Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Pralhad Joshi has called upon the youth of the country to actively participate in advancing Atmanirbhar Bharat to realise the vision of a developed India by 2047. The Minister made the remarks while delivering the valedictory address at the CSIR RISE Conclave in Bengaluru. Mr Joshi said Indians have the capability to create world-class products that are globally recognised, citing examples such as UPI, DigiYatra, Akash missile system, the GalaxEye Drishti satellite mission and Zoho applications.

The Minister said India should not depend on other countries for critical technologies, as support may be withdrawn at crucial times. He recalled that during the Kargil conflict, GPS access was denied to India by US, which led to the development of the NAVIC satellite navigation system. He added that NAVIC will also help in providing India Standard Time in the future. Mr Joshi said indigenous innovation helps reduce costs and save foreign exchange, and urged the youth to develop India-specific solutions and reduce dependence on imports. The Minister also spoke about the importance of sovereign AI and strengthening manufacturing capabilities.

During the event, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams signed an agreement with the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) for technology support in quality control and assurance of its prasadams.