States » SouthPosted at: Sep 19 2026 11:56AM


India poised for global design, manufacturing leadership: Ex DRDO scientist Prahlada Ramarao

Bengaluru, Sep 19 (UNI) India will emerge as the world’s most sought-after destination for design, manufacturing and delivery in the coming decades, former DRDO scientist Dr Prahlada Ramarao said on Saturday, attributing the opportunity to the country’s growing R&D capabilities, skilled workforce and industrial maturity.
Addressing the 4th BCIC Leadership Summit 2026 here, Dr Ramarao said Indian industry had transformed dramatically over the last four decades, moving from basic fabrication and “build-to-print” manufacturing to engineering, design, analysis, assembly, testing and delivery.
“Today, most of the industries, particularly medium and small-scale industries, can do engineering, design, analysis, manufacturing, assembly, testing and delivery,” he said.
He said India was no longer merely catering to domestic requirements, with a growing number of companies, including MSMEs, exporting products and attracting global business.
“Industries from Europe, Israel and Southeast Asia are coming to India for getting their products designed, fabricated, tested and delivered because they are getting cost benefits, time benefits and quality benefits,” Dr Ramarao said.
He said Indian industry had now reached a stage where companies could develop products based on requirements rather than merely working from detailed specifications.
“You tell me what you need, I will make it. This is the level to which Indian industry has matured,” he said.
Dr Ramarao said India's demographic advantage, particularly its young workforce, was a major factor driving global interest in the country.
“The whole world is coming to India because they want to capture the youth of the country, their dynamism, synergy and energy levels,” he said.
He said the country's R&D capabilities had similarly evolved from reverse engineering to design improvements, indigenous designs and collaborative development, citing the BrahMos missile programme between India and Russia as an example.
“The R&D capability has gone to a level where we are talking about global-level R&D to come out with solutions,” he said, calling for greater international collaboration in emerging technologies, including next-generation communications.
Dr Ramarao, however, cautioned that India must build the infrastructure and business ecosystem required to fully capture the opportunity.
He called for greater access to testing and evaluation facilities, particularly for MSMEs, and said the country needed to address dependence on imported materials and critical components.
He also urged industry bodies to develop new business models through product-oriented consortia that could bring together several small and medium enterprises to develop complex products.
“You cannot make a complex product by going to 10 industries separately. There should be a consortium of industries capable of delivering one product,” he said.
Dr Ramarao said the opportunity extended beyond defence to energy, space, advanced manufacturing and other strategic sectors, but warned that emerging technologies would require substantial investment, infrastructure and risk-taking.
On defence, he said the nature of warfare itself was changing rapidly, with technology, artificial intelligence, drones, laser weapons, space systems, energy and supply chains becoming increasingly important.
“Wars are no more wars with machinery. They are totally different types of wars,” he said, stressing that national security required technological and industrial strength.
He said defence exports would also generate long-term business opportunities for Indian companies through maintenance, upgrades, replacement components and technical support.
“The business is not just delivering the product. You have to live with the product,” he said.
Dr Ramarao said India now had an opportunity to combine its industrial capabilities, R&D ecosystem and young workforce to build a globally competitive manufacturing and innovation base.
He urged government, industry, academia and young professionals to work together to ensure that India was prepared to capture the emerging global opportunity.
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Tags: #India poised for global design# manufacturing leadership: Ex DRDO scientist Prahlada Ramarao
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