India one of the world's fastest-growing economies, global hub for startups: WEF report

New Delhi, Jan 20 India stands at the forefront as one of the world's fastest-growing economies and a global hub for startups and digital innovation, a World Economic Forum (WEF) report said on Monday.

According to the report, launched by the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) India, the liaison office of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in India, the country’s "advocacy for and pursuit of developmental templates where technology serves as a bridge rather than a barrier are highly relevant and the Forum is proud to act as its partner in shaping a more human-centric, planet-friendly and resilient future”.

The C4IR India was launched in October 2018 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with the aim of driving the adoption and responsible deployment of emerging technologies in India.

A collaboration between the World Economic Forum, coordinated by the NITI Ayog, the launch of the centre is part of the World Economic Forum's global network of centres for the Fourth Industrial Revolution

"Over the past six years, C4IR India has emerged as a key hub for multistakeholder collaboration and has improved the lives of 1.25 million citizens through enhanced livelihoods and better access to healthcare,” said Jeremy Jurgens, Managing Director, World Economic Forum.

The centre has driven fourth industrial revolution technologies across agriculture, health and aviation, setting a benchmark for transformative progress.

“As C4IR India continues to expand, it is now focusing on cutting-edge areas such as AI, climate tech, and space tech, with exciting potential for creating lasting value for society," Jurgens added.

C4IR India aims to reach 10 million citizens by scaling its flagship initiatives and upcoming projects. These include the ‘AI for India 2030’ initiative, which seeks to unlock AI's potential for societal benefit; the ‘Space Economy’ initiative, aimed at positioning India as a leader in space technologies; and the ‘Climate Technology’ programme, which will focus on developing climate-smart urban centres.

According to S Krishnan, Secretary, MeitY, “Our partnership with the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution India focuses on developing a multistakeholder community to leverage Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies for critical challenges on health, education, smart cities and agriculture.

“AI for India 2030 is an important initiative in partnership with MeitY, enabling stakeholders across industry and startups to partner with government to realise the potential of AI,” he added.