India’s Technology Advisory Group (TAG) has convened to chart a comprehensive national strategy for robotics and physical AI, signaling the government’s intent to build a self-reliant ecosystem in this critical technology sector. The meeting brought together key stakeholders from government, defense, academia, and industry to address challenges and outline strategic priorities.
Strategic Focus Areas
Principal Scientific Adviser Ajay Kumar Sood emphasized India’s push toward building a self-reliant robotics ecosystem through indigenization. The focus extends beyond traditional automation to advanced robotics that complement human labor rather than simply replacing it. Priority areas include collaborative robots and physical AI for healthcare, along with unmanned and dual-use systems for defense and internal security.
The government is particularly keen on achieving software sovereignty in robotics. Dr. Sameer Kamat, Chairman of DRDO, called for indigenization of critical software, design tools, and simulation platforms. This emphasis on owning the complete technology stack reflects lessons learned from other strategic sectors where dependency on foreign software created vulnerabilities.
Draft National Strategy
S. Krishnan, Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), outlined a draft National Strategy on Robotics developed through extensive inter-ministerial and stakeholder consultations. The strategy envisions leveraging existing initiatives like the IndiaAI Mission, India Semiconductor Mission, and the electronics manufacturing ecosystem as building blocks for a future dedicated Robotics Mission.
This approach makes practical sense. Rather than starting from scratch, India can build on established programs and infrastructure. The semiconductor capabilities being developed under ISM 2.0, for instance, will be critical for producing the processors and sensors that power advanced robots.
