The Raman effect was invented by Sir CV Raman, for which he won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1930. India has not won the Nobel Prize in Science since.

The Raman effect laid the foundation for Raman spectroscopy which is widely used even today for commercial applications spanning food processing, healthcare, manufacturing, chemical and petro-chemical and beyond. It continues to be relevant for emerging fields like quantum technologies.

This was a ‘core’ invention, which enabled the development of cutting-edge commercial technologies for numerous sectors. India does not own any technology in this space.

All specialised technology companies that manufacture ‘Raman’ spectrometers and their components are foreign owned.

‘Core’ technologies are foundations that serve as the backbone of multiple sectors. They directly enable products, processes or services and are critical for operational success.

India’s academic and scientific institutions have been ahead in the development of many ‘core’ technologies over the decades, but did not have the wherewithal to commercialise it; and therefore the technologies remained within the academic or scientific institutions. Industry on its part, preferred to buy technology from abroad.

Collaboration efforts

Conversations between academia, scientific institutions and industry did not take place. It is only in the last few years that the government — via the Principal Scientific Advisor’s Office, DST etc. — the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and most premier institutes of higher education like the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (IISc) and the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are making a serious effort to collaborate with one another with success.

For example, the IISc commenced research on the development of poly silicon technology as early as in the 1960s followed by several national laboratories. By the early 1990s, the technology was successfully transferred to industry. IISc had succeeded vis-a-vis other Indian national laboratories because it had collaborated at a very early stage with industry, and India was well ahead of most nations.

However, in the early 1990s the Indian plant manufacturing the silicon wafers lost its business case because of dumping from Russia. Later in 2000, a German manufacturer undercut prices significantly dealing a further blow. Unsurprisingly, China now has taken over the polysilicon market.

Polysilicon is a critical material used in the production of semi-conductors, solar panels etc., which are central to electronics and renewable energy. It is another example of ‘core’ technology; a technology that India developed early, but was unable to preserve and sustain.

To realize the dream of Viksit Bharat, it is imperative that India develop technologies that are ‘core’. The government through its ‘Make in India’ and Atmanirbhar Bharat programmes is making a huge effort in developing technologies for the future — Semi-conductor and Chip manufacturing, AI and ML, Renewable Energy, Quantum Computing, EV and Battery Technology, Defence and Aerospace Technologies etc.

Further, the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) through its ‘Scheme on the Enhancement of Competitiveness in the Capital Goods Sector’ is encouraging both start-ups and existing capital goods manufacturers to innovate, incubate and accelerate the development of technology within the country.

However, we are still dependant on other countries for the ‘core’ technologies which are essential to build most of the capital goods required for these future technological initiatives in India.

Two areas

We explore two examples of ‘core’ technologies that India still needs.

Laser machines, for example, were commercialised in the early 1960s, when the Hughes Aircraft Company marketed the first laser.

They have since evolved into a multi-billion dollar industry and are indispensable for a wide range of applications like metal and non-metal cutting, welding etc. and in specialised fields like lithography and medical devices (lasik eye surgery).

Lasers are imported or at best assembled by integrators in India. The integrators import the advanced or tech components like laser diodes, optics and the control systems.

Further, the domestic ecosystem for producing high quality laser components is still developing and competing with global manufacturers on cost and quality still remains elusive for Indian manufacturers. The cost of imports puts them out of the reach of MSMEs, who need them as much as anyone else.

India is investing tens of billions of dollars on the semiconductor technology ecosystem. For manufacturing and downstream packaging of the micro-chips and the integrated circuits, processes like etching, thin-film deposition and ion implantation are utilised, for which an atmosphere of vacuum is essential.

So vacuum technology is the pivotal enabler or a ‘core’ technology for the semiconductor industry, as it is for space exploration, renewable energy, advanced manufacturing and many other vital applications.

Vacuum technology provides the ability to create, maintain and manipulate environments with reduced pressure or near-complete absence of matter (vacuum), which is a pre-requisite for multiple cutting-edge processes.

While India has developed significant expertise in vacuum technology — through ISRO, DRDO, BARC and IISc — high-end components for advanced vacuum pumps, turbo-molecular pumps and cryogenic pumps, critical sub-systems and materials are often imported, especially for niche applications. Vacuum technology will continue to be crucial in the fields of quantum computing and advanced electronics.

Therefore, if core technologies exist with us in India, we can create multiple breakthroughs both in basic sciences and in advanced new technologies. For example, the 2017 Nobel Prize was awarded to three scientists for their decisive contributions to the LIGO detector and the observations of gravitational waves. The LIGO observatory supports laser interferometers in ultra high vacuum systems, further emphasising that both ‘laser’ and ‘vacuum’ are core technologies.

The way forward

Identifying and developing ‘core’ technologies like lasers and vacuum, is crucial for India to achieve atmanirbharta, economic growth and global competitiveness in strategic sectors of the future.

It is imperative to conduct a comprehensive ‘core’ technology audit, foster collaborative R&D ecosystems via industry-academia collaboration and Public-Private Partnerships, build advanced infrastructure by investing in testing and prototyping facilities, focus on dual-use technology, encourage patent filing, create technology clusters, engage in global technology alliances amongst other initiatives for a truly Viksit Bharat.

Sondhi is former MD & CEO, Ashok Leyland and JCB India; Raman, is Principal Research Scientist, Society for Innovation and Development, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore