India to emerge as a global leader in key sectors in 2024

The year 2024 is an important year for India, showcasing its dominance in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, defence, nuclear energy, space, infrastructure and emerging technologies like quantum computing, AI and blockchain.

Transformative policies and innovations have catapulted India to a leadership position globally, underscoring its commitment towards sustainable and inclusive growth.

India’s pharmaceutical exports to grow from US$15 billion to US$28 billion in the decade ending FY2024, driven by initiatives like Production Linked Incentive (PLI) and Bulk Drug Park.

Biotechnology experienced a 13-fold expansion from USD 10 billion in 2014 to USD 130 billion in 2024, with an ambitious target of USD 300 billion by 2030.

Successes of 2024 include India’s first indigenous antibiotic, nafithromycin, which offers a revolutionary treatment against drug-resistant pneumonia, and NexCAR19, the country’s first homegrown CAR-T cell therapy for cancer.

Resumption of production of Penicillin G after 30 years boosted India’s pharmaceutical self-sufficiency. Globally, India joined the biopharmaceutical alliance with South Korea, the US, Japan and the EU to tackle drug supply challenges.

Transformative reforms including liberalized FDI, positive indigenization list and opening up defense R&D to startups have pushed indigenous production to a record Rs 1.27 lakh crore in 2024, with exports expanding 30 times.

Major achievements include the successful flight test of Agni-5 missile with MIRV technology under Mission Divyastra, test firing of K-4 submarine launched missile and deployment of Phase-2 Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) system.

Additionally, the long-range LRLACM missile demonstrated India’s strategic precision capabilities.

India’s nuclear power capacity is set to double from 4,780 MW in 2014 to 8,180 MW in 2024, with plans to triple it to 22,480 MW by 2031–32.

The Union Budget 2024-25 also highlighted the establishment of small reactors and collaboration on small modular reactors (SMRs), boosting India’s nuclear ambitions.

India’s space sector made unprecedented achievements in 2024, driven by the vision to grow the space economy to US$ 44 billion by 2033.

Major achievements include approvals for Venus Orbiter Mission (VOM) and Chandrayaan-4, announcement of the first batch of Gaganyaan astronauts and private sector successes such as Skyroot Aerospace and Agnikul Cosmos innovations.

India also laid the foundation stone for its second space port in Tamil Nadu and celebrated the first National Space Day to commemorate the historic Chandrayaan-3 moon landing. Solar mission Aditya-L1 provided important findings enhancing space weather prediction capabilities.

Since 2014, the Pragati Manch under the supervision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accelerated more than 340 projects worth US$205 billion, significantly reducing delays.

In 2024, India completed its first Hyperloop test track at IIT Madras and piloted GNSS-enabled distance-based electronic tolling. These developments underline India’s commitment towards future and sustainable infrastructure.

India’s progress in emerging technologies strengthens its global leadership in 2024. The National Quantum Mission advanced quantum communications, while BharatGen, the world’s first government-funded multimodal AI project, focused on Indian languages. Blockchain innovation showcased with Vishwasya, the national blockchain stack for secure digital platforms.