Kanpur, Dec 1 (AHN) Given our demographic dividend, natural resources, talent pool and supportive policies, India's path to a developed nation status by 2047 is inevitable, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Sunday.

Addressing students at IIT Kanpur here, the Vice President urged innovators to leverage the foundations to connect local products with global markets, like bringing Kanpur’s leather products to international destinations.

“The nation's progress depends on your ability to forge innovation that addresses real challenges while driving economic growth,” he told the gathering.

Dhankhar further said that patent filings were 42,763 in 2014-15.

“Now it is 92,000 in 2023-24 and in the process, we are the global sixth. We cannot be satisfied with this. We have to be at peak and for that, the ecosystem, affirmative policies, and initiatives have made work culture for you more soothing,” the Vice-President noted.

“We have the third largest startup ecosystem as indicated by 1,50,000 startups. But what is more remarkable is 118 unicorns valued at $354 billion,” he added.

Institutional support through incubation centres has flourished with IIT Kanpur earlier supporting 250 startups worth $1 billion, including over 100 women-led ventures.

“The latter part is very impactful. When I came here, I saw not many girly students but whatever presence there is, you are more than the majority. Big change is already taking place,” said the Vice-President.

He also appealed to the industry, trade, business and corporates and their associations to bring change by investing towards innovation.

“They are investing in their present, in their future. They have to realise it. I looked around at a global level. In the top 25, I could figure out only two Indian corporates. To really bring about the big change, we need a change the nation needs, a change that will be for global stability and harmony. Because the growth of India is prosperity for the world, that's our culture,” he stressed.

“Solution-orientated innovation requires understanding real-world problems across sectors from agriculture to healthcare. This demand, my young friends, is stepping out of comfort zones and engaging with diverse stakeholders across India,” said Dhankhar.