India is at an inflection point, must become a 'product nation': Ashwini Vaishnaw

Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday said that the Indian economy is at an inflection point, urging the industry work towards becoming a “product nation” by focussing on manufacturing.

“Ten years ago, when you talked about product nation, people would say we are good at services. Some economists even today say that we should only do services,” Vaishnaw, the minister of Railways, Information & Broadcasting, and Electronics & Information Technology, said at the Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII) Annual Business Summit 2025.

Manufacturing and services are equally important to achieve the next level of growth, emphasised Vaishnaw.

Taking the example of electronics manufacturing in India, Vaishnaw said, "We took the Semiconductor Mission to the next level. In a calibrated way, we started with DPI (Digital Public Infrastructure), then went from finished products in electronics manufacturing to components and semiconductors."

India adopted a pragmatic approach with the Semiconductor Mission, said Vaishnaw. "We decided to target a particular segment which has close to 60% of market volume and feeds into the automobile and telecom industries. Today, we have six (semiconductor) units under construction. The first 'Made-in-India' chip will roll out this year. But what has changed is the mindset. That is what will take us to the next level of growth. That change is in the willingness to invest in design and be a product nation,” he explained. “And using the change in mindset, can we grow as a product nation.”

Alongside products, Indian companies should have their own IP rights, he added.

Vaishnaw said the ‘Make in India’ vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi started with finished goods. That’s the way most countries have started practically in every sector, he said. “We have reached a take-off point in electronics manufacturing. The electronics manufacturing industry, which was practically negligible 10 years ago, is now about ₹13 lakh crore,” Vaishnaw said, adding that exports of mobile phones have grown to over ₹5 lakh crore.

India faces new challenges and opportunities amid global uncertainties, the Union minister said. “We are growing in 6-8% band with moderate inflation. This growth story is going to continue for a substantial period going forward. The way the world looks at us, our role in the world, and our responsibilities vis-à-vis citizens, all this is going to change substantially over the next few years,” he said.

On artificial intelligence, Vaishnaw said AI is here for good. “In the first round of AI Mission, our target was to have 10,000 GPUs made available to everybody for a fee. Against a target of 10,000 GPUs, we got 18,000 GPUs. Now, we are about to get another 14,000 GPUs,” he said.

“Simultaneously, we need to have models which are designed and trained on Indian conditions, languages, nuances, and social norms. So, we have taken up the development of models. The first one is being developed by Sarvam. There are 3-4 applications which are in advanced stages of approval.”

“Simultaneously, we are developing a unique approach on AI safety. We have set up a virtual AI safety institute. We have to take a techno-legal approach. We have enrolled institutions which are developing technical solutions. IIT Jodhpur is developing a solution to authentically detect deepfake. Once these technologies are developed, we will make it open source for the industry. These will be available as part of the AI Mission,” elaborated Vaishnaw, urging the industry to deal with AI disruption in a humane way.

On railways, Vaishnaw said India has become the second-largest cargo-carrying railways in the world. “We have overtaken the US and Russia with 1,612 million tonnes of cargo carried annually. It reduces pressure on the roads. CO2 emissions are 95% less when you carry goods by rail compared to the carriage of goods by road. We save the import of oil. In the last 10 years, we have electrified 47,000 km of railways. We have also become the world’s largest locomotive manufacturer,” he said.