India Urged to Innovate Beyond China, Invest Heavily in R&D

In an address to industry leaders at the CII Annual Business Summit 2025, Amitabh Kant, India's G20 Sherpa, urged Indian businesses to transcend their dependency on China by heavily investing in research and development. Speaking in New Delhi, Kant emphasized that merely adopting a China Plus One strategy by importing from China would be insufficient for long-term growth.

Kant declared that Indian companies must leapfrog in technology, surpassing their Chinese counterparts rather than attempting to emulate them. "You must beat the Chinese by being one step ahead," he asserted. This involves implementing entirely new technologies capable of disrupting well-entrenched Chinese technologies.

Highlighting the competitive advantage in India's linguistic diversity, Kant said foundational AI models could help address global challenges in education, health, and nutrition. He also emphasized the importance of improving ease of business, advocating for reforms at the state level, strategic investment in R&D, rational use of Quality Control Orders, and establishment of efficient dispute resolution mechanisms.

(With inputs from agencies.)