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The landmark national showcase of India's most promising deep-technology ventures was inaugurated at ASPIRE – IIT Bombay Research Park Foundation on the IIT Bombay campus in Mumbai, a statement said.

Vineet Joshi, Department of Higher Education Secretary in Ministry of Education, said that Bharat Innovates 2026 as a whole-of-government effort bringing together the Ministry of Education, the Department of Science and Technology, the Department of Biotechnology, the Space Department, and the Ministry of Defence on a single platform to demonstrate India's cutting-edge deep-tech capabilities to the world.

Emphasising that the initiative is as much about transforming India's education ecosystem as it is about global showcasing.

Joshi noted that the National Education Policy, 2020, has already triggered a significant shift from equating education with examination scores to recognising its true purpose as a meaningful contribution to society, with conviction towards realising the vision of 'Viksit Bharat by 2047'.

He called on investors and corporates to help identify promising startups beyond the metros, reiterating that innovation is not confined by geography.

Others present on the occasion included Abhay Karandikar, Department of Science and Technology Secretary; K. Radhakrishnan, IIT Bombay's Board of Governors Chairperson; and Shireesh Kedare, IIT Bombay Director.

Radhakrishnan asked innovators and founders to work with conviction and national purpose, and invited them to write a new history for India.

He called innovators as ambassadors of India and encouraged them to make India proud.

Karandikar said that India is now the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world with nearly two lakh startups and around 125 unicorns -- a remarkable rise from just 24 unicorns in 2017–18.

More than 1,000 investors are now active in India and nearly Rs 70–80 billion in venture capital has flowed into Indian startups in recent years, he added.

Kedare described Bharat as a deep-tech ecosystem that rests on three pillars: the education system, strategic investors and corporate sector for market access and real-world grounding that transforms technology into impact.

He noted that more than 3,000 startup applications were received from across the country, from which 137 of India's most promising deep-tech startups were selected through a rigorous multi-stage evaluation process spanning 13 thematic areas.

The Bharat Innovates 2026 programme showcases innovations across 13 critical technology domains, including Advanced Computing, Healthcare and MedTech, Space and Defence, Energy and Sustainability, Semiconductors, Biotechnology, Smart Cities and Mobility, Blue Economy, Next-Gen Communications, Agri and Food Technologies, Advanced Materials, Manufacturing and Industry 4.0, and Disaster Management.