SAVITUR PRASAD,
MEMBER- HIGH POWERED ENQUIRY COMMITTEE,
DELHI GOVERNMENT
The future is increasingly uncertain, making it difficult to predict what the next few years may hold. I would like to take you back to the history - we all have read Karl Marx, and he had predicted long back third world imperialism. This concept offers an interesting lens through which to view today's global landscape. Rather than territorial occupation, as witnessed in the colonial era, the argument is that influence is now exercised through the global reach of corporations headquartered in economically advanced nations. In expanding their markets, these enterprises can create new forms of economic and technological dependence. Marx had rightfully argued
that as capitalism will expand, it will inherently create a global system of exploitation where core industrial nations will extract surplus and resources from the less developed, colonized, or "Third World" peripheries.
In today’s time, this holds true for technologically less developed countries that are completely dependent on countries both economically and technologically strong. Talking about India, our contribution in technology is still comparatively less. While the country has made significant strides in technology, there remains considerable scope to strengthen its indigenous innovation and technological leadership to reduce dependence and enhance global competitiveness. The country continues to rely heavily on imports and foreign technology in several strategic domains, including semiconductor manufacturing, advanced chip design, high-performance computing, specialized electronics, and certain cybersecurity and AI platforms. Reducing this dependence requires sustained investment in research and development, stronger collaboration between academia, industry, and government, and the creation of a robust ecosystem that nurtures deep-tech startups and product innovation.
